Middle School Medieval History (grade 4-8)

Inexpensive Middle School Medieval History Curriculum

1. Pick an interesting text to be your spine. For this grade/age range, we have used Kingfisher History Encyclopedia, The Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History, A Child’s History of the World by V.M. Hillyer and Greenleaf Press' Famous Men of the Middle Ages and Story of the World, Volume 2: The Middle Ages by Susan Wise Bauer.
2. Make notes of key words as you read. Begin by the teacher modeling this, and gradually have the student take over this activity. Have your student write a few sentences about what he has learned in his history notebook. If desired, add an illustration to the page, either sketched or copied from the internet. Another option is to use the Medieval History Portfolio, Homeschool Journey, which gives specific directions on what to write about and illustrations to add to the notebook pages.
3. Read additional fictional books of the time-period. (Examples below.)
4. Color and label an appropriate map and add this to the notebook so that it is across from the page he has just completed.
5. Begin a timeline that covers the period you will be covering. After each notebook entry, mark significant dates on your timeline.
6. Optional: Create a hands-on project that relates to the topic studied. (Examples below.)
7. Feel free to further explore topics that come up during the study.

Early Middle Ages

Lesson 1: The Byzantine Empire 

• Hands On Projects: Make a mosaic. Some ideas for projects can be found at Glittering Shards: Mosaic Hanging Decorations...Artful Discoveries, Dick Blick, Byzantine Medallions

Lesson 2: Monasticism

• Fictional Book: Read The Holy Twins, Benedict and Scholastica by Kathleen Norris
• Hands-On Project: Follow a monk's schedule for one day.

  A Monk's Schedule

  1:45 am - Wake Up
  2:00am - Church service: singing and prayers (Matins)
  3:30am - back to sleep
  4:00am - church service: singing and prayers (Lauds)
  5:00am - private scripture reading and prayer
  6:00am - Church service, then breakfast
  7:00am - Work
  8:00am - Church service: singing and prayers (terce)
  9:15am - work
  11:45am - Church service: singing and prayers (Sixtus)
  12:00pm - Midday meal
  1:00pm - Private reading and prayer
  1:45pm - sleep
  2:45pm - Church service: singing and prayers (Nones)
  3:00pm - Work
  5:45pm - Meal
  6:00pm - Church Service: singing and prayers (Vespers)
  7:15pm - Private reading and Prayer
  7:45pm - Church service: vespers
  8:00pm - Bed 

Lesson 3: Sui and Tang China

map from History Odyssey, Pandia Press

Lesson 4: Islam

• Hands-On Activities: Explore Islamic art: Geometric Design with Islamic Art at Classic Play, Constructing a Four Star Mandala Tutorial at Highhill Education Homeschool, Islamic Art and Geometric Design: Activities for Learning, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Geometric Drawings at A Waldorf Journey.
• Other good resources for more study: Moors - Muslim Religion in Europe Highhill Education Homeschool, Explorer Study: Ibn Battuta , Leadership Study: Richard the Lion heart and Saladin, Islamic Scientist Study: Alhazan and The Other Side of the Crusades: The Muslims at Angelicscaliwags

Lesson 5: Persecution of the Jews

Lesson 6: North America

Lesson 7: The Bulgars and the Slavs

• Topics for Study: Learn about Byzantine architecture.

Lesson 8: Carolingians

• Hands-On Activity: Create an illuminated letter.
• Questions to encourage deeper narrations:
• What areas did the Muslims (Saracens) intend to conquer?
• Describe the character of the French kinds of this period. What were they interested in? Describe the duties of the Mayor of the Palace.
• Name two famous Mayors of the Palace and tell about what made them famous.
• What was the significance of the Battle of Tours?
• What does "Martel" mean and why was this name given to Charles?
• Who interacted with the Saxons and the Lombards and what was the nature of the interaction?
• Describe Charlemagne's attitude toward learning and in what ways did he attempt to further education in France?
• Compare Charlemagne to Alexander the Great. How were they alike and how were they different?

