The Topic: Castles Easier - A castle was a large fort or group of buildings that are built strongly enough to repel attack. Castles were enclosed in thick walls with places to shoot arrows from. They were often surrounded by a deep ditch filled with water. The castle was the home of a noble, a king or queen (monarch), or someone important and loyal to the monarch.   Harder - The word castle comes from a Latin word meaning fortress. European castles developed from fortified camps built by the ancient Romans and from fenced villages of prehistoric Europeans. The earliest castles were built of earth and timber and placed on a constructed or natural hill, called a motte. Today the structures that most people think of as a castle were those built of stone in Europe between A.D. 900 and 1400.   In the Middle Ages, which lasted from the A.D. 400's to 1500, Europe was divided into many small states, and local conflicts were common. Castles played a central role in the political and military system of those times, a system called feudalism. Under feudalism, kings often granted land to nobles called vassals in exchange for military and other services. A castle was the home and fortress of a noble or monarch. A castle helped the king or vassal defend their lands and also provided a home for their family and servants. Castles also served as a barracks, prison, storehouse, armory, treasure house, and center for local government.   Castle Learning Center at Castles of Britain http://www.castles-of-britain.com/castle6.htm Here you can learn about castles and their construction, furnishings, daily life , view drawings and photos, and lots more.   Castles on the Web http://www.castlesontheweb.com/ Castles on the Web offers castle links, castle photos, castle site of the day, castles for kids and more. Not-to-be-Missed Section: 2) Glossary of Castle Terms http://www.castlesontheweb.com/glossary.html   Ghosts in the Castle (National Geographic) http://www.nationalgeographic.com/castles/enter.html Poke around the rooms of a castle and see how it was both a home and a fortress for a lord and his family.   Medieval Seige at NOVA Online http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/trebuchet/ Experts examine medieval war strategies, weapons, and castle design. See how the devastating giant trebuchet could smash castle walls!    After visiting several of the websites, complete one or more of the following activities:   Chart the Differences. After visiting several of the castle sites, create a chart that identifies the similarities and differences between a home, a castle, and a palace. One way to present your information would make a Ven diagram.   Build a Castle. Look at several castle designs. You might want to take a virtual tour at a site like Snayfwickby Castle. Next layout and construct your own castle model. You may want to go to Build a Medieval Castle to download their free software and instructions for building a model medieval castle, complete with towers, gatehouse and keep. Or you may select your own materials and design. Display your finished model.   Complete a Castle WebQuest. Follow or adapt the procedures found at the one of the following webQuest sites: 1) Castle Discovery (Grade 3-7) by Larry Taylor http://www.windarooss.qld.edu.au/Main_Pages/Castle_Webquest/welcome.htm 2) Castle Fortifications Project http://www.district96.w-cook.k12.il.us/webquests/quests/bylandc6castles.html 3) Castle WebQuest http://Wappingersschools.org/WQ/Medieval/jens2ndpage.html As an alternative or challenge project and after viewing these webQuests, design a new and different webquest about castles.   Compare and Contrast Castles. Visit some of the castle sites and then pick two different ones. Identify all the alike and different things about your two castles.   Write a Castle Story. Pick a character who lived or worked in a castle; it could be a noble, a servant, a child, or even a mouse. Then write a story about their life in the castle. Include a major event in your story. Illustrate your story with original drawings. Share your finished work with your friends, family, and/or classmates.   Make a Knight's Helmet. You can get started with ideas and instructions that you find at Make Your Own Helmet from the Cleveland Art Museum.   Websites By Kids For Kids Ian's Land of Castles by Ian Burns http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/n/x/nxd10/castles.htm#top Here you can find out why castles were built and other neat castle facts.   Journey Through the Middle Ages with James the Jingling Jester (1998 ThinkQuest Project) http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/4051/ This site has information about life in the Middle Ages including feudalism and society, castle life and structure, castle defense, education, jobs and trades.   Knight Quest (2000 ThinkQuest Junior Project) http://library.thinkquest.org/J002767/ Find out all about knights and their way of life, armor, weapons, castles, and dragons.   Legend of King Arthur (1999 ThinkQuest Junior Project) http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/6148/ This website teaches about King Arthur and Medieval times including castles, the round table, the legend of King Arthur, knights, glossary and a reference page.   Magnificent Medieval Times (2000 Silver Medal ThinkQuest Junior Project) http://library.thinkquest.org/J002390/ Journey back in time to learn about kings, queens, peasants, castles, knights, and more.   Medieval Fiefdom (1997 ThinkQuest Project) http://library.thinkquest.org/10949/ This site shows life in England during the eleventh through fourteenth centuries including information about castles, medieval kitchens, peasant's homes, town churches, fortifications, and the social structures of the times.   Medieval Madness (2000 ThinkQuest Junior Project) http://library.thinkquest.org/J002306/ Learn of the people within the castle walls and what their role was to keep the castle running smoothly.   World of Castles (1997 ThinkQuest Project) http://library.thinkquest.org/12132/ Here you can find photos and descriptions of castle life during medieval times, take a virtual tour or play a castle game, and even look at the real estate listings for castles currently for sale or rent.   