Middle Ages--Chivalry and Knights
In spring/summer of 2002 we studied the Middle Ages in a co-op. This is what my children ages 8 and 10 used, did and learned from the co-op. The materials listed are geared towards a 5th grader.
This is a time in history that my dear husband absolutely loves. I honestly didn't do much of the teaching or reading aloud as he wanted to do it. Most of their learning came from what my husband already knew.
Please see the General History page for more books and links.
| Resources--books | Resources--web sites | Projects | Writing Assignments0 |
Resources
Books
Non-Fiction--Information books:
 | A Medieval Castle by Fiona Macdonald (Peter Bedrick Books) |
| A Medieval Cathedral by Fiona Macdonald (Peter Bedrick Books) |
| Adventures in The Middle Ages by Linda Bailey, illustrated by Bill Slavin (Kids Can Press)* KR |
| Arms & Armor by Michele Byam (DK, 1988: ISBN 0789458365)* |
| Battle by Richard Holmes (Eyewitness-Alfred A. Knopf, 1995; ISBN 0679573333)* |
| British Kings & Queens; the Complete Biographical Encyclopedia of the Kings and Queens of Great Britain by Mike Ashley (Barnes & Noble, 1998; ISBN 0760720347)* |
| Castle by Mark Bergin (Franklin Watts)* |
| Castle by Christopher Gravett (Dorling Kindersley--Eyewitness Books)* |
| Castle by Philip Steele (Kingfisher, 1995; ISBN 0753452588)* |
| Castle by Stephen Biesty (Dorling Kindersley) (This is cross-section book.)* |
| Castle, Pyramids and Palaces by Caroline Young, illustrated by Colin King* |
| Famous Men of the Middle Ages by by John H. Haaren, LL.D. & A.B. Poland, Ph.D (revised by Cyndy & Robert Shearer) (Greenleaf Press)* |
| Food and Feast in the Middle Ages (series) by Imogen Dawson (New Discovery Books, 1994; ISBN 002726324X) |
| History of the Kings & Queens of England by David Williamson (Konecky & Knoecky) (This is used as a resource as it is too much for a young child.)* |
| How Would You Survive in The Middle Ages? by Fiona Macdonald, illustrated by Mark Peppe (Franklin Watts)* KR |
| I Wonder Why Castles Had Moats and Other Questions About Long Ago by Philip Steele (Kingfisher, 1994; ISBN 1856978796)* KR |
| ...If You Lived in the Days of the Knights by Ann McGovern, illustrated by Dan Andreasen (Scholastic)* KR |
| Kings & Queens of England by David Williamson (Konecky & Konecky, 1998; ISBN 1568522797)* |
| Knight by Christopher Gravett (DK, 1993; ISBN 1789458748)* |
| Knights & Castles by Avery Hart & Paul Mantell (Williamson Publishing)* |
| Knights & Castles (Silver Dolphin, 2001; ISBN 1471455558)* KR |
| Knights in Shining Armor by Gail Gibbons (Little, Brown & Co, 1995; ISBN 0316309486) KR |
| Lines of Succession; Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe by Michaela Maclagan (Barnes & Noble, 2002; ISBN 0760732876)* |
| Living in Castle Times by Robyn Gee, illustrated by Rob McCaig (Usborne)* |
| Lords, Ladies, Peasants, and Knights: Class in the Middle Ages by Don Nardo (Lucent, 2007; ISBN 1590189280) |
| Masters of Art; Giotto and Medieval Art by Lucia Corrain (Peter Bedrick Books)* |
| Medieval Knights by David Nicolle (See Through History--Viking, 1997; ISBN 0670874639)* |
| Medieval World by Jane Bingham (Usborne)* |
| The Castle Story by Sheila Sancha (Drowell, 1979; ISBN 0690041462) |
| The Greenleaf Guide to Famous Men of the Middle Ages by Cyndy Shearer (Greenleaf Press)* |
| The Medieval Messenger by Fergus Fleming (Usborne)* KR |
| The Usborne Time Traveler: Knights & Castles by Judy Hindley; illustrated by Toni Goffe (Usborne)* |
| Walter Dragun's Town by Sheila Sancha (Collins & Sons; 1987; ISBN 0690048068) |
| What Were Castles For? by Phil Roxbee Cox, illustrated by Sue Stitt & Annabel Spenceley (Usborne)* |
