This is our catalog of courses. We will occasionally adjust the course listing to reflect the addition of new courses and the retirement of others.
Continue learning with this 6-week project-based literature and history course discussing the Medieval Era. Help your middle school student study the historical context of the novel and participate in engaging literature discussions and hands-on projects.
Total Class Recordings: 6
Duration: 50 minutes
Prerequisite: None.
Suggested Grade Level: 5th to 9th grade
Suggested Credit: 1/2 semester History or Literature
Description
Living History Through Literature is a project-based course series. These courses weave the study of literature into a meaningful and engaging encounter with a specific era of history. In LHTL (Medieval): The Door in the Wall, we meet Robin, a fourteenth century boy who suffers a physical ailment that keeps him from training to be a knight. With his father away fighting in the King’s war and his mother serving the queen, Robin is taken in by a monastery and slowly learns what it means to be an authentic hero. Students will study the historical context of the novel and participate in engaging literature discussions. In this project-based course, students will engage in short quizzes and in projects of their choice. Project options will include fiction writing, preparing period-specific food and/or costumes, creating lapbooks, recreating scenes from the novel (Legos, clay, K’nex, digital drawing, hand-drawing, etc.), building a timeline, mapping, and more.
Outline
Class 1: Overview of Historical Context and Novel Introduction
Class 2: Literature Discussion; Project Introduction
Class 3: Literature Discussion; Cultural Overview
Class 4: Literature Discussion; Fiction Writing Tips
Class 5: Literature Discussion; Final Project Instructions
Class 6: Literature Analysis and Historical Connections; Student Project Showcase
Materials and Homework
Course Materials:
The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli, ISBN-10: 0440227798;
ISBN-13: 978-0440227793 (http://amzn.to/2FF071P or BookFinder.com). Also available as an audiobook (http://amzn.to/2FFtYqR). Your student will need either PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Keynote to create a Final Project. Google Slides and Keynote can be found free online.
Homework: Weekly quizzes and reading assignments. Each week, students will work on the project-based assignment that will culminate in a final novel project. Homework (including novel reading) will take approximately 1.5 hours per week. Parents are encouraged to support younger students by reading texts aloud and helping with project planning and execution.
