Submitted by Barbara C. Anderson

Objectives:

Content:
Students will:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the feudal structure of medieval society in France
• Demonstrate an understanding of the reasons for the existence of feudalism
• Demonstrate an understanding of the role of leaders (e.g.,feudal lords) in the lives of medieval French people

Cultural:
Students will:

• Demonstrate understanding of a château fort
• Identify some of the cultural practices of medieval life in a château

Language: Content Obligatory
Students will:

• Use the third person singular and plural of the imperfect (imparfait) tense of regular and irregular verbs to rewrite texts about feudalism, châteaux forts and feudal lords in medieval France.
• Use the third person singular and plural of the imperfect tense of regular and irregular verbs to answer questions containing the content obligatory vocabulary about feudalism. 
• Use the third person singular and plural of the imperfect tense and passé composé to rewrite and answer questions about a text regarding becoming a knight in medieval France. (Optional task)
• Content obligatory vocabulary: l'inégalité, une hiérarchie, un chevalier, un paysan, un serf, un vilain, une armure, puissant, un vassal, un fief, la féodalité, féodal/e, un seigneur, un suzerain, barbare, Occident, une redevance, un droit seigneurial, une corvée, un domaine, une motte, un fossé, une palissade, l'amélioration, une forteresse, une lingère, la disette, l'approvisionnement, le tir, désintéressé/e, un villageois, le vainqueur, un jongleur, un trouvère, un troubadour, l'entraînement, un veneur, taillé; prier, rendre hommage, suffire, jurer, édifier, livrer, survivre, enrôler.

Language: Content Compatible
Students will:

• Use the third person singular and plural of the present of verbs to express similarities and differences using the content obligatory vocabulary
• Use expressions such as autant… que ,  moins…que, plus…que , tandis que, etc., to express similarities and differences.

Learning Strategies / Social and Skills Development:
Students will:

• Work cooperatively with a partner and with a group of four students
• Make predictions based on prior knowledge
• Work independently on an assignment (monitor task completion)

Time Frame:

Four 50-minute periods

Materials Needed:

• Large sheet of paper and marker for initial notes about feudalism from class discussion (Pre-task)
• Copies of texts and questions for each student (Task 1)
• Transparencies of answers (correct verb forms and answers to questions) (Task 2)
• Large sheets of plain paper for Formative Assessment

Description of Assessment (Performance Project):

Pre-Task:
Class discussion based on the question:

What do you know about feudalism in medieval France? (Que savez-vous de la féodalité en France au Moyen Âge?) 

In the course of this conversation, teacher will introduce relevant content obligatory vocabulary.

During Task:
Task 1: Students will do the following at home (this may be homework for several nights) or in class if preferred:

Read several texts describing the structure of feudalism, a fortified castle and life in a castle in the Middle Ages (See first attachment below).

Teacher may also choose to include an optional text about knights (See second attachment below).

Answer questions about the text and write definitions for words (Reading and writing tasks may be completed over a period of several days).

Rewrite present tense verbs in the imperfect tense (imparfait).

Optional task includes rewriting present tense verbs in either the imperfect or passé composé. 

Search for images and descriptions of châteaux forts on the Internet

Task 2: Students will do the following in a group of four in class (groups have been pre-assigned for this unit) over a period of two days (as needed):

Self-correct the verbs they have written in the imperfect tense. Text with verbs in the imperfect tense will be displayed on an overhead transparency.

Read the texts aloud with verb changes. 

Read and discuss the answers to the questions and the definitions of the words they have previously written.

Post-Task:
Class discussion: (Class may be divided into two or three groups if preferred.)

Review the challenges of the Middle Ages discussed in the previous lesson. How did feudal society and the fortified castle help people meet those challenges?

Find similarities and differences between the role of government and leaders in the Middle Ages and the present.

Assessment:

Groups will create a graphic organizer to explain how society was organized during the Middle Ages. Groups will present their results to the class.

Students will write a paragraph explaining how feudal society and châteaux forts helped people meet the challenges of life in the Middle Ages. They will also analyze the disadvantages of this governance model.

References and Resources:

Barroy, Marie-Hélène et Gérard, (1984). L'Histoire de France par les mots croisés. Paris: Éditions Retz. ISBN 2-7256-1103-2

http://www.webencyclo.com/dossiers/contenu/D98-0001050B.asp?IDDossier=98

http://www.jecris.com/TXT/INFOS/CASTEL/bois.html

http://www.mairie-etampes.fr/visite/texteguinette.htm

http://sabreteam.free.fr/fortif2.htm

Attachments:

NOTE: some attachments are in PDF form (get Acrobat Reader)

(L3 feochaseign) This document will be used during the task.

(L3 chev) This document will be used for the optional task.

A Lesson from the CoBaLTT Project
/cobaltt
Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition
University of Minnesota