| You Wouldn't Want to be a Crusader! by Fiona Macdonald, illustrated by Mark Bergin (Franklin Watts, 2005; ISBN 0831124126) |
| You Wouldn't Want to be a Medieval Knight! by Fiona Macdonald, illustrated by David Antram (Franklin Watts, 2004; ISBN 0531123537) |
Activity Books:
| de Bors Hede Boke of Cookry by Roger Shell & Sally Charles* (This is The Boar's Head Cookbook published by Camlann, 1998) |
| Design Your Own Coat of Arms: An Introduction to Heraldry by Rosemary A. Chorzempa (Dover) (Not technically a coloring book, but it is a book where you use the "clip art" to create your own coat of arms. Very fun and informative.)* |
| History of the Sword by Bruce LaFontaine (Dover) (This is a coloring book with great descriptions of swords.)* |
| King Arthur Coloring Book by Thomas Crawford illustrated by John Green (Dover, 1995; ISBN0486288840)* |
| Knights and Armor Coloring Book by A.G. Smith (Dover)* |
| Knights in Armor; Paper Dolls by A.G. Smith (Dover1995; ISBN 0486287955)* |
| Knights: The Age of Adventure, to Unlock and Discover Treasure Chests by Marilyn Tolhurst * |
| Life in a Medieval Castle and Village Coloring Book by John Green (Dover)* |
| Medieval Costumes; Paper Dolls by Tom Tierney (Dover, 1996; ISBN 0486289257)* |
| Thematic Unit by Teacher Created Materials--Medieval Times by Cynthia Ross (Units for Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest by Ann McGovern; Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Jane Gray; and The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli.)* |
Fiction:
| A Medieval Feast by Aliki (HarperCollins, 1983; ISBN 0690042469) |
| Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott, adapted by Bob Blairsdell (Dover Children's Thrift Classics)* |
| Joan of Arc by Diane Stanley (Scholastic, 1998; ISBN 0439117690)* KR |
| King Arthur's Knight Quest by Andy Dixon, illustrated by Simone Boni (Usborne)* KR |
| Knights of the Kitchen Table (Time Warp Trio) by Jon Scieszka (Puffin)* KR |
| Merlin and the Dragons by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Li Ming (Cobblehill Books)* |
| Robin Hood retold by Bob Blaisdell (Dover Children's Thrift Classics)* KR |
| Tales of King Arthur and His Knight retold by Felicity Brooks and Anna Claybourne, illustrated by Rodney Matthews (Usborne)* KR |
| Tale of Robin Hood retold by Tony Allan, illustrated by Ron Tiner (Usborne)* KR |
| The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli (Yearling)* RA |
| The Kiss that Missed by David Melling (Barron's, 2002; ISBN 0764154516)* KR |
| The Knight at Dawn (Magic Tree House) by Mary Pope Osborne (Scholastic)* KR |
| The Making of a Knight: How Sir James Earned His Armor by Patrick O'Brien (Charlesbridge)*KR |
| The Story of King Arthur by Tom Crawford (Dover Children's Thrift Classic)* |
| Usborne Fantasy Quests by Andy Dixon (Usborne) (Three books in one: Dragon Quest, Sword Quest and Star Quest.)* |
| Young Lancelot by Robert D. San Souci, illustrated by Jamichael Henterly (A Picture Yearling Book)* KR |
Audio/visual:
| King Arthur and His Knights as created and told by Jim Weiss (Greathall Productions Inc) (CD available at www.greathall.com and other fine book sellers)* |
| The Three Musketeers and Robin Hood as created and told by Jim Weiss (Greathall Productions Inc) (CD available at www.greathall.com and other fine book sellers)* |
Web sites
| Middle Ages from learner.org A great site. So much information...keep clicking... |
| The Society for Creative Anachronism this is where you should start! |
| Camelot Village Wonderful web site, tons of info. |
| Medieval Faire 2000 This looks very much like a school class's web page. Not much information, but great project ideas. (Iolani Honolulu, HI) |
