Middle Ages Trimester 3 Supplemental Links

Painting by Paul Hardy (1903) showing the Canterbury pilgrims of Chaucer’s tale. Public domain.

Can you believe we’ve begun our third and final trimester of the year? And to start it off, we want to offer you a few ideas on supplemental videos, activities, and resources that pair well with our history and literature for this trimester. There are options for kids as well as parents listed here. 

This is only a small sampling of what you can find online, and parents, we do encourage you to use your own discretion when choosing appropriate and enjoyable movies, websites, or activities for your kids. SLOCA has not previewed all the following selections, we have only compiled a list for you to explore:

Movies/Videos:

• Marco Polo (Animated) – from Animated Hero Classics, geared toward kids

and

• Joan of Arc (Animated) – also from Animated Hero Classics

• The Life of a Silkworm – a YouTube video

and

• Silkworms Eating, Cuddling, and Spinning – a cool timelapse video of silkworms filmed for 30 hours

• The Heirs of Genghis Khan (2004) – documentary that tells the story of three different ethnic groups in Mongolia who are all descendants of Genghis Khan

• The Great Wall of China – documentary about the building of this engineering wonder

• Mr. Peabody and Sherman – Most of our kids are familiar with the recent movie, but have they watched the original series from the 1950s? The first season is free to watch on Amazon Prime, and if you look through the episode descriptions, you’ll find Marco Polo, King Richard the Lion-Hearted, Robin Hood, King Arthur, and other famous people your kids will recognize! 

{image credit: amazon.com}

• For parents who want a quick overview of the plot, characters, and themes of Hamlet (or watch with your kids), here are three BBC videos to check out. 

There are many movie versions of Hamlet to choose from, if you want to watch the film after reading the play. Here are a few:

• Hamlet (1948) NR – Available to rent on Amazon. This is the classic Laurence Olivier film that won four Academy Awards.

• Hamlet (1990) PG – Available to rent through Netflix, or purchase on Amazon. This is the Mel Gibson version.

• Hamlet (1996) PG-13 – Available to rent through Netflix or Amazon. Veteran Shakespearean actor Kenneth Branagh writes, directs and stars in this four-time Oscar nominated classic Shakespeare saga. Some scenes may not be appropriate for younger children (note the rating), but this is an excellent version for older students to watch.

{image credit: imdb.com}

• Hamlet (2010) TV-PG – Watch for free on PBS: “Classical stage and screen actors David Tennant and (recently-knighted) Sir Patrick Stewart reprise their roles for a modern-dress, film-for-television adaptation of the Royal Shakespeare Company's (RSC) 2008 stage production of Hamlet.” 

• Hamlet with David Tennant – This documentary about the play is also available to watch for free on PBS.

• Kids Explain Shakespeare’s Hamlet – This is a cute re-telling of the play by kids, complete with adults lip-syncing and acting along as the kids explain the story.

And for those kids who enjoy making connections to other stories, check this out:

• Hamlet in 7 Disney Movies

or

• Parallels of Hamlet and The Lion King

• The Black Death from Ratatouille – remember this brief history lesson in this movie? 

• Canterbury Tales Episode 1, Episode 2, and Episode 3 (Animated) – These claymation videos on YouTube might be fun for our students when we get to this book. We have not previewed all of these episodes, and while they appear to be made for kids, Chaucer is famous for his use of “colorful language” and somewhat bawdy content, so parents might want to preview these just in case. 

• Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972) PG – A film about St. Francis of Assisi, available to rent on Amazon.

• St. Joan (1957) NR – Available to rent on Amazon. “An all-star cast brings the dramatic story of Joan of Arc to the big screen.”

• There are also these courses on sale right now through The Great Courses: Francis of Assisi, and Medieval Heroines in History and Legends, which covers Joan of Arc.

Games/Activities:

• Medieval Jeopardy – There are no fancy graphics here, but it could be used for review or just for fun.

• Medieval Times Crossword Puzzle – printable

• The Marco Polo Odyssey – from National Geographic

• BBC’s The Black Death – a website for students 

{image credit: BBC Bitesize}

• Color stick puppets for Chanticleer and the Fox – great printable activity for younger kids when you read this book.

• Learn about the history of the pretzel (they’re Medieval!) and make pretzels.

• Shakespeare (and Hamlet) for Kids on Pinterest – lots of pins and lots of ideas!

Resources:

• Hamlet Audiobook by Librivox – listen for free while you read along! Also available on YouTube.

• But if you don’t mind paying a bit, there’s a fully dramatized audio edition of Hamlet on Audible – the very Hamlet book we are reading with our students. Or buy it from other retailers here. (There are other versions on Audible as well, this is just one option.)

• Hamlet Curriculum Guide – From the Folger Shakespeare Library, this guide features a few useful items, such as a synopsis, a character connections chart, and a list of famous lines and phrases.

• Time Maps – We’ve shared this site with you before, but this map is for Europe from 1215-1453AD. You can move forward and backward in time to see how the map changes.

• Map of Mongolian Empire – This site has some good basic info about the Mongolian Empire and Genghis Khan, with a nice map at the bottom of the page, and a short video.

• Marco Polo’s Journey – an interactive, handy and quick reference to see Marco Polo’s route

• Spread of the Black Death – an interactive map

• Joan of Arc Pictures and Artistic Representations – This index lists them all, and once you’re viewing one picture you can navigate forward and backward through the list.

“Jeanne at the Stake” by Jules-Eugène Lenepveu

{image credit: Maid of Heaven}

• And of course, in the Password Protected Parent Resources section of our website, there is a document called Supplemental History Resources for 2014/15, which lists many additional books and resources – great to have handy when you visit the library for a few extra items, or if you'd like to add some excellent books to your own home library.

If any of the above links do not work, please send an email to Down Home and let us know! 

Do you have any additional suggestions? Share them in the comments.

SLO Classical Academy is not affiliated with any of the above mentioned websites or businesses.