Fun at the Fair -- Issue 27 -- July 4-10, 2009

This week's standards:
Students understand the ways in which language, stories, folktales, music and artistic creations serve as expressions of culture and influence the behavior of people living in a particular culture. (Social Studies: Culture)

Activities:
1. Draw a picture of yourself and a friend at a Renaissance fair. Write a story about visiting the fair (what you see, eat and do there).

2. With a friend, look through the grocery ads of the newspaper. Use a red marker to circle foods that people ate in the Middle Ages or the Renaissance. Use a blue marker to circle modern foods that you would not find in those times.

3. Look in newspaper ads for three modern appliances or electronic devices that would have improved life for people living during Renaissance times. Explain how each item would have made life better for those people.

4. In which of the Renaissance tournament events would you have to have (a) good eyesight, (b) quick reflexes and (c) strong arms?

5. In what ways are modern sports like events at a Renaissance tournament? Find sports in the newspaper that are similar to tournament events. Write a paragraph comparing modern and historical sporting events.

(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)