Day 1 = Priest & Monks

Visit the following links and take notes on your paper labeled "The Lives of Monks and Nuns"

http://www.learner.org/interactives/middleages/morelign.html

http://www.learner.org/interactives/middleages/morecath.html

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/abbey.aspx#1-1E1:abbey-full

Your Assignment

Conclude this activity by writing a paragraph or two in first person about a typical day in the life of a monk. (do this on the back of your note sheet) You should select names for yourselves, ideally those from the Bible (i.e., Brother Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, etc.) and decide what special tasks he might have been given (i.e., ringing the bells for service, raising honeybees, leading/conducting the chants, bottling and serving the wine, writing or illustrating manuscripts, working in the fields, and so forth.). Girls have the option of pretending to be a monk or a nun. (The lives of the nuns were very similar to those of the brothers.) Use the paper I passed out to you labeled "The Lives of Monks and Nuns"

• Peasants working the land
• Planting seeds
• Harvest time

Visit this link and read about peasant homes: http://loki.stockton.edu/~tompkink/wharram/peasant.htm

Lastly Read up on these Peasant Occupations (a.k.a. jobs)

• http://hkcarms.tripod.com/occ.html (scroll down to the yellow links)
• Blacksmith Life
• WANT A CHALLENGE??? Visit this link for a upper level reading of a primary source: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1275manors1.asp

Your Assignment

After you have finish your notes and observation from the above websites:

Think about the lives of the farmers and the more specialized workers who made up the peasant class.  Choose what sort of work you would like to have done, had you been peasants in medieval times.  Write a paragraph describing a day in the life of the character you have chosen.  This can be in the first person, and it should include references to peasant clothing, housing, and daily chores. Write your paragraph on the back of your notes.

Day 3 = The Upper Crust