Name:_____________
Medieval Europe
Literature Unit:
Reading/Writing/Connecting
March 8th-18th, 2011
**Throughout this unit, you will be completing various activities. Keep these all together so
that you can turn everything in at the end! No excuses for lost work!
PART I
Directions: You will be assigned a #1 or #2. Read your assigned selection, and follow the individual
response activities that correlate. Both selections require you to use the summary writing task.
You are a #_______
DAY 1
If you are a #1: “What Is a Knight?”
Pre-write: On a sheet of paper, in ink, write for a few minutes about knights you have seen in movies
and read about in books. What do they look like? How do they behave?
Background: “What Is a Knight” describes the characteristics of knights and the code of honor by which
they lived in medieval Europe.
 Feudalism- political system that created alliances, or bonds, between monarchs and nobles.
 Monarchs- kings and queens-gave nobles land in exchange for loyalty and military aid.
 Landholding nobles needed military groups to defend their lands. Nobles relied on knights and
armies of peasants to defend their lands and fight for the royal army of the monarch
READ: “What Is a Knight”
After You Read: Respond Through Summary Writing
 Think about the big idea of your article.
 Organize your thoughts into a brainstorm for your summary (use the same paper as your prewrite).
Write:
 On notebook paper, in ink, with proper heading, write a summary of the selection, reporting on its
main ideas and important details. When you summarize a selection, you use your own words to
explain the main idea and most important details.
 This should be on a separate paper from the brainstorm.
Homework: Respond and think critically to the questions below. Use complete sentences.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Recall: How were young men chosen to train for knighthood?
Summarize: Use your own words to explain a knight’s training.
Analyze: Why do you think Farman provides the example of the Black Prince?
Compare: What comparison does Farman make between feudal armies and armies of today?
5. Evaluate: Which sections of “What Is a Knight?” did you find most interesting? Explain.
If you are a #2: “When Plague Strikes”
Pre-write: On a sheet of paper, in ink, write about what you know about the living conditions of people
in the Middle Ages. How did the living conditions affect people’s health? Make a list of all the things you
know about medicine from the Middle Ages. How did doctors treat ill people?
Background: In 1347, the bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death, spread through Europe. Its
victims, whose skin blackened from internal bleeding, died within five days.
 The Black Death of the fourteenth century was not the only outbreak of the bubonic plague.
Another outbreak occurred in A.D. 542, more than seven hundred years before the Black Death.
 Today, doctors know many ways to prevent the spread of germs. However, people of the
fourteenth century did not understand where illnesses came from or how they spread.
READ: “When Plague Strikes”
After You Read: Respond Through Summary Writing:
 Think about the big idea of your article.
 Organize your thoughts into a brainstorm for your summary (use the same paper as your prewrite).
Write:
 On notebook paper, in ink, with proper heading, write a summary of the selection, reporting on its
main ideas and important details. When you summarize a selection, you use your own words to
explain the main idea and most important details.
 This should be on a separate paper from the brainstorm.
Homework: Respond and think critically to the questions below. Use complete sentences.
1. Recall: What were the symptoms of the Black Death?
2. Connect: How would you have protected yourself from the plague, knowing only what the people
of the day knew? Explain.
3. Interpret: In addition to causing death, what made the plague so frightening? Support your
answer with details from the selection.
4. Analyze: What text structures does the author use? How does the author’s use of different text
structures help to create a rounded picture of the plague? Explain.
5. Analyze: What questions did you ask as you read? How did asking questions affect your reading?
DAY 2
Both #1 AND #2 COMPLETE: Correcting Bloom’s Questions
 If you are a #1, correct your answers with another #1. If you are a #2, correct your answers with
another #2. Use a correcting pen.
 With your partner, decide what the BIG IDEA of your article is. Write it at the bottom of your
question page. You have 10 minutes to do this.
If you are a #1: READ “When Plague Strikes”
If you are a #2: READ “What Is a Knight?”
After you read:
1. Fill out the frame using ink, marker, or colored pencil. No pencil!
2. In the center box, write the title and author of the informational article. Place your
name/date/period in the box, too.
3. In each frame, create a meaningful symbol that represents something from your article.
4. Next to each symbol, write a 1-2 sentence connection explaining how your symbol connects to the
information from your article.
PART II
“The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes
DAY 3
Background:
 “The Highwayman” was written in 1906.
 It is a romantic narrative poem (tells a story). It is also a tragedy.
