Castles and Cannons

Grade Level: 5 - 7 (Age 10 - 14), Social Studies

MinecraftHomeschool_Castle — This is an amazing example of a team build project! 100+ students collaborated to build this castle in Session 1 of the 2014 school year.

The Adventure

In 476, warriors attacked the city of Rome and ended more than 800 years of glory for the “Eternal City.” About one thousand years later, Europe experienced a “rebirth” we now call the Renaissance. The era between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance is a thousand-year period we call the Middle Ages.

Culture in the Middle Ages is often described as barbaric. This was a rough time to exist! Today we think of the glamour of kings, queens, and the Knights of the Round Table, but the reality is that most people had little to no rights and lived in poverty! Are you ready to roll up your sleeves and experience the life of a peasant? Polish your crown and work on your castle? Engage in a friendly joust in the PVP based Knights Tournament? Join us for an amazing adventure through the Middle Ages – Minecraft Style!

What was a peasant’s life really like in the middle ages? The picture we have been taught is typically an ignorant, filthy, downtrodden, servile near slaves, always as the mercy of the nobility and living out short, brutal lives. Now that sure is a lovely picture isn't it. But is it true? Were peasants dirty, uncouth, barbarous, and ignorant? — What was a peasant’s life really like in the middle ages? The picture we have been taught is typically an ignorant, filthy, downtrodden, servile near slaves, always as the mercy of the nobility and living out short, brutal lives. But is it true? Were peasants dirty, uncouth, barbarous, and ignorant?

Weekly Highlights

Week 1 – The Life of a Peasant
Week 2 – Surviving as a Peasant
Week 3 – The King & Castle
Week 4 – Knights & Tournaments (PVP)
Week 5 – Medieval War Machines
Week 6 – Capstone Project