Individuals and Societies – Unit 3 Reflection

Subject: Individuals and Societies (Year 2)
Start Date: January 2017
End Date: April 2017
Statement of Inquiry: Time, place and space influence the culture and governance of societies.
Criteria Assessed: A and C
Key Concept: Time, place and space

In this Unit, we did many activities in the following lists below. We learned about how time, place and space influenced the culture and governance in Medieval Europe during Middle Ages.

• Coat of Arms
  • • I chose some symbols that describe myself and draw them as a badge. I described why I chose them and upload onto thinglink.
• Geography
  • • I answered the geography question in Chapter 1 in the online textbook.
• Level 1
  • Charlemagne
    • I wrote an obituary for Charlemagne which described his life and summarized his great accomplishments in the notebook.
  • Feudal society
    • I drew the relationships between king, lords, and peasants in feudal society. I also answered some question below and got a better understanding of the structure of Feudalism.
  • Castle Drawing
    • I designed my own castle that I would have built if I was a King or Queen, and labeled the buildings that included in medieval Europe castles.
  • Trebuchet
    • I made a trebuchet during medieval Europe with my group members. I used the wooden sticks and tightened with rubber bands and tapes. I put a battery on the weight and an eraser on the sling. I sling the eraser to a distance of 1m successfully.
• Level 2
  • Romans and the Catholic Church
    • I answered the questions about Romans and the Catholic Church during Middle ages.
  • Role of the Church- Part 1, 2
    • I answered the questions in all sections in Chapter 3, included the roles in the Church.
  • Parts of a Cathedral
    • I answered some question about the parts in a Cathedral, then I drew a diagram of a Cathedral and labeled and explained the parts.
  • Stain Glass Windows
    • I designed a Stain Glass Window that represented the beliefs of the church in Medieval Europe. I drew a picture of Jesus’s birth, with Joseph, Mary, and the angel.
• Level 3
  • Medieval Towns: Sections 1-4, 5-8
    • I answered the questions about daily life in Medieval Towns in Chapter 4.
  • Guild Group Skits
    • We acted out one of the sections in Chapter 4. I acted the topic of crime and punishments. We created some common materials for crime during middle ages and acted out as a play. We also participate in other group’s play, I acted as a trading men who’s buying things in the topic of trade and guilds. I took notes about the daily life in Middle Ages on every section.
  • Guild Group Analysis
    • After every group’s performance, I answered the question about their topics.
  • Medieval Cooking Video
    • I created a cooking video with my group. We chose to do a kind of BBQ beef in Medieval Europe. We bought food and materials, we cooked and record as a teaching video. We taught the cooking style and common dish during Middle Ages.
  • Guild Recruitment Poster
    • I created a poster that convinced people to join my guilds. I chose what guild I want to be, I chose to be the clothes maker. I was a member of guilds that needs more members, I included the working contents, conditions that interested people to join.
• Level 4
  • Plague Symptoms
    • I watched videos about the plagues and tried to write out the order of the symptoms after videos.
  • Plague Transmission Simulation
    • As a class, we traveled as a visitor staying nights and visited towns in Medieval Europe. Each table represented a town, we rolled dice and took out beans in the bags, the black beans represented I am safe, the red beans meant the plague or chorea. We followed the trading, pilgrimages, and visit routes.
  • Decline of Feudalism and the Rise of Democratic Thought
    • I answered the question about why the feudalism fell and democratic thought was rising.
  • Magna Carta- Quick Questions
    • As groups, we compete by picking questions and answered them in groups and get all of the question done.
  • Magna Carta Rankings
    • As a group, we discussed the rankings in the law of Magna Carta. We talked about the difference and importance between each policy.
  • Level 4 Quick Questions
    • We competed again group by groups by answering and picking question as fast as we could.
  • Joan of Arc Interview Questions
    • I designed questions to ask Joan of Arc about her accomplishments or biography. I wrote questions to interview the famous girl during the Hundred Years War, about her mission and choices.
• Level 5
  • Trading simulation
    • We went to the courtyard and simulated the trade routes during Middle Ages. As different groups, we started from different positions and go to the middle of the courtyard to trade, which represented the town Constantinople. We traded different color paper as different money and goods from different countries. Finally, we wrote some descriptions about the connections between simulation and real trading during Middle Ages.
  • Byzantine Empire Questions
    • I answered questions about the later divided empire, the Byzantine Empire.
• Summative – Board Game
  • • I designed a board game like the Monopoly that related to the Middle Ages. I created a board piece and common people in towns to be the chessmen. I wrote questions that connected with Medieval Europe for people to answer enable to get to Finish and win the game.

I learned how Medieval Europe relates to the key concept of Time, Place and Space. The time of Middles Ages has a big range, it lasted about 1000 years. The time has affected the place and space in Medieval Europe. It didn’t only included the measurement of periods but represents significant events in the past, now, and the future. During these 1000 years, it happened many historical issues and plots throughout this area. The places were changed by time through, invasions and improvements were continued constantly. It also structured the value and key center of the common people. The space of Europe was very big, it even affected to the other continents by trading and going on a pilgrimage. The big space caused the events and importance of social, economic, and political expansibility. I think the religion, which related to the places is that I found most interesting. The religion played a very important role in Middle Ages, it also affects the later humans born on these lands. It even far contributed to a view of people in nowadays.

One of the challenges I faced during this unit is making the trebuchet. It’s hard to balance the counterweight and the whole body structure. I tried to find solutions in a few days. I tried many different materials that the weight can keep off the balance. Finally, I redo the body structure and it’s not out of balance anymore.

My favorite part about this unit was creating the board game. I would change some assignments that we have to answer the questions into a different activity or game. However, I think I undertook the activities in this Unit pretty well. I think on the knowing and knowledge parts, I gained a better understanding of Medieval Europe during Middles Ages. I understand the information in the textbook and I can use them as well as in life. I think I can improve on communicate information deeper and give the content more specific.