The Door in the Wall Literature Unit Study
The information here is for a wide range of ages, grades K-12, depending on which objectives and activities are selected, so please check first to make sure your choices are appropriate for your own family. New information will be added as time allows. Links to lesson plans and activities here represent materials that can be printed and added to your notebook for this unit.
Learning Objectives:
Many parents and teachers will need to create their own goals. You can compare the goals at these sites to create your own goals depending on how stringent your requirements need to be. All links have several suggested activities for different ages.
- Basic Course structure https://www.worldbook.com/free-educational-resources#tcos
- Michigan Department of Education https://www.michigan.gov/mde/services/academic-standards
- Maine as an example of state level requirements https://www.maine.gov/doe/ela/standards/index.html
- California state level requirements https://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/
- https://www2.mcrel.org/compendium/ National Level
- Ontario Canada K-8 Expectations https://www.dcp.edu.gov.on.ca/en/curriculum#elementary
- Abeka Scope and Sequence https://www.abeka.com/HomeSchool/ScopeAndSequence.aspx
- The series of books called “What your nth Grader needs to know” May also be helpful nth representing the grade your child is in. This series only Goes to grade 8
To gain an appreciation and understanding of life in the Middle Ages by reading The Door in the Wall.
To gain an understanding of the Middle Ages by completing activities, discussions, and the use of other books.
Timeline
The Middle Ages
Story takes place during the time of Edward the Third
Online Time Line Creator http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/timeline
This tool starts at the year 1000 and goes to the current day. http://www.ourtimelines.com/create_tl_2c.html
Vocabulary
Vocabulary words from The Door in the Wall for each chapter with definitions http://www.saskschools.ca/~cathcurr/la/ditw.html
General vocabulary words from this timeframe
| Kings | Curtain | Peasant |
| Middle Ages | Queens | Helm |
| Joust | Chivalry | Villains |
| Barons | Chain mail | Rents |
| Wattle and daub | Noblewomen | Coat of Arms |
| Serfs | Monarch | Craftsmen |
| Minstrel | Jester | Gatehouse |
| Knight | Tower | Heralder |
| Crenel | Half-timber | Fortress |
| Castle | Armour | Page |
| Ward | Bailey | Vassal |
| Battlement | Dungeon | Moat |
| Noble | Archer | Trebuchet |
| Drawbridge | Battering ram | Catapult |
| Feudalism | Crossbow | Siege |
| Palisade | Breach |
WordWeb free downloadable software to look up words. https://wordweb.info/free/
Online Dictionary https://www.dictionary.com/
Book Resources
Door in the Wall by deAngeli https://amzn.to/3vfsS05
The Usborne Book of Castles, Leslie Sims https://amzn.to/3TOVNBq
Castle, David Macaulay https://amzn.to/43y9Gad
Eyewitness Books: Castle, Christopher Gravett https://amzn.to/4ctImOA
Eyewitness Books: Knight, Christopher Gravett https://amzn.to/3vAckQe
Eyewitness Books: Medieval Life, Andrew Langley https://amzn.to/3vrAqg5
If You Lived in the Days of the Knights, Ann McGovern https://amzn.to/3TxdtA1
What Were Castles For?, Phil Roxbee-Cox https://amzn.to/3PA9G3V
Knight and Armor Coloring Book, A.G.Smith (Dover Coloring Book) https://amzn.to/3VvTLYj
Middle Ages: My World, Peter Chrisp (activities book) https://amzn.to/4acNW6E
Games
Using the instruction guide for the GeoSafari you can create a ton of cards for this unit. GeoSafari is GREAT for long car trips https://archive.org/details/GeoSafari-Manual
Geosafari (File folder game Ideas will work for Geosafari and Vice Versa)
Donna Young’s Instructions https://donnayoung.org/homeschooling/games/geocards.htm
Make cards:
Timeline events to their date Matching card
True or false cards
Vocabulary Words to real pictures.
Choose games to make https://web.archive.org/web/20040111040408/http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec670/Cardboard/matrix.html
Board games
Ideas for making your own board games at Mary’s Site https://www.angelfire.com/wi2/GamesForLearning/ideas.html
Try your hand at making a file folder game to match this topic. Here are some sample File folder game boards.