Lesson 9: The Abbasid Dynasty

• Read The Thousand and One Arabian Nights and The Shadow Spinner by Susan Fletcher.
• Question to encourage deeper narrations: Discuss the relationship between Harun-al-Rashid and Charlemagne.

Lesson 10: Ghana

Lesson 11: Fujiwara Japan

• Read "The Tales of Gengi." 
• Explain how the Fujiwara family came into power and how the family ruled through regents. What is the Tales of Gengi? Include Fujiwara Yoshifusa and Lady Murasaki Shikibu. 
  
  

Lesson 12: Magyars and Bohemians 

Lesson 13: Anglo-Saxon Britain

• Suggestions for narrations: the conflict between the Britons and the Saxons, comparing and contrasting them, how Christianity came to the British Isles, Egbert and what kind of ruler he was, including which ways Charlemagne influenced him and about Alfred the Great. Both Alfred and Clovis are considered by historians to be Christians. How would you compare these two men? Describe the rulers of England after the time of Alfred the Great.
• If you have not already read Beowulf and the story of King Arthur, this would be a good time to read them. It is particularly fun to read Beowulf around the fireplace with the lights out to get in the mood.
• Read Shakespeare's Macbeth.

Lesson 14: The Holy Roman Empire

Lesson 15: Capetian France

• Example of a simple middle school narration:

Early Middle Ages: Capetian France (987-1328)

Capet was the nickname given to a Hugh Capet because of the short cape he wore. He was a French king and he aimed to gather the dukedoms into a united France. Louis the Fat made alliances with the church leaders against the Germans and the English. In 1152 King Louis VII's wife, Eleanor divorced him and married Henry II, the French-Norman king of England, putting Aquitaine under Norman rule. This began a conflict that lasted even after the Capetian rule fell.

Lesson 16: The Americas- Toltecs and Later Maya

Lesson 17: The Vikings

• Example of Notebook pages.Quentin's (age 10) notebook, with notes of his narrations.Quentin's (age 10) notebook, with notes of his narrations.

Lesson 18: The Normans, pt. 2, pt. 3

• Go through the story, making maps using maps (Medieval Maps) as a guide. 
• Interview your student based on this lesson plan at Thinking History: Changes and Continuity: The Impact of the Norman Conquest. Have your student read the quotes and come up with questions that the interviewer could use with each of the quotes. Then, if your student wishes, have him dress up as a peasant and hold the interview, with you asking the questions he had written and take pictures.
• Hold a historical inquiry.
• Include appropriate dates on your timeline.
• Sources and Resources for further study: Hastings (Battles) (Battles That Changed the World) by Samuel Willard Crompton, 1066: The Crown, the Comet and the Conqueror Paperback – January 1, 1996 by David Hobbs, Heritage History: William the Conqueror by Jacob Abbott, Heritage History: Days of William the Conqueror by E. M. Tappan, Thinking History: The Battle of Hastings Decisions on the Spur of the Moment?, Thinking History: The Events of 1066: Could it have ended differently?, Thinking History: Why Did William Want to Conquer England?, Battle of Hastings 1066 at History Learning Site, Battle of Hastings, Junior General.

Lesson 19: The Seljuk Turks

Lesson 20: China: The Song Dynasty

The Middle Ages

Lesson 21: The Crusades

• Questions to think about: Why was Jerusalem considered the Holy Land? Imagine traveling to the Holy Land. Write a letter home telling about what you saw and heard. Who fought in the Crusades? Why did people join the Crusades? Why didn't more peasants serve in the Crusades? Some knights brought their entire families along. Why did they do that? Discuss the positive results of the failed Crusades. What did the Abbasids, Seljuk Turks, and the Fatimids have in common? (their religion) Why might they struggle to unite to fight against the Crusaders? (rivalries for power)
• Duplicate a map of Europe and draw a routes of the pilgrims to the Holy Land. ( Damascus, Acre, Tyre, Tripoli, Hattin, Antioch, France, German Empire, Asia, Mediterranean Sea, Italian States, Rome, North Africa, Palestine, Egypt, The Balkans, Syria, Anatolia, Byzantium Empire, Byzantium, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Crusader States, Outremer, Holy Land.)
• Additional Resources: Thinking History: Getting Started with the Crusades

Lesson 22: Knighthood

 

• Learn about the feudal system.
• Other projects can be found at: Time Capsule: Medieval History.

