Teaching history should not be reciting an endless list of dead men, entombed between the covers of a textbook. Instead, "Breaking Away from the Textbook" offers a fascinating journey through world history. Not a comprehensive, theory-heavy guide, this book focuses on active classroom activities, methods for students to grapple with humanity's…

Teaching history should not simply be an endless recitation of irrelevant facts, entombed between the covers of a textbook. Instead, "Breaking Away from the Textbook" offers a fascinating journey through world history. Not a comprehensive, theory-heavy guide, this book instead focuses on exciting classroom activities, methods for students to…

Presents activity ideas for using the 11th century Bayeux tapestry in middle and senior high schools. Suggestions for obtaining a reproduction of the tapestry and integrating writing activities are included. (JDH)

Discusses reasons for and solutions to declining enrollment in college history courses. Suggests that instructors be aware of the mental diversity of students and involve them in what is going on in the profession. Methods include trips, speakers, a newsletter, festivals, and research. Specific topics for medieval history are presented. (KC)

Suggests how college history teachers can help students understand the French aristocracy and its role in medieval society by using a twelfth century epic. "Raol de Cambrai" gives students a sense that the poem's action could have happened to real people. A content analysis of the poem's action and characters is included. (DB)

This instructional packet is intended to help classroom instructors introduce fascinating quandaries rarely featured in history textbooks about the ancient and medieval eras. Most of the 13 lesson plans require only 1 or 2 class periods to complete, permitting the teacher to enhance the presentation of a particular unit without fear of devoting…

A method was designed to provide history students an opportunity to make interpretations and form hypotheses about historical events and eras. The teacher created representative "facts" and questions about a topic and let students use them to make their own hypotheses. A sample unit on European history, 1300-1450, is included. (KC)

Integrates a lesson on medieval European history with a class art project. Describes how students studied heraldry to design their own coat of arms and produce a relief sculpture shield depicting these arms. Lists materials needed and outlines the process of construction. (DSK)

Directions for a game which models the feudal system of 11th century Europe are presented for high school and college history courses. The game demonstrates the medieval dependency of social structure on land holdings and vassal obligations. It also permits the expression of personal ambition, with results dependent on the loyalty and…

One in a series of instructional units designed for gifted students, the booklet focuses on the arts in Greece, Rome, and the Medieval period. Narrative information on Greek pottery, sculpture, architecture, music, and dance is followed by lists of suggested activities for students and reference lists of texts and media. A similar unit on the…

This document describes a classroom learning activity that brings together role playing, learning about the Middle Ages, and working for rewards. In the course of the activity, entitled "Knights of the Round Table," students advance by completing assignments and amassing points. Players move upwards through the beginning or…

This lesson plan, featuring the epic, "Beowulf," employs the introduction-quotation exchange to monitor student comprehension while reading the epic. A second exercise, also dealing with reading comprehension, requires students to keep an historical evidence journal and fill out an historical evidence chart. The lesson plan features a…

Describes the use of cooperative learning groups in a competitive setting. Discusses teaching objectives, delivery methods, grading procedures and results of a cooperative learning unit which is used to teach the Middle Ages to seventh grade students. Provides student instructional materials. Activities include time period newspapers and the…

Describes a castle-building exercise in which students first learn about castles and then, using a map of the school, show on paper how they would convert the school into a castle. (TB)

Maintains that writing assignments in world history should include essays that are sequenced according to difficulty. Proposes a sequencing model for an introductory course in world history based on seven steps of difficulty. Provides examples of questions at each level in addition to a course outline. (JDH)