Build Your Own Castle
Your job is to create a castle that has all the following components:
A Keep: the house of the lord who owns the manor.
A Bailey: a courtyard of a castle protected by walls. Some castles had
both an inner and outer bailey.
A Wall or Curtain: surrounds the bailey and sometimes the keep as well.
It was often 10 feet thick.
Battlements: stone projections on the castle walls for guards to hide
behind when under siege.
A Moat: a ditch around the castle, usually filled with water.
A Gatehouse: living quarters over the main gate to house the guards who
had to be there 24 hours a day.
A Portcullis: An iron gate at the main entrance (part of the gatehouse)
that could be raised and lowered.
A Drawbridge: a bridge that could be raised and lowered over the moat.
A Postern Gate: a back gate which was supposed to be secret. A means of
escape or letting out spies during a siege.
Towers: on the walls and castle. They were used to spot an enemy force
coming from far away.
Arrow-loops: narrow openings (slits) in the castle’s towers through which
archers fired arrows on the enemy below.
A Well: all castles have to have a water supply in case of attack.
Note: - The castle has to fit onto a single desk
- The castle should not use pre-fabricated materials (i.e.: no
lego, etc..)
Report:
You also have to write a report about your castle. The report has to include
1. Parts of a Castle: Label and explain the importance of each
component of the castle.
2. Location: Describe where your castle is located and why that place
is a good place to build a castle
3. Explain why you think castles stopped being used as a means of
protecting people.
4. Explain what you could have done (in Medieval Times) to make a
castle even more effective.
Bonus ideas: (need to be well researched and use Medieval vocabulary)
- Write a story about the lord that lives at the castle, the king he
serves, the taxes he has to pay and what it is like living there.
- Write a day in the life of a servant who lives in the castle, or the
lords son/daughter.
- Build some siege weapons and place them on the outside of the
castle. Include an explanation of these weapons in your report.
Written Component
Knowledge and Understanding
Demonstrated understanding on content by:
● including all the components of a castle
1
2
3
4
D
7-8
D+
9-10
C11-12
C
13-15
C+
16-17
B18-19
B
20-22
B+
23-24
A25
A
26
A+
27-28
Thinking
Demonstrated critical thinking by effectively:
● explaining the importance of the parts of a
castle
● explaining the importance of the castle
location
Communication
Communicated ideas and meaning by:
● using appropriate vocabulary
● expressing ideas with purpose
Application
Applied knowledge and made connections by:
● connecting castles to modern day problems
(question 3)
● connecting castles to modern day problems
(question 4)
Mark
Model
Knowledge and Understanding
Demonstrated understanding on content:
● Castle is a good representation of an actual
castle and includes the required components
Thinking
Demonstrated critical thinking effectively:
● Castle is presented with creativity
1
2
3
4
D
4
D+
5
C6
C
7-8
C+
9
B10
B
11-12
B+
13
A14
A
15
A+
16
Communication
Communicated ideas and meaning:
● Castle is labeled correctly and effectively
Application
Applied knowledge and made connections:
● Overall impression
Mark