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Topic: Medieval History (Middle Ages) Europe

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The Decameron Web
This site is an interactive project by Brown University that students designed to prompt investigation and discussion of the Decameron texts. This site includes stories from people escaping Florence at the time of the Plague.

Spartacus Internet Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia-style online free resource focused mostly on British history, from the medieval era on. Contains some useful images and text selections.

Medieval England
Topics include the Battle of Hastings, the Bayeux Tapestry, castles, feudalism, the lifestyle of the medieval peasant, the Domesday Book, the medieval church, the Magna Carta, the Black Death, the Crusades, and much more.

Tudor Encyclopedia
The Tudor Encyclopedia is a collection of articles on the Tudor period. As well as 60 biographies, there are many other articles, including those on: the Battle of Bosworth, Act of Union, Agriculture and Enclosures, Anglicans and Puritans, The Babington Plot, Catholics and Protestants, Elizabethan Theatre, Elizabeth and Marriage, Henry VIII and the Pope, Kett Rebellion, Poverty in Tudor England, The Protestant Reformation, Pilgrimage of Grace, The Ridolfi Plot, The Spanish Armada, Sports and Pastimes, The Throckmorton Plot, Tobacco in Tudor England, Tudor Artists, Tudor Heretics, Tudor Monasteries, Tudor Parliaments, Tudor Wales, and the Tyndale Bible.


The Camelot Project
A good resource for information on the Arthurian age. Offers images, links, and bibliographies.

BBC History: The Norman Conquest
Take a look at events both before and after the Norman Conquest. This BBC site offers background, articles, multimedia, a chat forum, and more.

The Bayeux Tapestry
Contains color images of the tapestry as well as explanatory text

Wars of Independence
This BBC website includes an overview of Anglo-Scottish conflict plus detailed biographies of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce.

The End of Europe's Middle Ages: Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries
Produced at the University of Calgary, The End of Europe's Middle Ages is designed to assist those students engaged in Renaissance, Reformation and Early Modern studies who lack a background in medieval European history. The tutorial is presented in a series of chapters that summarize the economic, political, religious and intellectual environment of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

The Gutenberg Bible at the Ranson Center
The Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin has created an engaging site about the Bible and the printing process. Of special note is the "Anatomy of a Page" section where varied pages in the Gutenberg Bible are explored and explained.

Church and State
This BBC offering focuses on the development of the Church and State in Britain and is organized under four main headings: Monarchs and Leaders, Nations, Church and Reformation, and British Empire.

Battle of Hastings 1066
This mammoth website contains 950,000 words and over 300 graphics, images, and pictures. The contents are well organized under headings such as: Why did the Battle Happen?, The Build up to the Battle, Harold's Battle Force, William's Battle Force, The Battle, The Aftermath, and Norman Rule After 1066.

Secrets of the Norman Invasion
Site contains many articles on the landing of the Normans in England and provides several Domesday Maps that relate to the area where the Normans landed in 1066.

Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga
This Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History site was created around an exhibit commemorating the 1000th anniversary of the Viking landing in the New World. Besides a cool Flash-generated introduction, the site contains extensive documentation on the contents of the exhibit, as well as a Virtual Viking Voyage - a multimedia feature including 3D animations of ship building, runes and sagas, video interviews with leading experts in the field, and detailed histories of Viking settlements and journeys from Scandinavia to Newfoundland.

Voices of the Powerless: Norman Conquest in York
This BBC site follows a long historical exploration of the Routes of English with Voices of the Powerless, in which Melvyn Bragg explores the lives of the ordinary working men and women of Britain at six critical moments across the last 1,000 years. This audio-episode deals with the decade following the conquest of the north of England and the notherners suffering from the retribution which William's men inflicted - the so-called harrying of the north, which began in 1069.

Voices of the Powerless: The Peasant's Revolt
This audio-episode deals with the Peasants' Revolt that began in the Essex village of Fobbing in May 1381. Supported by men from nearby villages, the rebellion had begun.

Mr. Dowling's Electronic Passport: Middle Ages
Mr. Dowling's Electronic Passport helps kids browse the world in his virtual classroom. He introduces you to many civilizations with clear explanations, engaging graphics for kids, and "cool links". His study guides, homework assignments, and exams are free and available for you to print or to edit.

Lesson Plans, Teacher Guides, Activities and more

Activehistory.co.uk: Lessons, Activities, Games, and Quizzes
Activehistory.co.uk has a series of lessons and activities that are organized by subject and time period. They are for Year 7, Year 8, Year 9, GCSE, and A Level students and teachers.

Mr. Donn's Ancient History Page
Don Donn of the Corkran (Maryland) Middle School provides a complete unit with 17 daily lesson plans and unit test for sixth graders. There are also links to multiple K12 lesson plans and activities.

BBC History Trail: Conquest
When did England become England? What was the real impact of the Vikings and the Normans on Britain? Find out more about the turbulent events that led up to 1066 and the dynastic crisis that sparked it off.

BBC History Games: Anglo Saxon Coins
Find out more about Anglo-Saxon money by taking a closer look at the coins and the stories behind them. When you think you know enough, test yourself by playing 'Coins' and see if you can make money talk.

BBC History Games: Battle of Hastings
Play the game to re-enact the Battle of Hastings, which took place on 14 October, 1066.

BBC History: Battle of Hastings Video
A History of Britain -- Simon Schama's acclaimed series spans 15 programmes, chronicling a nation's tale from the Iron Age to the present day. Play a clip from 'Conquest!' - episode 2: The Battle of Hastings.

