Unit Overview
UNIT TITLE:
Medieval Times
ALDRIDGE SHS
Modified Science
YR LEVEL: 8
DURATION: Term 1, 2014.
DEEP UNDERSTANDING:
Students will investigate life in Medieval Times. Topics will include structure of medieval
society, including the roles and relationships of different groups in society, villages and towns,
family life, castles, knights, religion, crime and punishment, education and entertainment.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
What was life like in the Middle Ages?
DIMENSION 1. Attitudes and perceptions
Classroom Climate
Acceptance by teacher/s & peers
Establish a relationship with each student in the class.
Recognise and provide for students’ individual differences.
Provide opportunities for students to get to know and accept each other.
Comfort & order
Establish and communicate rules and procedures.
Classroom Tasks
Value and interest
Use a variety of activities to engage students in classroom learning.
Ability & resources
Teach students to use positive self-talk.
Clarity
Help students be clear about the directions and demands of the task
Which DIMENSION 5 Habits of Mind (max. 3) will learners need to use throughout this unit?
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Persisting
Clarity & precision
Managing impulsivity
Data through sense
Understanding/empathy
Creating, imagining, innovating
Thinking flexibly
Wonderment & awe
Meta cognition
Responsible risk taking
Striving for accuracy
Past knowledge, new situations
Finding humour
Independent thinking
Question/pose problems
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Continuous learning
Unit Overview
ALDRIDGE SHS
Habit of Mind
Contextualised statement (how will this HoM be used in this unit?)
Persisting
Persevering with tasks to completion
Managing impulsivity
Take your time! Thinking before acting: remaining calm, thoughtful
and deliberative
Which DIMENSION 4 Complex Reasoning Process/es will learners USE MEANINGFULLY to
demonstrate knowledge and complete the tasks in this unit? Only include relevant activities.
Decision Making
Problem Solving
Invention
Experimental Inquiry
Investigation
Systems Analysis
Historical - Students will investigate life in the Medieval Times.
Unit Overview
ALDRIDGE SHS
Which DIMENSION 3 Complex Reasoning Process/es will learners use to EXTEND AND REFINE
THIS KNOWLEDGE?
Only include relevant activities
Comparing
Students will compare Medieval times to present times.
Classifying
Inductive Reasoning
Constructing support
Analysing perspectives
Analysing Errors
Deductive Reasoning
Abstracting
ASSESSMENT - How will I capture and record the knowledge, processes and skills that need to be taught and
learnt in the context of the DEEP UNDERSTANDING, ESSENTIAL QUESTION and FOCUS QUESTIONS of this unit?
Summative Instruments /
Items
Formative assessment
/Feedback to scaffold task
Other assessment tools and
instruments
ITEM 1
A detailed account of an
average day in the life of a
villein to inform the reader of
what a peasant’s life was like.
Participation in class
discussions
Completion of short tasks
Short answer tests
ITEM 2
Make a fact sheet about a chosen
topic
Eg castles, knights, women or a
famous person
FOCUS QUESTIONS (DIM 2) unpack the DEEP UNDERSTANDING and expand on the ESSENTIAL QUESTION,
highlighting key knowledge and understanding that will drive teaching and learning in the unit
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When was the Medieval Era?
What was the structure of medieval society?
What is feudalism?
What were castles built from, why and where were they built?
What was a knight’s life like in the medieval ages?
What was life like for villages and towns in the medieval ages?
What was life like for women in the Middle Ages?
What punishment was used for crimes committed?
What was the education and medicine like in the medieval ages?
What was life like for the villeins and their families?
How powerful was the church?
Unit Overview
ALDRIDGE SHS
KNOWLEDGE FOCUS – Dims 2, 3 & 4 (state specific knowledge in relation to content and process)
(including Literacy)
Declarative knowledge
Procedural knowledge
(what facts and information do students need to
know to be successful in the unit?)
(what skills and processes do students need to be able to
use to be successful in the unit?)
Knowledge and understanding of social and
environmental concepts and facts.
Communication of Social and Environmental
Ideas.
Taking notes
Write sentences from notes
Writing facts
Identifying the origin and purpose of primary
and secondary sources
Writing paragraphs
Identifying and locating sources, using ICTs and
other methods
Reading a timeline
Sequencing historical events, developments and
periods
Using a range of communication forms (oral,
graphic, written) and digital technologies
Using historical terms and concepts
Completing mind maps and other graphic
organisers
Developing texts, particularly descriptions and
explanations that use evidence from a range of
sources
Specific Student Needs and Adjustments
Specific student
Needs, adjustments and considerations
Learning difficulties (LD)
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Summaries of lessons in note form
Intellectual Disability (ID)
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Highlighting information on sheets
Speech Language
Impairment (SLI)
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Information broken down into smaller parts
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Teacher Aide assistance
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Visual support where possible to assist with learning
Autistic Spectrum
Disorder (ASD)
Unit Overview
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ALDRIDGE SHS
Model written responses with students identifying the
patterns of change over time.
