Medieval Lesson Plan for Kids

A Homeschooling Unit Study

May 12, 2007 Denise Oliveri

Kings, knights in shining armor, noblemen, and castles all mean medieval times. Kids love to learn about the adventures of this period of time in history.

The Middles Ages, also known as medieval times, were filled with excitement, danger, and are the source of many mystical and magical fairytales. Let's take a journey back about 800 years ago and see what these days were really like.

Knight in Shining Armor

Becoming a knight was very hard. There were specific laws that had to followed. This was called chivalry. The reasons these laws were so hard to follow is that there were a lot of them. Knights had to learn how to be perfect gentleman around women. They had to keep their promises, so had to be careful what they promised.

In battles, knights had many rules to follow as well. If they were captured by the enemy, they could not try to escape. They had to be generous to the defeated enemies. This means they could not leave the other knight to die in the field. It was also difficult to battle in the armor they had to wear, but it did a good job of protecting them from head to toe. A full armor set weighed anywhere from 40 to 60 pounds.

Castles

Castles were made from brick and mortar. It took a very long time and lots of people to build these majestic homes. Castles were often dark and dreary inside because there was no electricity in them. They were often cold, too. A castle not only was a place where the king lived, but it also was a fortress, meaning it was protection from enemies.

Castles were often built high on mountains and surrounded by a moat. This made the castle harder to attack. The walls had many slits in them, which allowed people inside the castle to see if an approaching person was a friend or foe. Knights often used crossbows and cannons to attack nearing enemies. They also used catapults.

Many castles still stand today. You can read about some of them at The Medieval Castle or at Castles on the Web for a more kid-friendly site.

Kings and other Royalty

The King was the most important person in medieval times. He was the one who led the knights into waging wars and declared victory or surrender. The king was in charge of making laws, and needed noblemen to make sure that they laws were obeyed by the commoners.

The Lady, or the King's wife, was not considered a very important person in medieval times. In fact, families would force the marriage of a King and a Lady just to bring two rich families together. A daughter was considered a burden to the family, and would quickly be married off or sent to be a nun. It was a hard life for women in the Middle Ages.

Try this Magic Trick - The Unpoppable Balloon

Merlin is a popular wizard from the story of King Arthur. Try this magic trick, and friends and family will think you are quite a wizard yourself.

You will need a balloons, transparent tape, and a straight pins.

Blow up several balloons and hand them out to your audience, along with a straight pin. Instruct your audience that if they know the correct magic words, they can stick a pin in their balloon without popping it. Have them try. Of course, all the balloons will pop. Next, stick a pin in your balloon. It doesn't pop!

The trick is to put a small piece of transparent tape on your balloon, where no one can see it. When you stick the pin through the tape into the balloon, the balloon will not pop. Hint: Do not pull the pin out or the ballon will deflate.

Check out the Medieval Glossary of Terms to understand the meanings of some of the words used in this lesson.

Check out these fun activity sheets. To print them off, click on the sheet you want. When the window pops up, right click on the image and select the print option.

The copyright of the article Medieval Lesson Plan for Kids in Homeschooling is owned by Denise Oliveri. Permission to republish Medieval Lesson Plan for Kids in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.