In your journal, answer the following
question
What possessions/things do you love?
Make a list
Pick your top 3
Stand up/Hand up/Pair up
Share your top 3 with your partner
What items stand the test of time?
 How would your list of things you love be affected by a
worldwide blackout?
 Look at your list and draw a line through anything that would
be affected by a complete loss of all power in the world.
 As a society, where do we store the majority of our
information?
 What would our society look like if we underwent a worldwide
blackout?
 How far back in time would we regress?
 Which country would survive this epic problem the best? The
worst? WHY?!
Lesson 1 – The Dark Ages
A time of lost or forgotten knowledge
Today’s Plan
What things do we love?
Stand up/Hand up/Pair up
Blackout
It has happened before
The Dark Ages
The Bubonic Plague
How will our culture survive?
The Dark Ages
 Watch this video and write down the changes that
occurred in Europe after the fall of the Roman
Empire
 What technologies had the people of Europe lost?
 How would you react if you saw amazing
technology all around you, but did not understand it
and could never use it? Have any of you ever felt
this way?
 What parts of our society would we see as reminders
of our past if we had an epic blackout?
Daily life
 While watching this next clip, describe the daily life
of people in this period
 If you couldn’t read, write, and had no access to
technology, what would you do during the winter
period of the year?
 What percentage of children died at birth?
 What percentage died before reaching your age?
 What kind of effect do you think losing a family
member would have on people during the Dark
Ages?
 Why did parents continue to have children?
Safety
What do you need to feel safe?
Why is safety an important aspect of every
person’s life?
Watch this video and think about how safe
these people would have felt
Why do people look to religions like Christianity
when they do not feel safe?
What things do people use in our society to help
make them feel safe?
Disease
Everyone stand up!
If half of the Okanagan’s population died from
a virulent disease in the next month, how would
that affect our economy?
Our local government? Our police force?
Our culture?
Why do you think the bubonic plague spread as
fast as it did?
Where did it start? Why is that important?
Nasty, Brutish, & Short
 Looking back on European society during the Dark
Ages, Thomas Hobbes wrote that a man’s life is
“solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”.
 Thinking back on all of the clips we saw today and the
discussions we had, do you agree with this statement
or not?
 In a paragraph (5-7 sentences) I want you to reflect
on this quote and state your opinion, providing
evidence from our discussion. Remember there are no
wrong answers as long as you can support them with
facts.
How do we know all this?
 How did the knowledge of the Roman Empire survive?
 Write down a guess (minimum of one) in your journal
How do we know all this?
How did the knowledge of the Roman
Empire survive?
Monks and monasteries kept the past alive.
They were some of the only literate people during
the Dark Ages
Lesson 2 – The Franks
Brutes or Heroes?
What’s a Barbarian?
When I say the word
“Barbarian” what
images come to mind?
This is probably what
most of you think of
But this is not what the
Barbarians of the Early
Middle Ages looked like
Today’s Plan
What’s a Barbarian?
Who were the Franks?
The Salic Code
Franks Vs. Canadians
The Fall of Rome Leads to New
Leadership in Gaul (France)
As the Roman Empire over-extended
themselves, groups of Germanic peoples
(sometimes called Barbarians) took control
The Franks were one of
these groups
They took control of the
Roman province of Gaul
around 400 C.E.
Who were the Franks?
They were mostly just farmers, but
they LOVED to fight and make war
They were constantly armed
Both men and women wore jewelry
and kept their hair long
They loved wealth, and who had lots
of that?
But most of all, they wanted to be
free
The word “Frank” means free
Clovis I – The Frankish King
Clovis I was the embodiment of what the
Franks valued
He was strong, skilled in battle, and wanted
to be free of the Roman rule
Watch this video and think about how
people would act if they were led by this
man.
As king, Clovis I set the tone for his people
In the Eye of the Beholder
While the Franks looked up to Clovis to lead
them, many others felt he embodied everything
wrong with the Franks
Tacitus, a Roman historian, wrote “You will find it harder
to persuade a German to plough the land to await its annual
produce with patience than to challenge a foe and earn the prize
of wounds. He thinks it spiritless and slack to gain by sweat what he
can buy with blood. When not engaged in warfare, [the men]
spend some little time in hunting, but more in idling, abandoned to
sleep and gluttony [excessive eating and drinking].”
In the Eye of the Beholder
But the Franks thought they were far from lazy
The Preface to their Salic Code reads “[We are a]
glorious people, wise in council, noble in body, radiant in health,
excelling in beauty, daring, quick, hardened… This is the people that
shook the cruel yoke of the Romans from its neck.”
What was the purpose of Tacitus’ writing?
Why did the Franks write that in their preface to
their laws?
