Title of Book:
Author:
Publisher/Date:
ISBN:
Catherine Called Birdy
Karen Cushman
Sandpiper/1994
0395681863
Brief Summary: The teenage daughter of an English country knight keeps a journal
where she records the events of her daily life. She longs to make a path for herself in a
world that doesn’t offer many choices to women and uses her quick mind to fight off a
bevy of unsuitable suitors.
Grade Level for recommended use: 6th - 8th
TEKS (7th grade): (b) Knowledge and skills.
(1) Mathematical process standards. The student uses mathematical processes to acquire
and demonstrate mathematical understanding. The student is expected to:
(A) apply mathematics to problems arising in everyday life, society, and the
workplace
(B) use a problem-solving model that incorporates analyzing given information,
formulating a plan or strategy, determining a solution, justifying the solution, and
evaluating the problem-solving process and the reasonableness of the solution;
Materials needed:





Cards for student groups to draw their job (with monthly earnings)
Scratch paper
List of goods
Half sheet “Monetary values”
Budget sheet
Suggested Activity:
1. Place students into groups of about three or four.
2. Discuss budgeting (What is a budget? Why is it important? What types of things
do modern families need to survive?)
3. Discuss where people earn money (jobs, selling things, etc).
4. Give students half sheet and tell them that they will budget as if they were a
person in the Middle Ages.
5. Discuss what sorts of things a person from the Middle Ages might need to
survive.
6. Review the monetary values and conversions.
7. Place the types of money in order from most to least valuable.
8. Solve the problems on the half sheet with the students.
[Adapted by RaMina Mirmortazavi]
9. Give students a list of goods and services they must purchase for one month for
their family (members of their group).
10. Give students time to figure out their budget and fill out the budget sheet.
11. Make sure the groups do not go over budget.
12. At the end, have each group share out what they accomplished with their budget.
13. Discuss how earning more means more money for fun, but a proper budget can
ensure plenty of money is left over no matter how much you make.
Resources:
http://thereitsmas.wordpress.com/lesson-plans/medieval-money/
Adapted by RaMina Mirortazavi, 2012
[Adapted by RaMina Mirmortazavi]
Monetary Values
 1 pound (L) = 20 shillings (s)
 1 crown (c) = 5 shillings
 1 shilling = 12 pence (p) or denarius (d)
_________________ > ________________ > _______________ > _________________
1. How many crowns in a pound? __________________________
2. How many pence in a crown? _________________________
3. How many pence in a pound? __________________________
Monetary Values
 1 pound (L) = 20 shillings (s)
 1 crown (c) = 5 shillings
 1 shilling = 12 pence (p) or denarius (d)
_________________ > ________________ > _______________ > _________________
1. How many crowns in a pound? __________________________
2. How many pence in a crown? _________________________
3. How many pence in a pound? __________________________
[Adapted by RaMina Mirmortazavi]
Monthly Budget: 12 pounds
Item Name
+
[Adapted by RaMina Mirmortazavi]
-
Total
Items to buy
Directions: Make sure you buy enough clothes, food, and other supplies for
your whole family (group) for the month, and don’t forget to rent a dwelling.
Any money you have left over should go into your savings to help answer the
last page.
Clothing
40 shillings per person
Food
Dried fruit (ex: raisins, dates, prunes, figs): 3d/lb
Spices (ex: cinnamon, cloves, mace, sugar): 2d/lb
Pepper: 4s/lb
Salt: 4s/lb
Cow: 10s
Sheep: 1s 5d
Pig: 3s
2 chickens: 1d
2 dozen eggs: 1d
Goose: 6d
Oats: 2s
Rent (per year)
London Bridge neighborhood: L60 4s
Country cottage: 5s
Craftsman cottage in a small village: 20s
Merchant’s house in the city: L2
Tools
2 yokes: 4s
1 spade and shovel: 3d
1 axe: 5d
1 augur: 3d
1 vise: 13s 4d
1 anvil: 20 shillings
1 set of bellows: 30s
1 hammer: 8d
[Adapted by RaMina Mirmortazavi]
2 chisels: 8d
1 complete set of tools: L13 16s
1 spinning wheel: 10d
Horses
War Horse: L80
Riding Horse: L10
Draught Horse (work horse): 10s
Wrap up
1. With the monthly budget you decided on, how long
would you need to save to buy a warhorse? A riding
horse?
2. How long would you need to save to buy a full set of
armorer’s tools?
3. What percentage of your budget did you spend on
food? Clothes? Rent? Other items?
4. Is there a way for you to afford to live near London
Bridge? What types of sacrifices would you need to
make?
[Adapted by RaMina Mirmortazavi]
Item Name
+
[Adapted by RaMina Mirmortazavi]
-
Total