Materials

• Vocabulary list from Session 5
• Textbook
• Preferred teacher resources
• Teacher-selected reading or worksheet on the feudal system

Instructional Activities

1. To begin class, ask students to write an explanation of how the feudal system linked lords and vassals. Instruct them to include all the words from their homework list. Depending on the level of the students, ask that this be completed in as few sentences as possible.
   
   
2. Instruct students to diagram the Feudal Pyramid that shows the hierarchy of the classes in a feudal society. They may find an example in their text to copy. They should use appropriate symbols to represent a king, greater lords, lesser lords, knights, peasants, and serfs. Instruct them to identify which classes would be considered vassals.
   
   
3. Assign students to groups of three. Assign each member to portray a lord, a vassal, or a serf. Instruct the group to create and write a short skit that describes the relationship among these three individuals. They could include an investiture ceremony, a conversation on the daily events on a manor, or a situation involving a marriage, a crime, or the fulfillment of an obligation. If time permits, ask for volunteers to act out their play.
   
   
4. For homework, assign a culminating reading or worksheet on the feudal system that reviews the concepts of the past two lessons.