Jill Found
Technology Integration Lesson Plan and Artifact (artifact is chart on pgs. 6-7)
11/19/13
Color Key:
Learning Activity Type
Technologies Used
Plan B
Context: This lesson will be taught in the spring semester to two classes of 9th grade World
History 1 students. As I do not yet know these specific students yet and their various abilities, I
am uncertain as to how well this lesson will fit their abilities. If need be I can change parts of it
for the specific groups of students. This lesson would be part of a unit on the Middle Ages, likely
near to the front of it as they would not need a great deal of background knowledge to complete
it and it would give them a good underpinning of the social system as they learned about the
events of the period. In fact, it might be a good lesson to start off the unit with, as the narrative
would give students an anchor to consider when thinking about the events and people in the
Middle Ages.
Objectives:
Students will understand the structure of feudal society. (WHI.9.b)
Students will gather information from secondary sources to understand life in and the structure of
feudal society. (WHI.1.a)
Students will write narratively about the past.
Materials:
1. Printouts of Feudalism in the Middle Ages reading, one for each student (pgs. 4 and 5)
2. Print out of chart, one for each student (pg. 7)
3. Print out one copy of chart answer key (pg. 6)
3. laptop cart
4. laptop connected to projector
5. document camera connected to projector
Preparation:
1. Arrange for laptop cart
2. Print reading and chart [Plan b - Do this well in advance so there is no reason not to have
the printouts, but if there is some major issue, have the students read the reading on the
computers and draw the chart on the board for them to copy down]
3. Post virtual tour to EdLine
4. cue Monty Python video
Lesson:
Hook (6 minutes):
1. Tell student shat they are going to watch a humorous take on the Middle Ages
2. View Images: Project Monty Python video using laptop and projector for students to
watch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xd_zkMEgkI [Plan b – Discuss: If the
video/laptop/projector are not working, ask students what they know about the
Middle Ages. Suggest films or books they may have read they may have seen that
depict this time: Sword in the Stone, Robin Hood, anything King Arthur, etc. and
what they say about how people were divided into different groups. Use this to move
into the reading and chart]
3. Explain to the students that today they are going to explore the system that is being made
fun of in the video: feudalism.
Gathering information (35 minutes):
1. Distribute Feudalism in the Middle Ages reading and blank chart. (pgs. 3-4 and 6) (1
minute)
2. Tell students that they are to read the handout and fill in a chart using the bolded terms in
the reading. They can work with their desk partners to complete the chart. (2 minutes)
3. Read Text: Students read handout. Circulate to answer questions. (12 minutes)
4. Complete Charts/Tables: Students fill out chart with their partner. Circulate to answer
questions. (10 minutes)
5. Go over the chart together as a class. (10 minutes)
a. Ask students to volunteer to share their charts. Have them explain their answers
from their seats. If no one volunteers, call on a student who you saw was doing
well while circulating.
b. Put my chart on the document camera and go over it (pg 5). [Plan b - If the
document camera or projector do not work, simply go over the chart orally
or draw it on the board]
c. Ask for questions about the organization of the chart.
Creating a narrative (45 minutes):
1. Explain to student that they will now use their charts and a virtual manor tour on
laptops to help them write stories. To write these stories they must choose one person on
the chart (lesser noble, knight, serf, etc) and write about a day in their life. The story must
talk about how that person interacts with the other individuals on the chart on a daily
basis. The story must be at least half a page, typed. (3 minutes)
2. Have students get laptops from laptop carts using their assigned numbers. It is easiest to
do this if you first call the evens or odds and then call the other group when they have sat
back down. (7 minutes) [Plan b for laptops – If laptops are unavailable, try to
arrange a computer lab or time in the media center. If individual students cannot
access laptops due to password issue or something having to do with their logins,
have them work with their desk partner and handwrite their assignment.]
3. Explain to students how to access the virtual tour, which will be posted on edline under
assignments. Give them a few minutes to get their computers turned on and to the
website.
ftp://ftp.heritageacademies.com/ET/CurriculumCenter/NHAHistoryInteractive/Feudalism
/manorvirtualtour.html (5 mintutes) [Plan b - If the website is not working for some
reason, have the students watch this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV7CanyzhZg, especially 1:32-3:03 to
understand the feudal system for individuals]
4. Have students choose a person they would like to take the perspective of and type that on
the top of their papers. (3 minutes)
5. Explain to students that they should explore the virtual manor as the person they will be
writing about and come up with ideas and notes about the daily life of their character. (2
minutes)
6. Experience a Field Trip (virtual): Give students time to independently explore virtual
manor. Circulate to make sure students are staying on task and to answer questions. (15
minutes)
7. Generate a Narrative: Have students start writing narrative if they have completed
exploring the virtual manor. (10 minutes)
Assessment:
For homework, students will complete the narrative and turn it in the next day. It must be half a
page and written using appropriate language and grammar. It should discuss the daily life of their
person they have chosen as well as show an understanding of how that person fit into the
hierarchy of feudalism.
