Fourth graders at North Fork Elementary School in Woodland learned in medieval style on Wednesday, Jan.17 by taking part in a day-long fair that capped off their studies of the Middle Ages.
The day was filled with a variety of activities capitalizing on the students’ lessons throughout the unit, wrapping up in a medieval market where students sold their homemade arts and crafts for currency earned throughout the unit, according to a press release by the Woodland School District. Students also engaged in numerous writing opportunities with a focus on fictional narratives, grammar and morphology.
“During our Middle Ages unit, students were asked to engage in rich conversations about the world around them and build their background knowledge to comprehend a variety of complex texts,” fourth grade teacher Matthew Kamel said in the press release. “As a whole, students critically analyzed what life was like in the Middle Ages, then compared and contrasted different roles of the feudal system.”
On the day of the fair, each teacher selected an activity that incorporated content students learned. Kamel taught mathematics and introduced students to the Roman numeral system. Kristy Haagen demonstrated Middle Age writing. Jamie Churchman helped students create artistic silhouette pictures, and Antimony Berkeley hosted medieval vocabulary bingo, according to the release.
The medieval market spawned from an existing student store concept.
“Our student store has always been a fourth grade tradition,” Kamel said. “As long as we use this curriculum, we will plan to turn our student store idea into a learning experience by having an annual medieval fair.”
Some of the more popular lessons from the unit included learning about the different social classes that existed during the Middle Ages, according to the press release.
“The way they made connections to their own lives was fascinating to hear,” Kamel said.
Students also enjoyed learning about the Black Plague and related that period in history to similar events they faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Learning is all about making connections,” Kamel said in the press release. “Studies show that students learn content knowledge more comprehensively when those lessons incorporate interactive learning.”
