Peasantry Sucks
Introduction
What if you had the opportunity to leave home (Delaware) forever, travel around the world at your leisure to see everything you've ever wanted....however you could never return to this country again. Would you do it? What if your other option was to stay near your home here in Delaware for the rest of your life and never leave? You would be with your loved ones, but you would never know of the outside world. Is it worth it?
People in Feudal Europe had no such choice. Most could not read, rarely traveled and knew little about the outside world. We are going to look at life in Feudal Society and see how dull and tedious life was 1000 years ago.
Procedure
As a warm-up, we will ask students to choose one of those two options mentioned in the introduction above. We will debate the merits of each. Students will then receive a reading entitled Life in Feudal Society and a discussion will follow. There is a power point (Feudal Europe) to be shown.
Resources
Objectives
At the conclusion of this lesson, students will be able to:
Evaluation
There will be a brief quiz entitled "Feudal Europe" following the completion of this lesson
Extension Activities and Resources:
Reading: Reading: A Short Comparison between Chivalry and Bushido
Reading: Opening New Doors: The Modern Woman’s Case for Preserving Chivalry
Reading: Four Reason Why Women Should Celebrate the Death of Chivalry
Reading: Fun in the Pool: The History of the Marco Polo Game
Reading: Exploring the Truth: 10 Facts on the Real Marco Polo
Delaware State Standards
Civics Standard One 6-8a: Students will understand that governments have the power to make and enforce laws and regulations, levy taxes, conduct foreign policy ,and make war.
Civics Standard One 6-8b: Students will analyze the different functions of federal, state, and local governments in the United States and examine the reasons for the different organizational structures each level of government employs.
Civics Standard Two 6-8a: Students will understand that the concept of majority rule does not mean that the rights of minorities may be disregarded and will examine and apply the protections accorded those minorities in the American political system.
Civics Standard Two 6-8b: Students will understand the principles and content of major American state papers such as the Declaration of Independence; United States Constitution (including the Bill of Rights); and the Federalist Papers.
Civics Standard Three 6-8a: Students will understand that civil rights secure political freedom while property rights secure economic freedom and that both are essential protections for United States citizens.
Civics Standard Three 6-8b: Students will understand that American citizenship includes responsibilities such as voting, jury duty, obeying the law, service in the armed forces when required, and public service.
Civics Standard Four 6-8a: Students will follow the actions of elected officials, and understand and employ the mechanisms for communicating with them while in office
Economics Standard One 6-8a: Students will analyze how changes in technology, costs, and demand interact in competitive markets to determine or change the price of goods and services.
Economics Standard Two 6-8a: Students will analyze the role of money and banking in the economy, and the ways in which government taxes and spending affect the functioning of market economies.
Economics Standard Three 6-8a: Students will demonstrate the ways in which the means of production, distribution, and exchange in different economic systems have a relationship to cultural values, resources, and technologies.
Economics Standard Four 6-8a: Students will examine how nations with different economic systems specialize and become interdependent through trade and how government policies allow either free or restricted trade.
Geography Standard One 6-8a: Students will demonstrate mental maps of the world and its sub-regions which include the relative location and characteristics of major physical features, political divisions, and human settlements.
Geography Standard Two 6-8a: Students will apply a knowledge of the major processes shaping natural environments to understand how different peoples have changed, and been affected by, physical environments in the world’s sub-regions.
Geography Standard Three 6-8a: Students will identify and explain the major cultural patterns of human activity in the world’s sub-regions.
Geography Standard Four 6-8a: Students will understand the processes affecting the location of economic activities in different world regions.
Geography Standard Four 6-8b: Students will explain how conflict and cooperation among people contribute to the division of the Earth’s surface into distinctive cultural and political territories.
History Standard One 6-8a: Students will examine historical materials relating to a particular region, society, or theme; analyze change over time, and make logical inferences concerning cause and effect.
History Standard Two 6-8a: Students will master the basic research skills necessary to conduct an independent investigation of historical phenomena.
History Standard Two 6-8b: Students will examine historical documents, artifacts, and other materials, and analyze them in terms of credibility, as well as the purpose, perspective, or point of view for which they were constructed.
History Standard Three 6-8a: Students will compare different historians’ descriptions of the same societies in order to examine how the choice of questions and use of sources may affect their conclusions.
History Standard Four: Students will develop historical knowledge of major events and phenomena in world, United States, and Delaware history [Content].
Students will develop an understanding of pre-industrial United States history and its connections to Delaware history, including:
Three worlds meet (Beginnings to 1620)
-- Colonization and settlement (1585-1763)
-- Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)
-- Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
-- Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Students will develop an understanding of ancient and medieval world history, and the continuing influence of major civilizations, including:
-- The beginnings of human society
-- Early civilizations and pastoral peoples (4,000-1,000 BC)
-- Classical traditions, major religions, and great empires (1,000 BC-300AD)
-- Expanding zones of exchange and encounter (300-1,000AD)
-- Intensified hemispheric interactions (1,000-1,500 AD)
Introduction
What if you had the opportunity to leave home (Delaware) forever, travel around the world at your leisure to see everything you've ever wanted....however you could never return to this country again. Would you do it? What if your other option was to stay near your home here in Delaware for the rest of your life and never leave? You would be with your loved ones, but you would never know of the outside world. Is it worth it?