Differentiation and Adaptations: This lesson features many different forms of learning
activities, including video, reading, chart making, interactive media, and narrative writing. It also
has students working alone, in pairs, and as a whole class. These differences will allow students
for many different points of access into the learning process, hopefully offering at least one
method of learning that appeals to every student. I obviously do not know the specific IEPs or
504s of the students I will be working with or any student’s individual learning needs, but many
of the aspects of this lesson could be altered to accommodate students’ needs. The video has
subtitles, which can benefit those who have trouble hearing or speak English as a second
language. Though the reading is long I have designated time for both reading and completing the
chart, but students could take more time working on one or the other. The virtual manor tour
allows students to explore at their own pace, but they could work with a partner if they have
issues with reading the text (as it is rather small). For students who complete this work quickly,
they can have more time at the end to work on their narratives.
Feudalism in the Middle Ages Reading – Annalou Mack
After the death of Charlemagne in 814, his European empire collapsed and civil war erupted.
The Treaty of Verdun in 843 divided the empire into three parts similar to the political
boundaries of modern Europe. With the dissolution of the Frankish empire, civilization in the
West reverted into the Dark Ages. There was no centralized government and the political system
known as feudalism emerged as a stop-gap measure which lasted for several hundred years…
The feudal system that evolved was a blend of Germanic and Roman customs. It was
characterized by several features, including: the division of governmental functions into many
local authorities; a special form of landholding; a distinctive system of relationships; a military
system; and different judicial agencies.
The basic tenet of the feudal system was the relationship between the “lord” and the “vassal.”
The vassal, a recipient of a fief, took an oath of fealty, an act of homage to the lord (the owner of
the land). The wording of the oath was something like, “I become your man, to keep faith with
you against all others.” This was done at a very solemn ceremony and at the end, the lord
invested the vassal with jurisdiction, not ownership, over a fief, a unit of land, large enough to
support the vassal and his serfs. This contract was a sacred, binding obligation upon both parties.
The lord was obliged to protect the vassal, ensure him justice at feudal courts, to not build a
castle on the vassal’s land without his consent and to not abuse the vassal’s wife or children. The
vassal’s obligations were more complex. Primarily the vassal was to give at least forty days of
military service to the lord each year. The lord could demand money when the lord’s eldest son
became a knight, money for the dowry when the eldest daughter was getting married, money for
ransom if the lord was captured and relief money or an inheritance tax on the death of the lord or
the vassal. The vassal was also expected to provide hospitality to the lord and his servants when
they passed through the vassal’s territory. The fief could revert back to the lord in cases where
the vassal died without a legitimate heir or if the feudal obligations were not fulfilled.
The feudal system consisted of a vast hierarchy. The king was at the top, under him were the
higher nobles (dukes, counts and earls), the lesser nobles, (viscounts and barons) then came the
knights. The peasants, the majority of the people, were at the lower end of the scale. The
peasants lived on the land, which included the Manor House, a church, a mill, a village, and
cultivated the land for the lord. The peasants or serfs were attached to the land so were bound to
whoever the fief belonged. They were expected to work at least 3 days a week on the lord’s land
and to also make payments to the lord. Often those were made in kind, such as eggs, produce,
etc. While they were not slaves, the serfs were not far from it.
Other classes of people in the feudal system were the villein, the freeman and the slave. In
England the villein was the same as the serf but in other parts of Europe he was a freeman. The
freemen, who lived in the village with the serfs, had personal freedom and paid cash rent for the
land they worked. The slaves, representing a very small proportion of the population, could be
bought and sold at any time by the lord. They had no personal freedoms and were not allowed to
appear in court. This class gradually rose up the rung to serfdom by the later Middle Ages.
Another complicating factor in the feudal system was the Church. Some of the devout nobles
gave their land to the Church. As the Church held tenure over more and more land the difficulty
arose as to whether the loyalties of the church officials belonged to the feudal lord or to the Pope.
As the Church grew wealthy, being the largest landowner in medieval Europe, it became more
powerful which led to many abuses. The stronger the Church became the weaker the faith of the
common people.
Feudalism survived for several centuries until the beginning of the Renaissance which was a
transitional period between the Middle Ages and Modern times. With the rise of nations, the
castle and the manor gave way and a money economy was introduced. Towns began to flourish
and trade and industry grew. If we look closely we can still find customs in our modern society
whose roots are in the Feudalism of the Middle Ages.
http://www.humanities360.com/index.php/feudalism-in-the-middle-ages-50017/
Chart answer key
Kings
Higher nobles
Lesser nobles
Knights
Freedmen
Slaves
Villeins
Serfs
Complete the chart below using the terms in bold in the Feudalism in the Middle Ages reading.