Blank Game boards to create any game for this unit
https://timvandevall.com/product-category/board-game-templates/
https://justfamilyfun.com/board-game-templates/
Owl and Mouse online Heraldry Game
https://www.yourchildlearns.com/heraldrygame/index.html
Rescue at the Castle! Printable game
https://web.archive.org/web/20090303225630/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/castles/activity.html
Shoot For Your Life – Virtual Archery Skills
http://www.camelotintl.com/tower_site/game/index.html
Recipes
Medieval Cooking A Boke of Gode Cookery
https://web.archive.org/web/20050129085031/https://www.godecookery.com/godeboke/godeboke.htm
Medieval cuisine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_cuisine
British Museum How to cook a medieval feast: 11 recipes from the Middle Ages
https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/how-cook-medieval-feast-11-recipes-middle-ages
Medieval Food & Cooking
https://www.castlesandmanorhouses.com/life_04_food.htm
Recipe Table of Contents
https://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cariadoc/recipe_toc.html
Medieval Dietary Norms
https://medievalbritain.com/type/medieval-life/medieval-recipes/medieval-cuisine-what-did-people-eat-in-the-middle-ages/
Medieval/Renaissance Food Clip-Art Collection
https://web.archive.org/web/20020207131356/http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/food-art/
Field Trips
Medieval Field Trip
See what your local museum and art museum has to offer.
Visit Medieval Times https://www.medievaltimes.com/
A Teachers’ Guide https://www.medievaltimes.com/education
The website also has information on inventions from the era, castle defense, medieval lifestyles and more.
The Society of the Middle Ages is a medieval group dedicated to recreating the martial arts, arts and crafts, and engineering technologies of the past from 400 AD to 1500 AD. See if there is an event by you.
https://sma-inc.org/
Castle with drawbridge, moat, hidden rooms and dungeon for sale. $2.3M Castle in Michigan Harks Back to Medieval Times
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2009-Victoria-Hl-Rochester-MI-48306/24364811_zpid/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2022/08/24/castle-for-sale-michigan-drawbridge-hidden-rooms/7883975001/
Check the internet for Medieval or Middle Ages exhibits in your area.
Arts and Crafts
Create Your Own Coat of Arms
https://web.archive.org/web/20050521163043/http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/results/view.asp?SubjectID=2&SubheadID=6&TopicID=24&GradeID=&PageURL=%2Flessonrepro%2Freproducibles%2Fprofbooks%2Fcoatarms%2Epdf
Make a simple castle and then lay siege to it.
https://web.archive.org/web/20120228073458/http://www.rain.org/~philfear/castle.html
Castle to print and assemble https://www.stormthecastle.com/paper-castle/make-a-cardboard-castle.htm
Instructables castle to print and assemble https://www.instructables.com/Paper-Castle-1/
Make a Knight’s Helmet
Make a Coat of Arms https://glazermuseum.org/coatofarms/
Learn about the Middle Ages, feudalism, knights, and chivalry while making a coat of arms. https://www.ducksters.com/history/middle_ages/knight_coat_of_arms.php
Medieval related crafts. Choose to make a mosaic, triptych, bunting, and many more. https://www.bakerross.co.uk/craft-ideas/category/teachers/cultures/medieval-cultures/
Activities and Lesson Plans
Lesson Plans for 7th Grade https://web.archive.org/web/20040603132103/http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/door/doortg.html
Information and General Resources
Excerpts from Newbery Award Acceptance Speech https://web.archive.org/web/20160311230330/http://www.deangeli.lapeer.org/Books/Door_in_the_Wall.html
Medieval Siege describe some of the major weapons and strategies used in what became a medieval arms race. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/trebuchet/race.html
Worksheets:
Make your own worksheets with these worksheet creation tools:
- SchoolHouseTech http://www.schoolhousetech.com This company gives away two free software worksheet factories one for Basic math and one for wordsearch utility that will make wonderful complements to this unit when you include the clipart listed in the clipart section.
- Start Write – This program makes nice reports and handwriting worksheets for the unit. https://www.startwrite.com/
- Teacher’s Pet will turn any text into a worksheet I like to use it with the Wikipedia text or texts from Project Gutenberg. Open up a Microsoft Word “New” and then open the template and add ins’ for Teacher’s Pet and add one paragraph at a time and click the appropriate tab for the type of question you want. https://www.teachers-pet.org/
- TeachNology has several online worksheet makers and a ton of Rubric makers. Rubrics work great with Homeschool Tracker because they give you total points and you count up exactly how many points your child gets. https://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/
- Online Crossword Puzzle Maker to use with your vocabulary words or locations or even dated from the timeline. https://www.happychild.org.uk/wks/english/ssm/crosswords01.htm
Evaluation Ideas:
Assemble a three ring binder and please include:
- A copy of this unit
- Course Description (Highschool Students)
- Write a summary about books read for the unit
- Your Lapbook created for the unit (K-8 Students)
- Any worksheets or activity books created with Teachers Pet https://www.teachers-pet.org/ or the SchoolhouseTech Software https://www.schoolhousetech.com/
- Your journal and its contents
- Your Log of activities from Homeschool Tracker https://www.homeschooltracker.com/free-homeschool-tracker-basic-edition Its Free!
- Your Timeline