Medieval Europe - The Canterbury Tales - Geoffrey Chaucer

Chaucer's Canterbury Tales by Marcia Williams
Read-aloud: The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

Discussion:
Chaucer's life
Origins of the tales
The prologue - meet the pilgrims

Activity:
Draw 10 of the pilgrims
History journal
Map/picture study (Canterbury)

Imperial China - Tang Dynasty - Art

Discussion:
Woodblock printing - accessibility of texts and imagery
Leshan Giant Buddha
Mogao Cave paintings and murals

Activity:
Field trip to the Freer and Sackler Galleries

Imperial China - Tang Dynasty - Poets and Poetry

Maples in the Mist: Poems for Children from the Tang Dynasty by Minfong Ho, Mou-Sien Tseng, and Jean Tseng

Discussion:
Tang Dynasty fosters the arts
Major poets of the Tang Dynasty
Poems

Activity:
History journal
Memorize 3 Tang Dynasty poems

Imperial China - Han Dynasty - Art and Literature

The Han Dynasty by Sheila Wyborny
Read-aloud: Ancient Chinese Legends by Yeng-Fong Chiang and Rena Krasno

Discussion:
Materials used in art - bronze, paper (after 100 CE), pottery
Poetry and historical literature
Themes - royalty, peasant life, clothing, buildings

Activity:
History journal
Picture study: Han Dynasty Art

Medieval India - Harsha Vardhana

Harsha Vardhana
Read-aloud: Tales from India by Jamila Gavin and Amanda Hall

Discussion:
Harsha rises to power and reunites northern India
Religious devotion - important advances for Buddhism
Culture and arts

Activity:
History journal
Map study - extent of Harsha's Empire

Medieval India - The Gupta Empire

The Gupta Empire
Read-aloud: Tales from India by Jamila Gavin and Amanda Hall

Discussion:
Further stratification of the Hindu caste system
Advances in science and art, literature - exporting Gupta culture to Southeast Asia
The Hun Invasion, weakening of the government and its collapse

Activity:
History journal
Map study - extent of the Gupta Empire
Picture study: India by Michael Wood

Medieval Europe - Art in the 12th-13th Centuries

The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe
History of Western Art

Discussion:
Developments in style from post-Carolingian era to post-Dante
Symbolic representations in religious art
Recognizing provenance

Activity:
Field trip to the National Gallery of Art

Medieval Europe - Dante Alighieri

Read-aloud: The Inferno, ed. Mark Musa (skip the Florentine bits)

Discussion:
Life of Dante - general mess of Italian political states and the papacy
Divine Comedy - influences from Catholic theology and Scholastic physics
Influence

Activity:
History journal - draw a schema of the Inferno
Maps and Charts about the Comedy, Florence, Aristotelian science

Medieval Europe - The 12th-Century Renaissance

Read-Aloud: The Lais of Marie de France, Arthurian Romances by Chretien de Troyes

Discussion:
"Re-birth" of the arts and sciences in Europe
Flowering of culture, trade, technology
Centralization of government, expansion of cities

Activity:
History journal
Picture study - works from the 12th and 13th centuries, major painters and writers of the era
Recover from medieval feast of last night

Medieval Europe - Music

On Secular Music and the texts of the songs presented
Read-Aloud: The Lais of Marie de France

Discussion:
Courtly love's influence on music
Types of musicians and music
Performance venues

Activity:
Listening to medieval music

Medieval Europe - Arthurian Romances and Courtly Love

Read Aloud: The Lais of Marie de France, Chretien de Troyes

Discussion:
Courtly love and chivalric ideals
Poetry based on King Arthur and his legends
Ideals of knighthood - modern ideas about the Middle Ages that persist from this time period

Activity:
History journal
Picture study: The Oxford History of Western Art

14th century depictions of Guenevere and Lancelot

19th century representations of courtly love:
John Keats, La Belle Dame sans Merci, and paintings
Leighton, God Speed! painting