 It tells the story of a Highwayman (a robber who preys on travelers), his true love, Bess and the
jealous ostler (stableman) who comes between them.
 This poem was meant to be heard, due to its use of repetition and rhythm.
READ the poem along to the audio version with the rest of your class. Take notes in the margins of the
poem as we read and discuss together.
After You Read: Complete the below Review & Assess Questions and a separate sheet of paper. Use
complete sentences:
1. Who do you think was braver--Bess or the highwayman? Why?
2. How does the highwayman communicate his presence to Bess? What does this method of
communication indicate about their relationship?
3. Identify THREE details that make the highwayman appear a romantic and dashing figure. How
do these details compare with the description with the description of Tim?
4. Besides Bess, who else hears the highwayman's plans? What does this person do after
overhearing this information? Why?
5. Summarize the events of this poem. What does the action of this poem suggest about the love
between Bess and the highwayman?
DAY 4
 Correct and discuss the “Review & Assess Questions” as a class.
Create ONE of these products to demonstrate your understanding of the poem:
 A comic strip that displays the key events of the poem. You must have at least 6 boxes and each
box must include a colorful illustration and a caption written in ink.
 A love letter written by Bess, Tim, or the Highwayman. This must be done in ink and decorated
colorfully. Make sure you write in the way the characters would have spoken to one another. Use
the poem as your inspiration!
 Rewrite the story into a modern poem or rap. If this happened today, where would it take place?
How would the characters talk? What would their professions be? How would the story be
different? The same? Get creative!
PART III
Directions: You will read both selections, and do the correlating response activities. At the end, you will
create one flipbook for both pieces.
“Young Arthur” and “Medieval England” from Catherine, Called Birdy
DAY 5/6
“Young Arthur”
Pre-write: Think about a time when a friend, relative, coach, or other person expected a great deal of
you. What happened? How did you feel? Describe the feelings you have when much is expected of you.
Background: Historians have not found evidence proving that a King Arthur existed. Still, stories about
Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table have been told since the sixth century A.D. All together, these
stories are known as the Arthurian legend.
 According to legend, after Arthur pulled the sword from the stone, he became king of England.
 King Arthur ruled from the castle Camelot.
Literary Element: A legend is a story that relates amazing events or accomplishments. The heroes in
legends may be humans, animals, or even enchanted objects or forces of nature. Like folktales and myths,
legends belong to the oral tradition. They are passed by word of mouth from one generation to the next.
Some legendary human heroes actually lived, but over the years their reputations grew larger than life.
Legends often express the values of a culture. In “Young Arthur,” for example, Arthur shows honor and
courage. As you read, look for amazing events and larger-than-life characters. Ask yourself, what beliefs
and values are important to the characters in the legend?
READ “Young Arthur”
After You Read: In “Young Arthur,” Arthur and his foster brother, Kay, are very different characters.
Kay is a knight, but Arthur is the one who is destined to be king.
 On your own paper, create a T-chart (Arthur/Kay).
 In the chart, list three details about each character that the author gives to show who they truly
are.
 Use direct quotes from the story to support your details.
“Medieval England” from Catherine, Called Birdy
Purpose for Reading: To understand what life was like in thirteenth-century England
Background: During the Middle Ages, people did not view themselves as free individuals who could
choose their futures. One’s place in society was passed down from generation to generation.
READ Medieval England from Catherine, Called Birdy
After You Read: Respond and Think Critically (Bloom’s Taxonomy): Use complete sentences.
1. Summarize: Write a brief summary of the main ideas in this selection. For help on writing a
summary, see above.
2. Interpret: What is the author’s purpose for explaining that the England of 1290 “would seem
foreign even to people who have been to England or live there now”? Explain.
3. Analyze: How did the land connect the people in England to the king? Explain.
4. Connect: Text-to-Text: In what way was Young Arthur typical of a noble teenager of his day?
Explain.
5. Evaluation: Was it possible for people to become who they wanted to be in the Middle Ages?
Or is it more possible in today’s world? Explain.
DAY 7-9
“Young Arthur” AND “Medieval England” from Catherine, Called Birdy
Differentiated Activity Using Depth and Complexity: Flipbook
Directions: Choose a flip-style book of your choice. See the packet for ideas.
1. On the front cover, include both literary titles, the authors, and an appropriate illustration for
both. Include your name/date/period. Write in ink and make it colorful!
