In my 7th-8th grade English class in our Providence Home Educators co-op, we've been doing a unit on Medieval Legends. I've been sending home handouts with the legends in them, as well as comprehension questions and related writing assignments. The two main source books I've been using are:
- Medieval Legends (Imitation in Writing series) by Matt Whitling, where I found the legends of Roland and of St. George and the Dragon. I did not use the writing component of this book, which I found at a used curriculum sale.
- Medieval History-Based Writing Lessons by Lori Verstegen, which is published by the Institute for Excellence in Writing (www.excellenceinwriting.com/). In the this book, I found the story of "Genghis Khan and His Hawk" as well as instruction on sentence starters and descriptive writing. (This is a $35 book, but I found it at a used curriculum sale for about $1.)
KING ALFRED AND THE CAKES by James Baldwin
KING ALFRED AND THE BEGGAR by James Baldwin
BRUCE AND THE SPIDER by James Baldwin
THE KING AND HIS HAWK by James Baldwin
LITERATURE STUDY OF ROBERT BRUCE AND THE SPIDER
Robert Bruce was a king of Scotland who lived from 1274-1329. Here is the tartan pattern of the Bruce clan.
Story Questions
- In which century did this story take place?
- What is the first setting of the story? Where does the story end?
- List the three words in the first paragraph that let you know it is cold.
- Note that the story was written in British style. The quotes are single (') instead of double (") and there is one word in the first paragraph that uses British spelling. What is it? How do we Americans spell this word?
- Write down the words that your parent has underlined in the story. Look up the definitions and write them in your own words.
- Underline all of the adjectives in the story. Notice that they are generally vivid and descriptive, adding interest to the story.
- List at least four words used to show the king's emotions.
- Why was Robert in agony?
- How long after seeing the spider did he still need to persevere in order to gain the final victory?
- What is the lesson of this story? Write at least three sentences.
Writing or Oral Narration Assignments:
- Write a one paragraph summary of the story using vivid verbs and quality adjectives. Use a variety of sentence structures.
- Tell of a time when you hesitated to do something. What helped you overcome this? What was the result?
- Read more about Robert Bruce at www.longlongtimeago.com/llta_history_bruce.html (or for more advanced readers or parents who want to paraphrase www.britannia.com/bios/robertbruce.html) or other sources. Write a paragraph about what you learn.
"Bruce and the Spider"
Bernard Barton (1784-1849)
The Bruce his part has played;--
In five successive fields of fight
Been conquered and dismayed:
Once more against the English host
His band he led, and once more lost
The meed for which he fought;
And now from battle, faint and worn,
The homeless fugitive, forlorn,
A hut's lone shelter sought.
And cheerless was that resting-place
For him who claimed a throne;-- His canopy, devoid of grace,
The rude, rough beams alone;
The heather couch his only bed--
Yet well I ween had slumber fled
From couch of eider down!
Through darksome night till dawn of day,
Absorbed in wakeful thought he lay
Of Scotland and her crown.
Fell on that hapless bed,
And tinged with light each shapeless beam
Which roofed the lowly shed;
When, looking up with wistful eye,
The Bruce beheld a spider try
His filmy thread to fling
From beam to beam of that rude cot--
And well the insect's toilsome lot
Taught Scotland's future king.
Six times the gossamery thread
The wary spider threw;-- In vain the filmy line was sped,
For powerless or untrue
Each aim appeared, and back recoiled
The patient insect, six times foiled,
And yet unconquered still;
And soon the Bruce, with eager eye,
Saw him prepare once more to try
His courage, strength, and skill.
One effort more, his seventh and last!--
The hero hailed the sign!-- And on the wished-for beam hung fast
That slender silken line!
Slight as it was, his spirit caught
The more than omen; for his thought
The lesson well could trace,
Which even "he who runs may read,"
That Perseverance gains its meed,
And Patience wins the race.
- Read the poem aloud. Can you determine the rhythm pattern? Which syllables are emphasized? How many syllables are in each line? Is there a pattern of the number of syllables in each line of all of the stanzas? Note: In some cases, two syllables may be compressed into one to keep the rhythm. An example of this is the word "seventh" in the first line of the last stanza.
- Notice which pairs of lines in each stanza rhyme. Assign each rhyme pair a letter. What is the rhyming pattern of the poem? Hint: each stanza has the same basic pattern, though with different rhymes. Note: sometimes the rhymes are not exact, like "host" and "lost" in the first stanza. These are more visual than audible rhymes.
- An archaic word is one that is obsolete, and is not used anymore. "Meed" is an archaic word that means "reward." Find the two places it occurs in the poem, and circle them. What other archaic words do you see in this poem?
- In what ways is the poem different than the story?
(Note to parents: The rhythm pattern of the poem is dee DUM dee DUM dee DUM, etc. with even numbered syllables emphasized. The pattern of the number of syllables in the lines of each stanze is roughly 8-6-8-6-8-8-6-8-6-6-8. The rhyming pattern of the poem is A-B-A-B-C-C-D-E-E-D. You will notice that the rhythm and rhyming patterns are similar. The first four lines alternate, the next two lines are the same as each other, and the last four lines have the first and fourth lines matching and the second and third lines matching.)
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