Experience 3: Book Share

Now that students have made their Books of Days, the next step in the pre-production process is for students to consider what medieval characters they would like to research and play in their festival presentations/performances given on the final day of this unit. Picture books provide a wealth of information about the various occupations and roles that people had during the Middle Ages. This experience helps students to identify and define their character options and to think about some character choices that match their particular interests. 

Mental Joust: What occupations did people of the Middle Ages have? What are some character options for my festival performance? How are occupations in the Middle Ages different or similar to people’s professions today? What role will my character play in our festival?

Time: 30 minutes

Materials: a variety of books relating to the Middle Ages or medieval times (suggested titles are listed at the end of this experience under References and Resources), paper and pencils, a large sheet of paper, wide felt-tip markers, photocopies of the rubrics for the final presentation and Book of Days and of the handout titled “Hear ye! Hear ye! Calling all mummers, drummers, and monks” (Copy-ready handouts are located at the end of this unit under Handout Manuscripts.)

Worthy Words: bailiff, barber-surgeon, blacksmith, cobbler, court jester, falconer, friar, herald, knight, magistrate, merchant, midwife, miller, monk, mummer, nobleman/woman, nun, page, peasant/serf, peddler, spinster, squire, stonemason, troubadour/minstrel

Procedure: 

1. Pass out a variety of books about the Middle Ages or medieval times to students divided into small groups. 
2. Point out books or pages that give information about some of the “want to know” topics the class previously discussed. 
3. After students have reviewed their books, ask them to make a list of occupations or roles that people from the Middle Ages had. 
4. Write the list on the large paper and define the occupations students are unfamiliar with.

Past and Present: 
What medieval occupations on the list are no longer found today? What happened to those occupations? What occupations today do you think may disappear in the future? What occupations do you think are best for men/women? Is a woman less feminine if she is a soldier? Is a man less masculine if he takes care of children? 

Exhibit Connection: 
You can see how a theatre production is made at The Children’s Museum’s exhibit Onstage and Behind the Scenes; and you can see an actual play, Young King Arthur, in the museum’s Lilly Theater. 

References and Resources:
 

Howarth, Sarah. What Do We Know about the Middle Ages? New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1995. 

Langley, Andrew. Medieval Life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996.

Oakes, Catherine. Exploring the Past: The Middle Ages. New York: Hamlyn Publishing Group, 1989.

Steel, Philip. Knights. New York: Kingfisher, 1998.

Weisberg, Barbara. The Big Golden Book of Knights and Castles. Racine, WI: Western Publishing Company, 1993.

Wright, Sylvia. The Age of Chivalry: English Society 1200-1400. New York: Warwick Press, 1988.