Studying Medieval Times

This week we have begun studying about life in Medieval Times as part of a Social Studies unit of looking at life in another time.  There are many new words to learn and things to find out about the way life was lived in from 500 - 1500 A.D.  We are fortunate to have many great picture books in the school library to help us learn.

I have also chosen a Read Aloud on the theme too.  It's the first book from the Dragon Slayer's Academy by Kate McMullen called The New Kid At School.  I try to take 15 or 20 minutes each day to review what's happened so far and read on.  This book gives great opportunities to practise figuring out new words using clues in the sentence.  We have come across words like minstrel, hovel, hoards, tunic and lute and made sense of them together.

Another part of the unit is a "Medieval Word of the Day" that the students have recorded in their agenda and were asked to spend a couple of minutes at home with their families finding out what it means.  This week the words were portcullis, nobility and gargoyles.  I decided to add this piece to the unit to encourage the theme study at home and also work on the responsibility needed to remember to complete and return "homework".  

We will continue the theme for a few more weeks and also begin projects at school based on some part of Medieval life.