Materials

• Access to library or computer lab (with Internet Access) for a mini-research project.

Instructional Activities

1. Assign research or reports on the following topics:
   • Biographies of historical figures of the late medieval period
   • Changes in the role of women in the late medieval period
   • Effects of the Black Plague
   • Medieval art and architecture
   • Medieval medicine
   • Medieval laws
   • New methods of warfare, including the use of cannons and the longbow
   
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2. Assign one of the following research projects:
   • Have small groups of students prepare a medieval newspaper from France, Spain, England, or Russia. Suggested articles could detail the Hundred Years War, the War of the Roses, and the Black Plague.
   • Have students develop an illustrated booklet about the social, economic, and political changes and cultural achievements in the late medieval period, using the following information as a guide:
      – Characteristics of nation-states include defined territory, a central government, and a common culture.
      – A nation-state is created in England with the emergence of Common Law under Henry II, the Magna Carta under King John, Parliament under Edward I, and a unified country under Henry Tudor (VII).
      – A nation-state is created in France with the emergence of a strong government under Philip II and Philip IV, a permanent army and taxation under Charles VII, and expansion under Louis XI.
      – A nation-state is created in Spain with the unification of Aragon and Castile under Ferdinand and Isabella. Religious unity is created by the Reconquista, the Inquisition, and the expulsion of the Jews and Muslims.
      – A nation-state is created in Russia with the enlargement of the Moscow Kingdom under Ivan I, the freedom from the “Mongol Yoke” under Ivan III (Ivan the Great), and the codification of laws under Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible).
      – The Crusades weaken the Pope and nobles, strengthen the monarchs, stimulate trade, weaken the Byzantine Empire, and leave a legacy of intolerance among Christians, Jews, and Muslims
      – The Mongol armies invade Russia, China, and India and create an empire.
      – Constantinople falls to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, ending the Byzantine Empire and becoming the capital of the Ottoman Empire as Istanbul.
      – The late medieval period also brings considerable death and destruction with the Hundred Years War, the War of the Roses, and the Black Plague.
      – Jewish and Muslim scholars preserve the Greek and Roman legacy of philosophy, medicine, and science.
   • Have pairs of students prepare an interview of a historic figure. One student will “role play” as the actual historic figure. Historic figures may include: William the Conqueror, Henry II, King John, Edward I, Henry VII, Philip II, Philip IV, Joan of Arc, Charles VII, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, Ivan III, and Ivan IV. The interviewer will ask questions about that person’s contribution to history.
   
   
3. Allow the entire period for research at the library and/or in the computer lab.
   
   
4. Students should continue research as homework (or assign a teacher-selected reading, worksheet, or other reinforcement activity, using available teacher resources).