BBC History: Black Death Video
A History of Britain -- Simon Schama's acclaimed series spans 15 programmes, chronicling a nation's tale from the Iron Age to the present day. Play a clip from 'King Death' - episode 5: The Black Death sweeps through Britain, claiming 300 victims a day in London alone.

BBC History: Kings and Queens Through Time
In this animated timeline you put the kings and queens of England, and later the United Kingdom, in their proper place. There are four periods to explore. The Plantagenets and the Houses of Lancaster and York are featured in the first period, the Tudors and Stuarts in the second, and the House of Hanover in the third. The timeline concludes with the Windsors.

BBC History: The Changing British Population Animation
Play the animation and track how key events in British history have affected the size of the British population.

BBC History: Norman Buildings Gallery
Part of the Norman Conquest exhibition

BBC History: Build a Medieval Arch animation
Play the animation to find out how medieval masons built cathedral arches - without the benefits of modern technology.

Norman Conquest School Site
This site has worksheets, quizzes, and activities for the students.

The Normans "Fling the Teacher" Game
Answer questions correctly to fling the teacher! Activehistory.co.uk

GCSE History Pages
Main features of this site include interactive tests and quizzes, revision tips, practice GCSE exam papers with mark-schemes for self assessment, revision notes and structured lessons.

Course Models: Medieval Europe
Part of the California History-Social Science content standards and annotated course which include: background information, focus questions, pupil activities and handouts, assessment, and references to books, articles, web sites, literature, audio-video programs, and historic site. Grade 7.

The Medieval Arms Race
A PBS Nova site, it describes and illustrates some of the major weapons and strategies used in what became a medieval arms race. Clear, easy to follow, and appropriate for young students.

Destroy the Castle
This Nova Science challenges students to engineer a trebuchet that can knock down a castle wall. Fun and engaging.

The Black Plague
Before going as a traveler on one of several journeys, starting either as a Pilgrim or as aTrader/Voyager, you will need to research the plague. The plague was spread by these trading and pilgrim routes, as travelers went from town to town. Find out about the plague during modern times and during the Middle Ages. Use your journal to keep track of what you find out along the way. SCORE activity for middle schoolers.

National Curriculum in Action: ICT in History
The UK National Curriculum in Action website includes examples of pupils' work with ICT (Information and Communication Technology) in History, including teacher commentary on how ICT enhanced learning in the subject.

Battle of Hastings Essay Outline
In this Spartacus site students are asked to write an essay about the Battle of Hastings based on resources provided.

Pilgrimage
This website provides an overview of pilgrimages to special holy places called shrines.

Jousting Game
Jousts were carefully organized events and in this tudorbritain.org simulation students get the chance to take part in a joust.

Western Civilization: A Social and Cultural History
The online study companion to Margaret King's Western Civilization: A Social and Cultural History has many features: chapter learning objectives, online quizzes, writing activities, essay questions, web links, built-in search engines, and faculty modules that include PowerPoint outlines, presentation graphics, and lecture hints and activities. Clink on Jump to... at the top and pick by chapter.

A Medieval Cartoon
Unravel the meaning of this 1233 medieval cartoon. From the National Archives Learning Curve. Key Stage 3.

BBC History: Ages of Treasure Timeline
From the Palaeolithic to the Norman Conquest, explore British archaeological sites and treasures from the past, then test yourself on the eras and events in the Ages of Treasure game.

BBC History: Blood of the Vikings Video
In Blood of the Vikings, Julian Richards investigates Viking Britain using archaeological evidence and the latest genetics research

BBC History Trail: Church and State
Discover how the Palace of Westminster and churches throughout the country can be read to reveal the history of Britain.

AP European History Web Links and Primary Source Documents
Historyteacher.net offers 1000s of links to great web sites and primary source documents. Just pick a topic and go to that page where you will find a large number of links that can be used for research and study. You will also be directed to in-depth, detail-linked class assignments on several topics.

Web Guide for AP World History
The Web Guide for AP World History includes some 500 web links that are categorized and annotated to compliment the AP World History course. The Web Guide is organized into the five sections of the AP World History course: Foundations, 1000-1450, 1450-1750, 1750-1914, and 1914-present. The thematic and analytical sections that are presented follow the structure of the AP World History course. Visitors must register through the College Board.

The World's History: Establishing World Trade Routes, 1100-1500
The online guide to Howard Spodek's The World's History features quizzes (multiple-choice questions, true/false questions, interactive review questions), primary sources, maps, a bulletin board, a Live Chat, web links, and faculty resources for each chapter/topic.

Brief Review in Global History and Geography: Document Based Essays and Practice Tests
PH@School's Brief Review in Global History and Geography Web site provides multiple-choice questions from actual Regents exams. You can also practice your test-taking skills on document-based essay questions (DBQs), with the option of e-mailing answers directly to your teacher for review.

Primary Source Materials and Document Based Questions
An Internet Hotlist on Document Based Questions. Many useful links here.

Teaching History with Technology
Tom Daccord
July 13-15, in Boston
(sold out 2007, 2008)

Teaching English and Language Arts with Technology
Carla Beard
July 6-8, Boston
(sold out in 2007)

Teaching the "Flat Classroom"
Vicki Davis
June 25-26, Boston

Google Tools for Schools
Carol LaRow
August 3-5, Boston

Creative Teaching with Interactive Whiteboards
Darren Kuropatwa
July 16-17

Free and Open Source Applications for Educators
Alex Inman
June 9-10

21st Century Leadership Symposium
Dennis Richards, Tom Daccord, Justin Reich
August 6-7

Enhanced Podcasting for Educators
Douglas Kiang
July 1-2

Digital Storytelling & Portfolios
Alycia Scott-Hiser
June 23-24

and more...

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