Medieval Europe - Norman Invasion

The story of the Norman invasion as told through the Bayeux Tapestry, evaluating primary sources (where does it come from?  Whose viewpoint is it? Is it reliable?)
Castles of the World by Gianni Guadalupe and Gabrielle Reina

Discussion:
Battle of Hastings
French influence on English language
William builds castles

Activity:
History journal
Map study - the invasion
Re-enactment of Battle of Hastings - Playmobil people

Medieval Middle East and Africa - Review - History

Empires - give one to two sentences about the following empires: 

• Byzantine 
• Sasanid
• Ummayyad
• Abbasid
• Fatimid
• Ghana/Mali/Songhay
• Benin
• Kongo
• Great Zimbabwe

Art and Architecture - name some distinctive features of the art and architectural styles of each empire.

Social customs - give some examples of what society was like in each empire. 

Religion - briefly describe the religious views of each empire and how tolerant of other religions they were.

Government - describe the nature of governance in each empire.

Decline (if applicable) - explain why each government eventually fell into decline

Medieval Middle East - Abbasid and Ummayad Empires - Art and Architecture

Islam by Neil Morris
1001 Inventions & Awesome Facts from Muslim Civilization by National Geographic Kids

The Genius of Islam by Bryn Barnard

Islamic Art and Culture: A Visual Guide by Nasser Khalili

Discussion:
Muslim architecture throughout the Mediterraean
Spanish buildings and fortresses
Mosques, government buildings, palaces, homes
Decorative arts, illuminated Qur'an

Activity:
History journal
Visit the Freer and Sackler Galleries

Medieval Middle East - Islam - Mosques, Religious Practice, Art

Mosque by David Macaulay
What You Will See Inside a Mosque by Aisha Karen Khan and Aaron Pepis
Islamic Art and Culture: A Visual History by Nasser Khalili

Discussion:
Structure, components, function of the Mosque
Religious art in Islam
Daily prayer, ablutions, occasional prayer (meals etc)

Activity:
History journal
Picture study: mosques around the world, illuminated Qur'an
Visit the Islamic Center of Washington, DC

Medieval Europe - Byzantine Empire - Art and Architecture

Art of Constantinople: An Introduction to Byzantine Art 330-1453 by John Beckwith

Discussion:
Themes and materials in Byzantine art
Greek Christian iconography
Buildings - structure, purpose, decoration

Activity:
History journal
Picture study

Ancient Rome - Late Republic - Cleopatra

Queen Cleopatra by Tom Streisguth

Discussion:
Review of Egypt - geography, monarchy, religion
Alexander the Great and the Ptolemies
Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII

Activity:
Mapping Egypt
Picture Study - Ptolemaic Egypt - compare to Old, Middle, New Kingdom art/imagery

Ancient Rome - The Republic - Art and Architecture

The Ancient Romans by Allison Lassieur
Ancient Roman Art by Susie Hodge
Rome in Spectacular Cross-Section by Stephen Biesty
"A Shot in the Dark" from Roman Myths by Geraldine McCaughrean and Emma Chichester Clark

Discussion:
Roman contributions to architecture and buildings - arch, dome
Appian Way, Aqueduct
Religion and art

Activity:
Copy a famous Roman work of art

Ancient Rome - Founding Mythology

"Romulus and Remus" from Roman Myths by Geraldine McCaughrean and Emma Chichester Clark
The Ancient Romans by Allison Lassieur

Discussion:
Twin stories across cultures (Cain/Abel, Apollo/Artemis, yin-yang etc) - different sides of human nature
The Etruscans - a middle-eastern people? Similarities to other cultures studied;
Monarchy - The Seven Kings

Activity:
Picture Study: Etruscan imagery

Ancient Greece - Art

Looking at Faces in Art by Joy Richardson
Ancient Greek Art by Susie Hodge
The Aesop for Children (Selections)

Discussion:
Story as inspiration in art

Activity:
*Field trip to the National Gallery of Art* - see how much mythology and history you can recognize