Lesson 23: Henry of Anjou

Lesson 24: Ireland

• Read about Saint Patrick and record what you have learned in your history notebook.

Lesson 25: Shoguns and Samurai

• Describe the feudal society of Japan by defining:
• shogun
• Code of Bushido
• daimyos
• samurai
• hara-kiri
• Minamoto Yoritomo
• Zen Buddism (When the Chinese first introduced Buddhism to Japan, they rejected its harsh principals, so it was altered into Zen, which seemed gentler and kinder. It meshed well with their ancient religion, Shinto. It became the religion of the samurai.)
• Read Tales of the Heike from Tales from Japan. There was a turning point in Japanese history during the early part of the 12th century. The power of the Fujiwara faded and the Gempei civil war broke out. Two warrior clans grew in power, the aristocratic Heike and the Genji. Each clan had massive armies. Tales of the Heike is a long narrative epic that was sung and recited long before it was written down. The moral that the proud will surely be destroyed comes from the Buddhist religion. The tales glorify the samurai while the proud aristocratic family is destroyed. As you read, look for the moral and evidence of the Code of Bushido. The Code of Bushido:
• loyalty to one's lord
• denial of self
• self sacrifice and bravery
• live a simple life
• control emotions
• mental and physical discipline
• desire an honorable death
• Compare Medieval Japan and Medieval England. (islands, castles, military overlords, religions introduced, minstrels, feudal system. Compare the levels of the Feudal systems of both countries.
• Compare and contrast a samurai to a knight, using Tales from Japan and King Arthur. including the characteristics of each.

Lesson 26: European Trade

Lesson 27: Venice

Lesson 28: Charter and Parliament

Lesson 29: Mali and Ethiopia

Lesson 30: Benin and Zimbabwe

Lesson 31: Religion in the Middle Ages 

• Make a monk's costume.
• Make a stained glass project. 
• Other projects can be found at: Time Capsule: Medieval History.

Lesson 32: The Mongol Empire

Lesson 33: Aztecs and Incas

Lesson 34: Medieval Explorers

Lesson 35: The Hundred Years' War

Lesson 36: The Black Death

Lesson 37: China: The Ming Dynasty

Quentin (age 11) decided to make a timeline that shows what was happening in the West on the left and the Chinese Dynasties listed on the right, with the approximate dates in the middle.

Lesson 38: Constantinople

Lesson 39: The Khmer Empire

History in Action: The Minor Crusades

The Fifth, 1221

In order to finance the Fifth Crusade, a tax was imposed. The plan for this crusade was to enter Jerusalem by way of the sea and then go on to Egypt because Frederick II was headed there. They planned to meet there, gather forces and go back to fight the Muslims, who had just let them pass through Jerusalem. Frederick never showed up, but the Muslims knew that the Crusaders were camping on a flood plain and so opened the floodgate and the crusaders were washed away.

The Sixth, 1228

Well, it turns out that Frederick II had become friends with the Muslims, and decided to team up with them instead of the Christians.  The leader of the Muslims was at this time Al-Kamul. He and Frederick decided to share Jerusalem and let the Christians visit as long as the Muslims were also allowed to worship there. The Pope was not happy about Frederick's behavior in this matter and so excommunicated him and didn't allow Christians to pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

The Seventh, 1254

Next the Turkish Muslims attack the remaining Christians in Jerusalem. Louis IX of France decided to take matters in his own hands and led a crusade. Despite his good intentions, his army had to retreat to regroup. It didn't help that his army suffered from dysentery.

The Eighth, 1291

King Louis of France decided that he needed to team up with the Mongols against the Muslims. The Muslims, however, had meanwhile began abducting Russian slaves and training these youths to be ruthless warriors called Mamelukes. The Muslims and the Mamelukes devastated the Christians, therefore taking control of Jerusalem.

