Medieval History Lapbook

In January I posted an overview of the 10-week Medieval History class I was teaching for our homeschool co-op, thinking someone might benefit from my outline. Boy, was I right! Obviously lots of people are interested in information on this topic, based on the consistent number of hits that post receives. One commenter asked if I could show pictures of the lapbook we made. We wrapped up our 10-week session with a medieval feast last week and everyone took home their completed lapbooks, so I am now able to comply with that request!

The outside of the lapbook is constructed of file folders. Ours was large, so there were two overlapping file folders for each cover, making an extra large book. I hope these pictures help you get an idea of what we did. (For more information on constructing a lapbook, I would recommend you Google it; there is also a comprehensive post here.) We gave three choices for the cover image, using the simplest for our younger classes (the grades ranged from K - 8th grade). Here are two cover choices:

Here is one view of the inside of the book. The center section has three flaps which display outside the castle walls, plan of a castle, and inside the castle walls. On the right you can see the cover of our timeline.

The timeline is comprised of images and descriptions, plus dates on the outside of each flap:

The code of honor was glued beneath the timeline and each child wrote their own personal code. Can you read my daughters’ codes?

Opening the middle reveals another section, which includes a stained glass picture of a knight (from this Dover coloring book) and a personal coat of arms:

One week we discussed a Medieval medicine cabinet and what herbs it would contain:

We also constructed a Book of Days for each child, which can be used for their personal journal, poems, prayer requests, etc. Their initials are on the front cover (taken from the Dover illuminated alphabet coloring book) and there is a sleeve to hold the book:

Here is the section with the steps to knighthood (page, squire, knight):

We taught over 50 students in 6 classes, 2 teachers per class (4 teachers on our Medieval History team). One teacher in each class taught the lesson, and the other taught the lapbooking. I highly recommend preparing your lapbook materials in advance, as there is a lot of cutting and printing involved. Our primary reference, Knights & Castles: 50 Hands-On Activities to Experience the Middle Ages (Kaleidoscope Kids), was completely essential to teaching the class and limited the amount of teacher preparation required for that aspect of the course. At our Medieval feast on the final day of class the older students performed St. George and the Dragon, a Medieval play contained in that book.

Our lapbooks turned out beautifully and the kids are so proud of them! If you attempt a lapbook of this nature for a class that requires a budget, be aware that you will use lots of glue! Lapbooking provides an opportunity for practicing good penmanship, which was something we didn’t have time to utilize in our class. We printed most of the descriptions since we were limited to 9 45-minute classes to teach the course and build the books (on the 10th week finished some of the coloring before our Medieval feast).

If you have a further interest in lapbooking, I recommend you check out CurrClick: Curriculum in a Click for downloadable homeschooling resources:

There are also lots of free lapbooks to download here.