More Castle Sites Castles: Seen by the Light of a Thousand Candles http://www.manitoulin-link.com/medieval/castles.html#intro This website provides an overview of the methods of construction, layout, and defense and offense, as well as a glossary of terms.   Castles Abbeys and Medieval Buildings by Michael W Cook http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~mwcook/ The site provides a record of castles, abbeys, churches, manor houses and all types of medieval buildings in the UK.   Castles of the World http://www.castles.org/ This reference for has information about castles, palaces and monasteries including: castle tours, medieval architecture, castles for sale, site of the week, history, armor and swords.   Kids' Castle http://kotn.ntu.ac.uk/castle/ Explore each virtual area of this 1480 Nottingham Castle replica, meet the residents, and learn all about medieval castle life.    Vi-Ren Castle (A Virtual Renaissance Castle at Twin Groves Junior High School, IL.) http://www.twingroves.district96.k12.il.us/renaissance/Castles/Castles.html This tour includes information on the hall, the kitchen, the living quarters, the chapel, the garrison, and the hearth as well as include links so you can explore further into Vir-Ren Castle.   Online Castles A&E America's Castles Travel Guide http://www.aande.com/tv/shows/castles/index2.html Barholm Castle http://www.casema.net/~jbrennan/barholm.html (Scotland) Blair Castle http://www.blair-castle.co.uk/ (Scotland) Castle Guide http://www.great-britain.org/castle.htm (England) Castle Levan http://www.kirkburn.com (Scotland) Castle of St Geogen http://www.stsnet.at/hs-stgeorgen/schloss/eschloss/e_schloss.htm (Austria) Castle Stuart http://www.castles.org/Chatelaine/STUART.HTM (Scotland) Castles in Germany http://www.centralia.ctc.edu/%7Evfreund/GermanResources/Germanslides/Germany/castles.html Castles of Britian http://www.castles-of-britain.com/ (England, Scotland, and Wales) Castles and Places of Poland http://www.poland.net/castles Castles of Japan http://www.magi.com/~ttoyooka/oshiro/ Castles of Tuscany http://www.castellitoscani.com (Italy) Castles of the United States http://www.dupontcastle.com/castles Castles of Wales http://www.castlewales.com/home.html Castles of the World http://www.castles.org/directory/ Château de Tennessus http://www.wfi.fr/tennessus/history.html (Poitou Charentes, France) Devizes Castle http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/3670/index.html (Wiltshire, England) Duart Castle http://www.mull.zynet.co.uk/members/duart.html (Isle of Mull, Scotland) Durham Castle http://www.dur.ac.uk/~dla0www/c_tour/castle.html (England) Edinburgh Castle http://www.great-britain.org/cas004.htm (Scotland) 48 German Castles http://www.germancastles.com Great Houses of Scotland http://www.great-houses-scotland.co.uk/  (Scotland) Hever Castle http://www.hevercastle.co.uk/ (England) Historic Irish Castles http://www.historic.irishcastles.com/ (Ireland) Lancaster Castle http://www.priory.lancs.ac.uk/castle.html (England) Leeds Castle http://www.leeds-castle.co.uk/ (Maidstone, Kent, England) Peel Castle http://www.isle-of-man.com/heritage/sites/peel-castle/index.htm (St Patrick's Isle) Skipton Castle http://www.skiptoncastle.co.uk/index.htm (North Yorkshire, Enland) Versailles http://www.castles.org/castles/Europe/Western_Europe/France/france6.htm (France) Warwick Castle http://www.cv81pl.freeserve.co.uk/warwick.htm and http://www.warwick-castle.co.uk/main/home.html (Warwick, England) Welsh Castle Index http://www.castlewales.com/home.html   Websites For Teachers Castles and Kings (Grade 6) http://www.uen.org/cgi-bin/websql/lessons/l4.hts?id=7818&core=1103 Using the writing process students will write a classroom newspaper which will contain narratives based on castles, kings, dragons, and the medieval period.   Contrasting and Comparing Japanese and European Castles (Grade 10) by Dave Landers http://www.centerx.gseis.ucla.edu/outreach/projects/chssp/BPSources/Japanese_castles/c astle1.html#Anchor In this lesson, students will identify basic designs of a castle and their functions, see the similarities and differences of the typical Japanese and European castle, and summarize the development of the feudal Japanese castle.   Discovering Castles (Grade 6) by Candace Nixon http://msnhomepages.talkcity.com/LibraryLawn/candaceteach/CastleProject.htm Here are lesson plans and resources for a unit on castles.   Kids in the Castle: Lessons, Activities, and Virtual Tours! at Education World http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr190.shtml This curriculum article provides ideas for educational fun as students explore life in the Middle Ages.   Life in a Medieval Castle by David Meyler (Grade 5-9) http://www.edunetconnect.com/medlt.html Five projects that integrate art and social studies are based on the medieval period of about 1200-1300, with the idea of a castle or cathedral providing a unifying element. Students make stained glass, design tapestries, create heraldic shields, and perform a mystery play.   Medieval Siege: Fling It! at NOVA Online (Grades 5-12) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachersguide/lostempires2/setup_ms.html Here is a lesson that integrates science and social studies. Students construct a working trebuchet to demonstrate how a lever works.   Medieval Math (Grade 5-7) by Shannon Schlosser http://tlc.ai.org/lessons/geometlp.htm This lesson lesson plan integrates social studies and math by having students make a medieval banner or flag using measurement skills   castle great hall battlement armour dungeon Middle Ages medieval life knight king baron lord page serf motte drawbridge archer crossbow axe spear bow and arrow catapult palisade breach siege trebuchet battering ram feudalism noble vassal fortress bailey keep moat stone half-timber ward guard merlon crenel gatehouse tower monarch ghosts minstrel rents peasant chivalry wattle and daub    Created by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson, 1/99 Updated, 7/00