History in Action: The Fourth Crusade

The Fourth Crusade is perhaps the most misunderstood of all the crusades and is frequently used to discredit both the Crusades in specific and the Church in general. The goal of this crusade was, like most of the crusades, to win back the holy city of Jerusalem. 

Let's review what we have learned so far. Jerusalem was conquered by Islamic armies in the 7th century. It was regained for Christendom by the First Crusade in 1099. In 1187, during the Second Crusade, Jerusalem fell to the Muslim Saladin.  The Third Crusade (1189-92) was another recovery attempt, but ended in a stalemate. 

The strategy of Fourth Crusade was to strike at Egypt, the base of Muslim power. It was conceived in 1199 at a jousting tournament in northern France where knights and barons swore solemn oaths to go as armed pilgrims to gain the land back from the Muslims. Rather than wear out their army by a long land march through hostile territory, the leaders decided to reach Egypt by sea. 

A delegation of knights went to Venice, the leading seafaring city of Western Europe, to arrange for passage. Venice agreed that they would provide transport ships, crews and a year’s provisions for a total of 33,500 men and 4,500 horses, in return for a half-share of all conquests. 

During the late spring of 1202, the crusaders began to gather at Venice. By the intended departure date their host totaled some 10,000 men, far short of the 33,500 planned for, and too few to provide the agreed upon charter fee. The Venetians had suspended their regular commerce to build and equip an immense fleet. Now they demanded that the crusaders hold up their end of the deal: 84,000 marks, or no crusade. The Fourth Crusade seemed on the point of collapse. Then the Venetians made the offer would suspend the unpaid balance of the transport charge in return for assistance in conquering the city of Zara, a Hungarian-owned port on the Adriatic coast. The crusaders were split on this matter, some feeling that it was an unholy act of war against fellow Christians, but others saw no choice if the crusade was to go forward. Although many knights deserted, in the end, most were persuaded to proceed. On November 10, the fleet reached Zara, which surrendered after a 14-day siege. Pope Innocent III excommunicated the Venetians and threatened to excommunicate the entire crusade. The crusaders set up winter quarters at Zara, as it was too late in the season to go on. There, the leaders met with Prince Alexius, who was the teen-aged son of the deposed Byzantine Emperor Isaac II escaped from captivity in Constantinople. The relations between Byzantines and Western Christians had deteriorated steadily through the century of the crusades, over which they were often at odds. From a Western viewpoint, an emperor who owed his throne to crusaders might be more cooperative. And so, the new plan was that the crusaders would stop at Constantinople on their way to Egypt, overthrow the usurper and put the young Alexius on the imperial throne. In return for the crusaders’ aid, he promised to pay off their debt to the Venetians and lead a Byzantine army in the proposed assault on Egypt. 

In the spring of 1203, the crusade set out from Zara to the city of Constantinople (today’s Istanbul, Turkey). Constantinople withstood two epic sieges by the Muslim Arabs, from 673 to 678 and in 717, and other sieges by Avars, Bulgars and Russian Vikings so they were prepared for a seige both in terms of fortifications an in terms of the strong Byzantine army. However, the crusaders attacked both my land and sea, the Venetians against the harbor wall and the French against the north end of the land wall. The Venetians, once they were successful in their assault from floating siege towers, advanced to the shores set fire to the buildings, and driven by the wind, the fire then burned much of the city. The French attack on the land wall did not go as well. Word of the French peril reached the Venetians and so their soliders were redeploy in support of their allies. Constantnople, as a compromise, agreed to let young Alexius be crowned beside his father as Emperor. The crusaders agreed. It was, by this time, too late in the season to go on, but the crusaders looked forward to receiving supplies and Byzantine reinforcements. Come spring they could sail on to Egypt and retake the Holy Land.

Young Alexius, however, could not keep the grand promises he had made, as the imperial treasury was empty. The relationship between the Byzantines and the crusaders grew steadily worse. The throne was taken over by noble adviser, who kicked out the intruders and took steps to defend the city. He also took offensive measures, launched a fireship attack against the Venetian fleet.

