Looking for the King...

oral language

What is a king?

Grouping corner. Whole class. Let the children express themselves.

Bring out the initial representations of the students

What is a king?

In their answers, the notions of a leader, someone who decides, who wears a crown will appear.

What is it used for ?

Appear the notions of protection of the kingdom, of the one who commands the knights, of combat and war...

How do we recognize it?

Are mentioned: the castle, the crown, the horse, the knights, the flag (blazon), the sword, the cape...

Are a king and a prince the same?

"he has a smaller crown, he is the king's son, he marries the girls, he has no throne..."

When does the Prince become King?

"when he married a princess, when the dad dies, when he is an adult..."

Returning to the notion of crown

What materials is it made of? How is it decorated? Is it heavy or light?

Display at the corner grouping representations of very different crowns

- various crowns gleaned from the internet

- the coronation of Philip VI of Valois and others

- the crown of the galette des rois

point out the shape: fleur-de-lys, emblem of the kings of France

point out this emblem on the other images as well as the colors (blue and purple which are the royal colors)

- Portrait of Louis XIV by H. Rigaud

we find the fleur-de-lys and the color

the king has objects placed next to him, name them

the hand of justice, the scepter, the rod of command
the royal sword
the crown (he does not wear it on his head)
the coat

The attributes of royalty(les "regalia")

They are transmitted to the new king at his coronation.

Nowadays, there is no longer a king in France but a President of the Republic.

On the other hand England, Sweden, Spain, Morocco,... always have a king (or a queen)

cdc roi.pdf

cdc c'est quoi un roi.pdf

Examples of student responses

(to put in the culture book)

Activity :

Draw the king with his attributes on A4 white sheet and graphic markers

The King in his castle...

Grouping corner. Whole class. Let the children express themselves.

Bring out the initial representations of the students

What is a castle?

"chapiteau (confusion of vocabulary), a house, where the king and queen live..."

What is a castle like?

"big, in brick (brick/stone confusion), door, window, bridge..."

it is often the fortified castle that is mentioned by the pupils.

ignorance of the vocabulary relating to the castle.

Present representations of different castles

Wooden fortress, palace, fortified castle, mansion, the ruins of a castle

notice similarities and differences -> use precise un vocabulary

(walls, battlements, loopholes, tours, dungeon, often surrounded by water, drawbridge...)

Specify the chosen location (at height to monitor enemies and presence of water essential to life)
classify the different types of castle in chronological order (first the wood then the stone castles, the castles of the Loire, and finally the ruin)
evoke the reasons for the evolution fortified castles in palais

the three functions of the castle: to live - to protect - to show its power

Reading of age-appropriate books

If possible, visit a castle

cdc c'est quoi un chateau.pdf

Daily life at the castle...

What was the king doing in his castle?

->" parties"

-> "he worked because he was the head of the country"

Who were the other characters around him?

des conseillers, des courtisans, des paysans, des serviteurs, des marchands, des troubadours, des chevaliers, his family

Use of images to discover scenes from the lives of kings

- Henry IV at the Battle of Arques

- the game of chess

- the construction of the fortified castle

- work in the fields around the castle

- banquets

A banquet at the castle:

Describe an image - Discover a scene from the daily life of lords in the Middle Ages on a 15th century illumination

Is this image a photo?

No...It's a drawing:an illumination, a drawing on parchment, made with pen or fine brush

a parchmentis a finely tanned hide, once used to write

What do we see in this image?

characters in costumes of yesteryear, in a room of the castle,

taking a meal:a banquet, a feast

Are all the characters at the table?

No... They are bringing the dishes. We also see at the top right a platform with musicians who have a kind of trumpet.

Those who eat are seated at two separate tables.

Who are the characters at table ?

At the central table, one wears a crown, perhaps a king, the chatelaine....

At the other table, no doubt guests, lords... only men

What can be in the dishes we serve?

Mainly meats (peacock, swan, chicken, pheasant...) only the lords could eat like this.

We don't see any plates, just a few knives and a few glasses.

Often, we ate with our fingers and put the meat on bread.

How is the room decorated?

There are white tablecloths on the tables, a tapestry hanging from the rostrum, fabrics overhanging the chatelaine's table, a piece of furniture on the left with crockery, tiles on the floor...

Nowadays, we still talk about a banquet when we celebrate a wedding.

Themed activities...

Cutting/gluing:

Reconstruct the castle from separate elements

Free drawing:

A4 white sheet and graphic markers

Math game with dice: The dungeons of the castle

Discovering Numbers - Millemaths GS Nathan - Unit 4

Count and compare collections
Solve small additive and subtractive problems

Letters workshop:

using the removable letters, copy the proposed sentence in capitals or in script according to the desired level of difficulty.

To approach the concept of word:

it is requested to do well the spaces between the words

Cooperate to build a castle in volume :

1/2 A4 sheet per student and 5 A4 sheets for the group

gray medium (pencil, crayon, felt-tip pen) and a black felt-tip pen

scissors - tape

Cover the sheets of paper with the gray pencil (learn to tilt the pencil and hold it at the end to sweep the surface with a quick gesture)
Make a grid with the black marker on the gray pencil
Cut out the slots
fold the bottom for stability and assemble to make a castle