People in Feudal Europe had no such choice. Most could not read, rarely traveled and knew little about the outside world. We are going to look at life in Feudal Society and see how dull and tedious life was 1000 years ago.
Procedure
As a warm-up, we will ask students to choose one of those two options mentioned in the introduction above. We will debate the merits of each. Students will then receive a reading entitled Life in Feudal Society and a discussion will follow. There is a power point (Feudal Europe) to be shown.
Resources
- Text Material:
- "Life in Feudal Society" (handout)
- Primary sources:
- Feudal contract (c.1300)
- Oath of Fealty (c. 900)
- Bayeux Tapestry
- Power point:
- Feudal Europe
- Simulation:
- Feudal M and M's
- www.classroomzoom.com/lessons/386/simulation-feudal-candy
Objectives
At the conclusion of this lesson, students will be able to:
- explain why "feudalism" was necessary,
- define the terms "peasant," "serf," "fealty," "homage," "manor," and "noble,"
- illustrate the difference between a "peasant" and a "noble",
- describe life in feudal society,
- draw a representation of the feudal "pyramid" of power,
- explain the social dynamics of "homage" between peasants and nobles, and
- compare the socio-political structure of feudal society with our society today
Evaluation
There will be a brief quiz entitled "Feudal Europe" following the completion of this lesson
Extension Activities and Resources:
Reading: Reading: A Short Comparison between Chivalry and Bushido
Reading: Opening New Doors: The Modern Woman’s Case for Preserving Chivalry
Reading: Four Reason Why Women Should Celebrate the Death of Chivalry
Reading: Fun in the Pool: The History of the Marco Polo Game
Reading: Exploring the Truth: 10 Facts on the Real Marco Polo
Delaware State Standards
Civics Standard One 6-8a: Students will understand that governments have the power to make and enforce laws and regulations, levy taxes, conduct foreign policy ,and make war.
Civics Standard One 6-8b: Students will analyze the different functions of federal, state, and local governments in the United States and examine the reasons for the different organizational structures each level of government employs.
Civics Standard Two 6-8a: Students will understand that the concept of majority rule does not mean that the rights of minorities may be disregarded and will examine and apply the protections accorded those minorities in the American political system.
Civics Standard Two 6-8b: Students will understand the principles and content of major American state papers such as the Declaration of Independence; United States Constitution (including the Bill of Rights); and the Federalist Papers.
Civics Standard Three 6-8a: Students will understand that civil rights secure political freedom while property rights secure economic freedom and that both are essential protections for United States citizens.
Civics Standard Three 6-8b: Students will understand that American citizenship includes responsibilities such as voting, jury duty, obeying the law, service in the armed forces when required, and public service.
Civics Standard Four 6-8a: Students will follow the actions of elected officials, and understand and employ the mechanisms for communicating with them while in office
Economics Standard One 6-8a: Students will analyze how changes in technology, costs, and demand interact in competitive markets to determine or change the price of goods and services.
Economics Standard Two 6-8a: Students will analyze the role of money and banking in the economy, and the ways in which government taxes and spending affect the functioning of market economies.
Economics Standard Three 6-8a: Students will demonstrate the ways in which the means of production, distribution, and exchange in different economic systems have a relationship to cultural values, resources, and technologies.
Economics Standard Four 6-8a: Students will examine how nations with different economic systems specialize and become interdependent through trade and how government policies allow either free or restricted trade.
Geography Standard One 6-8a: Students will demonstrate mental maps of the world and its sub-regions which include the relative location and characteristics of major physical features, political divisions, and human settlements.
Geography Standard Two 6-8a: Students will apply a knowledge of the major processes shaping natural environments to understand how different peoples have changed, and been affected by, physical environments in the world’s sub-regions.
Geography Standard Three 6-8a: Students will identify and explain the major cultural patterns of human activity in the world’s sub-regions.
Geography Standard Four 6-8a: Students will understand the processes affecting the location of economic activities in different world regions.
Geography Standard Four 6-8b: Students will explain how conflict and cooperation among people contribute to the division of the Earth’s surface into distinctive cultural and political territories.
History Standard One 6-8a: Students will examine historical materials relating to a particular region, society, or theme; analyze change over time, and make logical inferences concerning cause and effect.
History Standard Two 6-8a: Students will master the basic research skills necessary to conduct an independent investigation of historical phenomena.
History Standard Two 6-8b: Students will examine historical documents, artifacts, and other materials, and analyze them in terms of credibility, as well as the purpose, perspective, or point of view for which they were constructed.
History Standard Three 6-8a: Students will compare different historians’ descriptions of the same societies in order to examine how the choice of questions and use of sources may affect their conclusions.
History Standard Four: Students will develop historical knowledge of major events and phenomena in world, United States, and Delaware history [Content].
Students will develop an understanding of pre-industrial United States history and its connections to Delaware history, including:
Three worlds meet (Beginnings to 1620)
-- Colonization and settlement (1585-1763)
-- Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)
-- Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
-- Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Students will develop an understanding of ancient and medieval world history, and the continuing influence of major civilizations, including:
-- The beginnings of human society
-- Early civilizations and pastoral peoples (4,000-1,000 BC)
-- Classical traditions, major religions, and great empires (1,000 BC-300AD)
-- Expanding zones of exchange and encounter (300-1,000AD)
-- Intensified hemispheric interactions (1,000-1,500 AD)