The crusaders resolved to conquer the city and take the entire Byzantine Empire for themselves. The French were persuaded to join them in another amphibious attempt. After several hours and no success, the crusaders were forced back, and the fleet retired. 

They regrouped and attacked again. This time Constantinople suffered a thorough and ruthless sack. While the French knights and men-at-arms went on a drunken rampage, the Venetians set to work like seasoned professional thieves, scooping up the best of the fallen city’s treasures. 

Sources and Resources:

• History.net
• Wikipedia

History in Action: The Children's Crusade

The Children's Crusade was two groups of youths, one led by Nicholas of Rhineland and began in Germany. The other was led by Stephen of Cloyes and began in France. It was never endorsed by the church and was an unsuccessful campaign and most of the children were sold in slavery. 

Medieval History in Action: The Third Crusade

A new call for another crusade went out from Pope Gregory VIII. 

Richard I, the Lionheart, lead an English army , but he failed to drive the Arabs from Jerusalem.

The Pope then ordered another crusade and Richard was joined

with King Philip II of France and...

Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of Germany. 

This is known as the Third Crusade, which lasted from 1190-1192.

King Frederick was drowned in his march across Europe and so only a small part of the Germany army continued into the Middle East.

Travelling by boat, King Richard and King Philip sailed into the port of Acre, which was controlled by the Muslims. They wanted to capture it because it would allow them to easily land their ships and move on to Jerusalem.

Although they won, Philip's army was exhausted by the battle, and left for France. Richard, left by himself, made an agreement with Saladin to let the 2000 Muslim soldiers they had captured go in exchange for a ransom. There was a breakdown, however, in the process of payment and Richard ordered their execution.

Both sides fought again in the Battle of Arsur in September 1191, and then marched toward Jerusalem in June 1192, 

...but Richard the Lionheart had a fever and appealed to Saladin to send him fresh water...

and fruit. Saladin even sent Richard a new horse. 

Richard and Saladin formed a truce in which the pilgrims from the west could be allowed to visit Jerusalem without being troubled by the Muslims.

sources and resources:

• Angelfire
• Kingfisher History Encyclopedia
• History Odessey, Level II, Medieval History
• History Portfolio, Medieval History

Medieval History in Action: The Second Crusade

(Previous post: The First Crusade)

In 1144 a combined Arab and Turkish army did rise up and attack and capture the city of Edessa.

The Pope reacted by ordering France to preach a second crusade to take Edessa back and return its control to the Christians.

The young king of France, Louis VII, agreed to go, along with queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. So did the Holy Roman Emperor of Germany.

But this second crusade was a failure.  The kings and queens went home defeated. Despite this defeat,however, the Crusaders still retained control of many cities in the Middle east and Jerusalem.

In the 1187 the Arabs new and strong leader, Saladin, wiped out the crusaders main army at the Battle of Hattin. Soon the crusaders had almost been pushed into the sea.

sources and resources:

• Angelfire
• History Odessey, Level II, Medieval History

Medieval History in Action: The First Crusade

For our study of the Crusades, we decided to research each one of the Crusades. The boys went on Angelfire to get their information and they answered the questions there in their notebooks, along with completing a map. The First Crusaders had a very difficult journey getting to the Middle East.

Quentin used each figure to represent 10, 000 soldiers.

There were about 30, 000 foot soldiers and 10, 000 knights on horseback. They could not use boats to get to the Middle East because they did not control the ports on the coast of the Middle East.

They traveled from France through Italy, then Eastern Europe and then through what is now Turkey. They traveled hundreds of miles through scorching heat and deep snow in the mountain passes.

The first fortress they attacked was in the city of Nicea, which was taken by the Crusadesr without too much trouble. 

The next target was Antioch, a strongly protected Turkish city. It took seven months before the city fell. 

The next target was Jerusalem. The attack and capture of Jerusalem was at first not successful, but once logs arrived, they were able to build siege engines and took control of the city.

They held this city for the next 87 years.

(Next post: The Second Crusade)

sources and resources:

• Angelfire
• History Odessey, Level II, Medieval History