Jan. 5, 2008
We took a break for Christmas, but I kept them busy!
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We took a break from our "Rome to Reformation" study so that we could prepare for the Christmas holidays, but that didn't stop me from giving them learning assignments. I know some of you must be thinking what a task master I am. If you only knew....I knew! They needed something to keep them busy, because without it they would have been bored out of their minds. So, I took some of the books we had checked out from the library and put together a little mini study for them on the Middle Ages. It had reading assignments, projects to make, worksheets to fill out, etc. I didn't expect them to do all of it...well maybe at first I did, but I found that the projects took longer than I thought they would, and wouldn't you know those were the very things they wanted to do. I was hoping to get in a little math as well, but that didn't happen. My goal with all of this was to get them to work on their own without my help so that I could accomplish some things that needed to be done. I ended up helping on several projects because they needed some help getting started, but that was ok...it was fun! I thought I would share a few of the things that I had them do so you could see how busy I intended them to be. Middle Ages Study
Activities:Books to read or use for research: Kids in the Middle Ages The Time Trekkers Visit the Middle Ages Knights and Castles (Magic Tree House Research Guide) Magic in the Margins Knights in Shining Armor I Wonder Why Castles had Moats If You Lived in the Days of the Knights 1. Read Magic in the Margins. Write a paragraph that summarizes this story. I will read your paragraph and help you correct spelling or grammar errors. Then you will make a notebook page using the illuminated letter you will be making in assignment #2. You will copy your corrected paragraph in your best handwriting (you may choose cursive or print...just make it neat), using the illuminated letter to begin the paragraph. Decorate your page to make it look great 2. Make an illuminated letter. This letter will be used as the first letter of your paragraph for activity #1, so you must write a rough draft of your paragraph before you do this activity. You can look at page 23 of The Middle Ages to learn how to make an illuminated letter. Follow the instructions, but be creative with your letter and make your own design. 3. After reading The Time Trekkers Visit the Middle Ages do the lapbook activity on the Bubonic Plague. You will also find information you will need in the book Kids in the Middle Ages. Use the Table of Contents in the front of the book to find the information on the Bubonic Plague (Black Death). 4. Make mini books, cards and envelopes, or lapbook folds - write these questions and answer on them. Illustrations would make these look very nice. 1. How did people in the Middle Ages travel? 2. Who competes in a joust and what do they wear? 3. How long did it take to build a Cathedral? 4. Why did they place stone gargoyles at the top of Cathedral towers? 5. Who had to donate money to the church and for what purpose was it used? 6. Why were the Cathedrals made so tall? 5. Make a money pouch – follow the instructions on page 28 of The Middle Ages to make a felt money pouch .....or...... 6. Make juggling balls – follow the instructions on page 20 of The Middle Ages to make juggling balls. (You may choose to do either #5 or #6, or you may do both projects if there is time.) 7. Make a stained glass window to put in your notebook. Look at the example on page 24 in The Middle Ages to get ideas for your project, but follow the instructions below for making your window. Do not copy the window in the book. Make your own design. Supplies: tracing paper, black Sharpie marker, pencil, crayons or markers (if using markers you should be able to see some light coming through the colors when holding it up to the light.) Make the window small enough to fit in a sheet protector (8-1/2” x 11” - measure with a ruler or use a sheet of card stock as a template). It can have a pointed or curved top, but not a flat top since most windows in cathedrals are not flat on top. Draw the window in pencil, then trace over it with the Sharpie marker. Color the window panes with markers or crayons. Place in a sheet protector in your notebook. 8. Christmas in a Castle crossword puzzle - work the puzzle and put it in your notebook. You will find the information you need to work this puzzle on page 66 of If You Lived in the Days of the Knights. 9. Castle Jobs – Match the correct answers to the definitions by writing the letter in the blank. Not all answers will be used. You will find the information you need to work this puzzle on page 40 of If You Lived in the Days of the Knights. Book Basket – Read something from the book basket each day. If you have to read a book to do one of the above assignments that will count for Book Basket for that day, but you must read the entire book for it to count. If you only read one page of a book to do an assignment you must read all of that book or choose another book and read the entire book to count it for book basket.. In all of your assignments you should be careful to spell correctly (ask for help if you need it). Most of the information you will copy from the books so you should check your work carefully to be sure you spelled correctly. ALWAYS use your neatest writing. I'm not giving you a lot to do each day so I expect you to do your very best work and take your time doing these assignments. You do not have to do them in order (except #1 must be done before #2 can be completed). If anyone is interested in the PDF file for this mini study (which includes the worksheets I made) I can updload it to the blog. I hand drew the crossword puzzle because my printer is currently out of ink so I couldn't print them. I can load it to the blog too, but it isn't a pretty site! I used a few images from the web as watermarks on some of the pages in this document, so I'll remove them before uploading the file just in case they were copyright protected. Of course, the kids didn't finish all of these assignments because we unexpectedly went out of town for a week. When we came back there were so many other things that needed tending to that I didn't push any school work. By today (Friday) they were saying they would be glad to get back to school on Monday. YEA!!!! That means they really do like school and learning! That's just about the best Christmas gift I could have gotten. Blessings, Missy |
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Jan. 5, 2008 - Untitled Comment
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