Unit timetable – (weekly overview – brief detail only – use to determine time frame etc.)
Resources
“Discovering the Medieval World” by Guest, Eshuys & Phelan, 1993.
Clickview
Selection of library books
Internet
Year8/9 SOSE Text
Unit Overview
ALDRIDGE SHS
SEQUENCED LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Week
1
Topic
The Middle Ages
What are the important features of this
period (650 -1750 CE)?
2
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The decline of the Roman Empire
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Timeline of Middle Ages or the
Medieval Period – feudal system
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Structure of Medieval Society, the
workers, the townspeople, feudalism
Focus Concepts and Skills
Chronology and reading a
timeline.
Sequencing historical events.
Identifying and using historical
terms and concepts.
Feudalism
Organising information
What is feudalism and how was
feudal/medieval society structured?
Taking notes
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Structure of Medieval Society, the
workers and feudalism
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Life in the villages
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Glossary
Writing paragraphs- a topic
sentence, body sentences, a
concluding (clincher) sentence
Understanding and using
historical terms and concepts
Understanding feudalism as a key
feature of medieval life.
3
Life in the Towns
Using ICTs to locate information
How did towns and trade routes develop
during this period and what was their
significance?
Understanding that continuity
and change can be seen by
comparing and contrasting the
differences and similarities in
particular areas of society during
the Middle Ages.
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Life in the towns
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Trade routes and towns
4
The Church
What did the church bring to the daily lives of
the people?
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Monks, nuns and monasteries/
nunneries
Identifying and describing points
of view, attitudes and values in
primary and secondary sources.
The power of the church
Unit Overview
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5
6
The abbey
Villages and Family Life
Locating relevant sources.
What role did the family play in Medieval
society?
Viewing images showing life in
Medieval Times.
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Life in the village
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Farming, workers
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The role of women
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Clothing, marriage
Education and the Role of Women
How did education in the Middle Ages cause
growth and development in society?
7
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Women, noblewomen, peasant,
women of God
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Education
Crime and Punishment
How was Law and Order maintained during
the Middle Ages?
8
ALDRIDGE SHS
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Crimes
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Punishment
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Courts and torture
Castles
How were castles important in protecting and
controlling the people in the Middle Ages?
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Who lived in castles?
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Where were they built?
Using evidence from images to
respond to questions.
Completing mind maps and other
graphic organisers
Understanding that there was a
good deal of unrest during this
period.
Recognising the role of women
and how it has changed over time
Recognising how the standard of
education changed
Understanding how law and order
was maintained during the middle
ages
Reading for information about
harsh penalties and torture
Understanding that there was still
a functioning justice system
Understanding the significance of
the manor system in feudal
life
Castles were important in
protecting and controlling the
people in the middle ages.
Unit Overview
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9
How were they built?
Knights
In what ways did the knights become the
protectors of the people and property in
Medieval Society?
10
ALDRIDGE SHS
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Becoming a knight
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Armour and tournaments
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Coats of Arms
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The crusades
Complete the assignment
“The Daily life of a Villein.”
Understanding the concepts of
continuity and change in History
The knights became the
protectors of people and property
in the middle ages
Becoming a knight
Reflect on life in the Middle Ages
and draw conclusions
about medieval life from visual
sources
Develop texts, particularly
descriptions and explanations
that use evidence from a range of
sources
Notes
Historical Skills
Analysis and use of sources
• Draw conclusions about the usefulness of sources (ACHHS154)
• Identify the origin and purpose of primary and secondary sources (ACHHS152)
• Locate, compare, select and use information from a range of sources as evidence
(ACHHS153)
Chronology, terms and concepts
• Sequence historical events, developments and periods
Use historical terms and concepts (ACHHS149)
Explanation and communication
• Develop texts, particularly descriptions and explanations that use evidence from a
range of sources that are acknowledged (ACHHS156)
• Use a range of communication forms (oral, graphic, written) and digital technologies
(ACHHS157)
Perspectives and interpretations
• Identify and describe points
Identify and describe points of view, attitudes and values in primary and secondary
sources (ACHHS155)
Reflect on life in the Middle Ages and draw conclusions
about medieval life from visual sources