Renaissance+Resources

=Renaissance Resources:= Please post below your resources and an explanation of how you would incorporate this into a lesson plan related to the Renaissance period.

I will never forget doing a Renaissance Fair when I was in middle school. The entire 7th grade participated and the two teams were broken up into different categories dealing with the Renaissance, I don't remember what they were. The students worked in groups of about five and conducted research on the topic of their choosing and created displays. We did make this an actual fair that was set up in the courtyard of the school with very large displays that were built by parent. I remember ours was a back drop made of plywood that displayed different types of shops that would be in a typical Renaissance market place and we all dressed in appropriate costumes. There were groups that made castles, dressed as knights, one group created a gypsy style camp, and so on. It was quite a bit of work, but it was so much fun and something that I have always remembered.

Jessica Merchant

I also remember studying the Renaissance period when I was in high school. For weeks our teacher taught us about the Renaissance period. Everything from how they dressed, their daily activities, what kind of jobs were typical, the music they listened to, and the food they ate. We were all assigned a group that had to create a business that would have existed during that time. Around the last 15-20 minutes of class each day leading up to the fair, our teacher would let us get into our groups and discuss our plans to put our business into action for our Annual Renaissance Fair. It was a big deal at our school. We actually sold things and everyone was in full costume. There was music, games, food, and booths that represented some form of living for the people that lived during that time period. We each were responsible for our own costumes, set, and props that would be used that day. Other classes would be invited to participate if they came in costume to partake in the activities. It was and still is a very successful event for that particular teacher's class. J. Hutchinson

You could create a webquest that would allow students to visit different websites that are related to the Renaissance time period. You could have students search for particular answers that they only can find on the websites listed. This would be a great way to get students to become familiar with this time period. This could be used as a beginning motivational activity for a lesson plan or it could be used for an end of the unit review. K. Matthews