Princesses are People Too - European Royalty Unit Study Planning in Progress

Princesses are People Too

Royalty Then and Now

A Social Studies Unit Study for Nicole Murray

2013 -2014

1.            Read all the instructions and assignments before beginning. Assignments do not need to be completed in the order they appear on the list, with the exception of #13 which must be completed after #12. Every page should have an underlined title. Neatness counts. Underline titles with a ruler. Print neatly. Use a ruler so your captions are straight. Finally got questions? Please ask!

2.            Create a beautiful title page for your notebook. Worth 7 points

3.            You will be using books and the internet to work your way through this unit study. Please keep a thorough bibliography. I should be able to click each link and see where you got all the information for every assignment except perhaps #2. Do you need to learn how to do a bibliography?  Ask your mom! Worth 10  points.

4.            Use an outline map of the world and the internet.  Look up "countries with royalty". Use a symbol, or a colour to show each country that currently has a monarch on the throne.  Check your sources carefully. Some lists include "pretenders", and countries or monarchies which no longer exist. Title your map with the current year and "Countries with Royalty". Worth 25 points

  

5.            In a couple of sentences identify three ways monarchies are abolished. Include in your notebook.  Worth 5 points.

6.            Research thrones.  Print photos of 5-10 thrones from various kingdoms and label them with the name of the kingdom or country where they were used and the monarch who used them.  Worth 20 points.

7.            Royal Titles. Read this article. Make a page in your notebook identifying various royal titles.  http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100119151117AAYBOp4  Worth  7 points. On a separate page write out the complete title of Queen Elizabeth II. Worth 3 points.

8.            British royal family. Read FAQ  page http://www.britroyals.com/faqs.htm

9.            This looks like an interesting website. Have a look around. http://www.royalty.nu/

10.          Vocabulary:  Write these words and phrases in your notebook.  Define each word. Worth 2 points each.

Monarch

King

Queen

Prince

Princess

Pretender

Morganatic marriage

Usurper

Imposter

Divine Right of Kings

Order of Succession

Hereditary monarchy

Elective monarchy

Abdicate

Head of state

Absolute monarch

Regent

Peerage

11.          Research 5 – 10 monarchs. These monarchs can be from the same royal line or country or from a variety of lines and countries. Make a page for each monarch and their reign. Include the same facts on each page: age when they came to the throne, royal name, age when they ceased to reign, name of country or countries, what is their reign known for (peace and stability for example), any other interesting fact. Or use the Monarch template – mine or one of your own design.  Worth 20 points each.

12.          Create a family tree for our family. Work with mom to produce a tree for her side of the family,  then work with dad to produce a similar tree for his side of the family. Include in your notebook. Worth 10 points

13.          Create a family tree for Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain (and Canada) Include in your notebook. Include her ancestors and descendants. It’s gonna be big! Worth 10 points.

14.          Make a list of all the countries Queen Elizabeth II reigns. Worth 5 points.

15.          Watch the Coronation ceremony for Queen Elizabeth II   about 1 hour

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxuYJ1Udm5E (7 parts watch all)   Make a page in your notebook.  Worth 5 points.

16.          Watch The Queen’s Palaces = Buckingham part one of two watch both   1 hour

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tvx3o48Rc1U  Make a page in your notebook. Worth 5 points.

17.          Watch The Queen’s Palaces = Windsor part one of two watch both 1 hour

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0Vi6XtB5hY    Make a page in your notebook. Worth 5 points.

18.          Then and Now.  Choose a recent monarch and one from “long ago”.  Using Excel or Word columns to compare their responsibilities. Worth 10 points.

19.          Is there something else you want to know?  Is there some interesting rabbit trail you’d like to pursue as you read and study?  Use as many pages as you like to show what you’ve learned along the way.  Worth 20 points per rabbit trail.

               

20.          Read Our Island Story on Kindle.

Art Unit Study

This is part of a larger study about European Royalty, but can be used on it's own.  It is designed with my artistic middle school daughter in mind.

1) Sister Wendy’s Story of Painting:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHzvbQ26q7Q    Each episode is about 30 minutes. Make notes for each video using the Cornell Note Taking System.  Notes will handed in for grading (need a rubric for this) and be the basis for a brief oral report on each episode.  Each oral report will also be graded. (need a rubric for this) (about 10 weeks)

2) Read:  Great Artists by Jennie Ellis Keysor Volume 1 - 5 (Complete 1 Volume every 2 weeks)

http://www.mainlesson.com/displaybooksbytitle.php

Unfortunately all of the art work on these pages are reproduced in black and white. Please find at least one for each artist in colour. Use this image, the artist’s name, birth and death dates and a list of the artist’s most famous works (or your favourite) from each volume to make a page.  This could all be done on the computer and printed out, or created by hand. Johanna could teach you to create a power point which you could show at the end of your reading.  Don’t forget to include a link to any Internet sources you use including the Keysor books.

3) Optional:  FBI’s website devoted to stolen art which I thought might interest you:

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2013/march/reward-offered-for-return-of-stolen-gardner-museum-artwork/reward-offered-for-return-of-stolen-gardner-museum-artwork

Note Taking

Note Taking

I used the information below, which I gleaned from this website, to teach my middle and high school students about formal note taking.

Note taking is a useful skill which can help you learn material presented by lecture or in the form of text. Note taking can help you focus, participate as an active learner or listener and retain important information in long term memory.  After all, if you're going to spend the time reading the book, listening to the lecture or taking the course you may as well actually learn, understand and retain the information and ideas presented. If you have learned the information, you will be able to recall it accurately and rapidly.

The ability to write neatly and rapidly are important skills for note taking and for life. Strive to improve in these two areas.  Although people talk about 100-150 words per minute and we think at 400-500 words per minute, we can only write about 30 words per minute. So practice, practice, practice.

Attending a lecture, listening to a podcast, or watching a video also requires excellent listening skills.  Focus on the topic, listen to everything the speaker says before accepting or rejecting ideas. Don't follow rabbit trail thoughts.  Listen for verbal cues: there are three kinds of ..., in conclusion, to summarize, emphases tone of voice and gesture  Look carefully at anything that is written for the students on a blackboard.

The goal of note taking is not to transcribe what the speaker is saying, but to capture the most important points, arguments, salient details in order to review them and recall them

The same is true of note taking from text.  The idea is to capture the author's main ideas in a condensed format and your own words so you can review and recall the information at a later date.

Notes:

Uniform paper easy to file

Title the page, use a date or the lecture title

Be brief

It's O.K. to use symbols or abbreviations but be consistent

Be neat. If you can't read it later; it's useless

Use your own words except for formulas, definitions, and facts.

Use quotation marks if you're not using your own words.

Use outline format if this suits the material and the speaker's style.(Show example of outline and discuss parts)

Cornell Note Taking Method, show page format and tell how it is used.



Review right after lecture or reading make any corrections or additions as necessary. Do you have questions about the material? Write them down or ask them now. 5-10 minutes

Before the next class review your notes.  Condense them, recite the main ideas, and reflect.  What's the big picture? 5-10 minutes

Show the video  I didn't use this video because I couldn't get it to load, but there are lots on YouTube which demonstrate The Cornell Note Taking method. 

Hand out Main Idea poster 

Main Idea assignment