2. Choose any 6 depth and complexity or content imperative icons.
3. In your flipbook, you will use your chosen icons to respond to both readings, so there will be 2
pages for each icon. For example, you would complete one Big Idea page for “Young Arthur” and
one Big Idea page for “Medieval England.” You will have 12 pages of icons and 1 cover page when
you are finished.
4. On each page, label the icon by both writing it and drawing the symbol.
5. Your written connections between the icons and the stories must be written neatly in black pen,
typed, or colored pencil/marker.
6. Include a colorful illustration or symbol of your own on each page.
DUE Friday, March 18 (at the end of the class period):
Staple together in this order:







Day 1: Pre-write, brainstorm & summary of the 1st article you read
Day 1 Homework: Bloom’s Taxonomy questions
Day 2: Frame of the 2nd article you read
Day 3: “Highwayman” Review & Assess Questions
Day 4: “Highwayman” product (comic strip, love letter, or poem)
Day 5/6: “Young Arthur” pre-write & t-chart
Day 5/6: “Medieval England” Bloom’s Taxonomy questions
Turn in separate:
 Day 8-10 Flipbook
“The Highwayman”
By Alfred Noyes
The wind was a torrent of darkness upon the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight looping the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding-Riding--riding-The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn door.
He'd a French cocked hat on his forehead, and a bunch of lace at his chin;
He'd a coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of fine doe-skin.
They fitted with never a wrinkle; his boots were up to his thigh!
And he rode with a jeweled twinkle-His rapier hilt a-twinkle-His pistol butts a-twinkle, under the jeweled sky.
Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,
He tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred,
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter-Bess, the landlord's daughter-Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.
Dark in the dark old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked
Where Tim, the ostler listened--his face was white and peaked-His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay,
But he loved the landlord's daughter-The landlord's black-eyed daughter;
Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say:
"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart; I'm after a prize tonight,
But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light.
Yet if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day,
Then look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."
He stood upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand,
But she loosened her hair in the casement! His face burnt like a brand
As the sweet black waves of perfume came tumbling o'er his breast,
Then he kissed its waves in the moonlight
(O sweet black waves in the moonlight!),
And he tugged at his reins in the moonlight, and galloped away to the west.
He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon.
And out of the tawny sunset, before the rise of the moon,
When the road was a gypsy's ribbon over the purple moor,
The redcoat troops came marching-Marching--marching-King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door.
They said no word to the landlord; they drank his ale instead,
But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed.
Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets by their side;
There was Death at every window,
And Hell at one dark window,
For Bess could see, through her casement, the road that he would ride.
They had bound her up at attention, with many a sniggering jest!
They had tied a rifle beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast!
"Now keep good watch!" and they kissed her. She heard the dead man say,
"Look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though Hell should bar the way."
She twisted her hands behind her, but all the knots held good!
She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood!
They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like years,
Till, on the stroke of midnight,
Cold on the stroke of midnight,
The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!
The tip of one finger touched it, she strove no more for the rest;
Up, she stood up at attention, with the barrel beneath her breast.
She would not risk their hearing, she would not strive again,
For the road lay bare in the moonlight,
Blank and bare in the moonlight,
And the blood in her veins, in the moonlight, throbbed to her love's refrain.
Tlot tlot, tlot tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hooves, ringing clear;
Tlot tlot, tlot tlot, in the distance! Were they deaf that they did not hear?
Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill,
The highwayman came riding-Riding--riding-The redcoats looked to their priming! She stood up straight and still.
Tlot tlot, in the frosty silence! Tlot tlot, in the echoing night!
Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light!
Her eyes grew wide for a moment, she drew one last deep breath,
Then her finger moved in the moonlight-Her musket shattered the moonlight-Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him--with her death.
He turned, he spurred to the West; he did not know who stood
Bowed, with her head o'er the casement, drenched in her own red blood!
Not till the dawn did he hear it, and his face grew grey to hear
How Bess, the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.
Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky,
With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!
Blood-red were his spurs in the golden noon, wine-red was his velvet coat
When they shot him down in the highway,
Down like a dog in the highway,
And he lay in his blood in the highway, with the bunch of lace at his throat.
And still on a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
When the road is a gypsy's ribbon looping the purple moor,
The highwayman comes riding-Riding--riding-The highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.
Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard,
He taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred,
He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter-Bess, the landlord's daughter-Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.