Christendom
PowerPoint Presentations
See how the Dark Ages began with a collapse of technology, society and government. Then see how the Christian Church stepped in to help rebuild.
Before long other entities stepped into power. Powerful rulers started to rise up and claim the former lands of the Roman Empire. We will focus on one of them: Charlemagne.
All the work to rebuild was undone when the Vikings arrived. A new form of rule was needed to meet this powerful threat.
King Richard and King John of England are major players in two huge events in world history. Let's see what happened with the Crusades and Magna Carta.
No amount of knights, prayers or documents of freedom could stop of the worst disease outbreaks in world history. Could Europe handle such devastation?
Activities
1. Crumbling Kingdom - a one-hour lab simulating what it would be like to live in a civilization that was collapsing around you.
2. Culture Shock: Dark Ages - a collection of 5 mini-activities showing how one might go about rebuilding a fallen society. Read all about it in Chapter 7 of my book Teach with Magic!
3. Dark Ages Walkthru - a one-hour worksheet based on the images found in the textbook.
4. Feudalism Lab - a one-hour lab simulating life in a feudal society.
5. Charlemagne Bias Lab - Two readings on Charlemagne that mirror one another. Read them both to see how bias can greatly affect our view of a historical figure. Doc 1 Doc 2 (Common Core Ready - CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.6 )
7. History vs. Hollywood: Kingdom of Heaven - Questions based on the History Channel documentary of the same name. I've only found it on the special features of the movie DVD. It's pretty good though.
8. Crusades Simulation Lab (Pope Urban's Speech, Teacher's Guide, Script, Fate Letters) - Experiential lab where students are taken on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to experience what life was really like on Crusade.
9. History Mystery: The Black Death - History analysis activity where students try to determine what was spreading the Black Death throughout England. (Common Core Ready - CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.7)
10. Castle Builder - Fun activity where students design their own castle blueprints and then "attack" each other.
11. Medieval Dossiers: Richard vs. John - History analysis activity where students examine fact sheets on King Richard and King John to determine if the popular understanding of the two men is fact or fiction. (HA Skill: Interpreting documents)
12. Weigh the Evidence: Robin Hood - History analysis activity where students examine a series of exhibits relating to the existence of Robin Hood. Each is exhibit is "weighed" based on its relevance and validity so that a proper conclusion can be drawn. (Common Core Ready - CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.7)
13. Middle Ages Strategy Guide - Review sheet covering the Dark Ages and Late Middle Ages.
14. A Day in Medieval Europe - A guided tour through a day in Medieval Europe using video, sound, pictures and imagination. Teachers follow a script while students complete a journal. Here is the PPT file (it is big and some of of the videos are not there for size/copyright reasons but it is a good start.)
Media Guide