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The Social Hierarchy
-Owned Kingdom -War driven -Let lands to noblemen and lords in return for men
-barrens- wealthiest and most powerful of the noblemen -received fiefs(substantial land) from the king -bishops- equally wealthy to barrens but with power lying in the administration of churches, monasteries and convents |
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Lesson Activity Idea
To get the children involved in the lesson and conducting independent research I would split them into equal groups (would be no more than 6 in a group) and assign each group a class in the hierarchy to study. For this they would be given a collection of web page print outs, images and various literature sources to collect their information from. They would then present this information to the class. The printouts given to the class would include information of family structures, daily life, responsibilities and job roles, living standards and links to the other social classes by way of land rental and taxes etc.
Source Examples
Fun game to end the class?
Get a pack of playing cards and hand them out at random to the class. Without looking at their own card the children must hold it against their forehead so that others can see. Each playing card represents a different social status...
King=King
Queen and Jack= Noblemen
10, 9, 8 = Knight/Lord
7, 6, 5= merchants and craftsmen
4, 3, 2, 1 =peasants
Without looking at their own card each member of the class must guess who they are based on how they are treated by the class; eg. a peasant will be treated poorly and be taxed in grain whereas the King will be treated with utmost respect.
King=King
Queen and Jack= Noblemen
10, 9, 8 = Knight/Lord
7, 6, 5= merchants and craftsmen
4, 3, 2, 1 =peasants
Without looking at their own card each member of the class must guess who they are based on how they are treated by the class; eg. a peasant will be treated poorly and be taxed in grain whereas the King will be treated with utmost respect.