The Salic Code
A Law system often reveals a lot about the culture
that made it
The Franks created the Salic Code to settle
disputes
It placed a monetary value on every piece of
property and on every person
A fine, or wergild, had to be paid if someone’s
property was stolen or a person was injured
If a family member was killed, a revenge killing
was not punished
Everything Has a Price
Here are some examples of laws found in the Salic
Code
 If any one have assaulted and plundered a freeman, and it be
proved on him, he shall be sentenced 2500 denars, which
make 63 shillings
 If any one have wished to kill another person, and the blow
have missed, he on whom it was proved shall be sentenced to
2500 denars
 If any one steal a bull belonging to the king he shall be
sentenced to 3600 denars, which make 90 shillings
What values does this show the Franks had?
Number Off
 Everyone needs a number (1-6) for the next activity
Franks Vs. Canadians
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Canadian Man
Canadian Woman
Canadian Child
Frankish Man
Frankish Woman
Frankish Child
 You must find another person in the class who is a man,
woman, or child from the other group
EXAMPLE: if you are a Frankish Man, you must find a
Canadian Man
Franks Vs. Canadians
 Using the stats for each of you, answer the following
questions in your journal.
 Be prepared to provide your answer to the class
1. Who will probably live longer? Give 3 possible
reasons why.
2. Who will probably get married first? Explain why this
is.
3. Who will probably have more babies die? Explain
why.
4. Who is or will be taller? Why do you think that is?
Letter: Delivery by Time Machine
 Using what you learned in the statistics activity, write a
letter to a Frankish person your own age who lived in
Gaul
 Tell them a bit about your own life (relevant to this
Socials activity) and empathize with them about an
aspect of his/her life
 Ask them a few clarifying questions (relevant to this
Socials activity)
Map Work
 Take out your map of
Rome
 Watch this
 Add a red line to your map
depicting the land
occupied by the Franks
 Add the red line to your
legend
Lesson 3 – Charlemagne
Hero or Villain?
Today’s Plan
Charlemagne
Background
Hero or Villain?
Battle to the Death!!!!!!!
Charlemagne – King of the Franks
 Create a T-chart on a page in your journal and
label the two columns Good Things Charlemagne
Did & Bad Things Charlemagne Did
 As you watch the video, jot down point-form notes
that fit in each column
 Share your list with your partner
 Now draw a line underneath
 Read this short text and fill out the same T-chart as
you read it
Hero or Villain?
 You will now have 20 minutes to work with your
partner and research whether Charlemagne is a
Hero or a Villain
 Those in the left row will all be arguing that
Charlemagne was a Hero and those in the right row
will be arguing that Charlemagne was a Villain
 Use the websites I have listed on my website if you
want
 Take notes in your journal and be prepared to
respond during the debate
BATTLE TO THE DEATH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 Now, in your tables you have 5 minutes to prepare
your argument, stating why you think Charlemagne
is either a Hero or a Villain.
 Each side will have 1 minute to present their
argument, then we will open the floor for
INTELLIGENT comments and questions from either
side.
 We will now debate the topic and I will declare a
winner based on your arguments.
Personal Response
Based on the arguments presented, write a brief
personal response paragraph (4-6 sentences) on
your final opinion of whether Charlemagne was
a Hero or a Villain.
Make sure you support your idea with evidence
from the debate or your research.
Lesson 4 – The Viking Age
More turmoil for Europe?
Today’s Plan
The Viking Raid
Story
Video
Partner Work
Story time
Open your textbooks to page 3.
We will read the story together. Follow along as
we go.
From who’s perspective is this story written?
Does that influence the way we view the
story?
If we rewrote the story from the Vikings’
perspective, would the tone of the story
change?
The Viking raids
 WARNING: This video has a pretty nasty section where
they describe how the Vikings tortured and killed
some people. Please keep this in mind in the video.
 Create a t-chart and list positive and negative words
used to describe the Vikings in this video.
 Are the Vikings described positively or negatively in
this video?
 Who’s perspective is this video from?
 How do you know that?
Romans, Franks & Vikings
 Create three columns
 Find ten facts about each group (look back in your
journal)
 Be sure to include positive AND negative facts about
each group
Unit Test – Essay Response
Next class you will be required to write an essay
providing your opinion on the following question.
Which of the following cultures would you rather
live in and why?
Romans
Franks
Vikings
You will be required to provide facts and well
supported reasons from this unit to back up your
reasoning behind your opinion.
Lesson 5 – Unit Test
Which culture would you rather be a part of?
Unit Test – Essay Response
Today, you will write an essay providing your
opinion on the following question.
Which of the following cultures would you rather
live in and why?
Romans
Franks
Vikings
You will be required to provide facts and well
supported reasons from this unit to back up your
reasoning behind your opinion.
Things to Remember
 Stay on topic! (Only argue to support your opinion)
 Use proper essay structure
 Introduction – Introduces your argument and has a Thesis
Statement (a sentence that states your opinion)
 3 Body Paragraphs – each with a main reason that
supports your opinion
 Conclusion – a paragraph that wraps up your argument
 Use 12 point font & double-space your work
 Re-read it at the end to check for spelling and grammar
errors