I was recently asked for project ideas for “Castles.” I took me about ten seconds to realize that this was a fantastic authentic project topic.
There are so many ways to approach this. Designing and building a model castle based on historical research. Castle life, past versus present. Castle design, past versus present. (Do we have modern day castles?)
Clothing people wore in castles in the past. Status and clothing. How was clothing made in the past? Food, recreation…
Creating a government system for a castle based on the history and time period selected…
Do all castles have kings and queens? The history of a royal family – remember with authentic learning you have a starting point, but if “Castles” turns into a project about the history of a royal family – that is authentic learning!
Europe has castles galore. Asia? The rest of the continents? Why aren’t there thousand-year-old castles (ruins) in North America? Cataloging castles around the world…
I could keep going with this one forever. Tons of opportunity for authentic reading, writing, math, social studies, science (physics – how did those trebuchets work?)
And please keep in mind that I have always fancied being a queen, so I volunteer to serve as the queen in your castle!
The Educational Journey 