| Medieval World A site that has links to other sites with the focus on merchants, trading, and money. Home page |
| European Middle Ages go to the content under the browser and resources. This one has TONS of information from WSU |
| Medieval Glossary from Netserf.com |
| Kings, Queens and Castles unit from happyhomeschooling family |
| Castles from the Middle Ages from Mr. Deutsch's virtual textbooks |
| The Medieval Castle (keep clicking on the parts to find out more) |
| Castles on the Web Great site, chuck full of links and pictures! Just scroll down pass the ad at the top. |
| Castles-of-Britain A great site to learn about tons of stuff. |
| Castles of the World from castle.org |
| Price list Scroll up and down and have a ball figuring out how much you would have to work to eat, sleep and live! This is the home page. Internet Medieval Sourcebook |
| Art from the Middle Ages Just what it says it is...ART. |
| The Mystic Real of King Arthur The Mystic Real of King Arthur (my husband’s favorite thing with this era…he can go on and on and on and on….("Camelot's" home page) |
| Arthurian Pedagogy teacher resource page (home page link) |
| King Arthur from BBC |
| Arms & Armory Glossary from chronique.com |
| Knights Templar A very serious page on templar knights. |
| Medieval Costumes Find the right plate for this era (there are more than one) and click. From History of Costumes |
| Fashion History of Middle Ages |
| Camlann Village A local medieval "town" |
| Hyper History An interesting time line, worth at least a quick look |
| How to build a Catapult from andy.trebuchet.com |
| Trebuchet.com name says it all |
| Book list by Maggie (very nice if you need a review of a book) |
| The Mediaeval Sword from aiusa.com |
| The Middle Ages from BYU.edu |
| Middle Ages Unit Study from eclectichomeschooling.com |
Web sites for "useless" people (see below before you lambaste me)
| Helen Keller (wonderful woman) |
| Jenni Gold (firm director) |
| Challenged Athlete's web page |
Projects
| The Black Death |
| Crusades |
| Food & Drink |
| Spanish Inquisition |
| Heraldry |
| Knights |
| Feudal System |
| Castles |
| Religion |
| Trade |
| Holy Land |
| Art |
| King and Queens (pick just one) |
| Literature--Chaucer |
| King Arthur Legend |
| Daily Life |
| Weapons/Armor |
| Utensils/tools |
| Jewelry |
| Travel |
| Customs/Dress |
| ...and more |
Assignment: Write a two page (double spaced) paper on a subject approved by your teacher, it doesn't have to be listed here. There needs to be two sources cited, remember the rules for citation. Also make some visual aide to go along for the presentation. Time allowed; 4 weeks.
As a bonus the boys visited a Medieval Faire. Click here to see a few pictures.
Writing assignments
| For the study of Egypt we used the books Knights of the Kitchen Table by Jon Scieszka, Robin Hood retold by Bob Blaisdell, and The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli . |
| Knights of the Kitchen Table was made into a play. The children are to pick a scene (usually a chapter) and make it into a play. They were to practice and try to perform the play for friends and family within a two week period. This book lends itself very well to a play. |
| For Robin Hood we had the children write a paper answering this question: "What would you do if you were Robin Hood?" Rewrite one of the stories of Robin Hood and put yourself in the story. Have two quotes from the book, and make it one full page. |
| For The Door in the Wall we had the children answer the following questions in a one page paper, doubled space, with two quotes from the book: |
| "Have you ever felt useless like Robin?" "How did Robin over come his "uselessness?" |
Completed May, 2002
November, 2006
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