Articles

King Arthur Legends Project

Project Booklet (PDF)

While reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe from "The Chronicles of Narnia" to the Kindergarten class, we noticed a high level of interest in knights and armor. We began reading The Sword in the Stone. The children were fascinated and wanted to learn more about King Arthur, knights, and the rescue of fair damsels. We looked at turning this interest into a complex experience.

Components of the Project

• Read a great deal of literature about the legends and time period
• Produce drawings of the characters and action of the story
• Have the students talk about their drawings—retelling the scene or describing the characters
• Compile dictation
• Integrate study of skeletal system into the creation of their favorite characters in clay
• Write the names of their characters
• Build Arthur's castle from wood
• Integrate map work with mapping out Camelot through stories
• Build a medieval village out of clay
• Create a play from the student's dictation
• Create props for the play
• Create a curtain for the play
• Introduce music from the musical Camelot and Wagner's Ring Cycle
• Introduce historical figures from the period
• Perform the play
• Create miniature sets and backdrops for the clay figures
• Film the miniatures