MEDIEVAL TIMES:

Life in England 1066-1500

A WebQuest for Grades10-12 English and Social Studies

Robert Scaramella
rscaramella@milforded.org

Introduction

In keeping with your study of British culture, the giant backdrop of all British literature, you will embark on a WebQuest, an inquiry-related activity using the Internet and other sources. The area of your investigation will be England during the Anglo-Norman period of the Middle Ages, the period from 1066, the date of the Battle of Hastings when the Normans of France invaded England, and ending around 1500. Medieval British authors are responsible for the Robin Hood ballads, the popularity of the King Arthur stories and The Canterbury Tales. You will each investigate some aspect of life during that period. Now embark on a journey into another age and see life as it was back then.

The Task

You will each be assigned to a group of 3 or 4 to investigate some aspect of medieval culture in England. Obviously, some material is not isolated to England but reflective of life in Europe as a whole. The general categories for study are art, architecture, music, literature, family life, feudalism, religion, military life, law, town life, entertainment, and health/medicine. After a bit of site exploration, you should refine your topic to a particular aspect of your subject. For example, the architecture of cathedrals, the crusades, the life of a medieval woman. Coordinate your WebQuest with your teammate(s) so that there is little overlap. After researching your topic using the links and other sites, you will meet briefly with your teammates and then give an oral presentation to the class. When each individual has finished his/her presentation,the class will have created a tapestry of medieval life and provided a better understanding of the cultural context of the literature from the period.

The Process

I have assigned you a topic and a group. 1) You will research the information and select an area of study. 2) You will prepare an oral presentation of 5-7 minutes, which will be evaluated on the basis of organization, information, and clarity (see the grading rubric). Each of you will take notes on the various presentations. 3) Each individual will do a self-evaluation of his/her experience with the WebQuest. 4) Each group will turn in 6 multiple choice questions (2 per individual) and three questions (1 per individual) that would require (and could be adequately answered in) a paragraph and that reflects the focus of your WebQuest.

You may use any books or periodicals from the media center in addition to these internet sources for your research:

http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/ lab

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html

http://www.learner.org/exhibits/middleages/

http://www.britainexpress.com/History/Townlife.htm

http://www.netserf.org/

http://www.themiddleages.com

Evaluation

Each part of the process will be graded as follows:

Refined Topic: 10 points

Oral Presentation: 48 points

Self-Evaluation: 30 points

Questions: 12 points

Conclusion

Your study should have provided you and your classmates with a collage of information about life in the Middle Ages and a valuable resource for understanding the literature of the period.

Credits and References

This webQuest is based on a template from The WebQuest Page by Bernie Dodge.