The Middle Ages

Teaching Humanities is a lot of fun.

While I do enjoy it, at times,

it can be very overwhelming.
There is SO much information to cover.

As a double art major,

(art studio & art education),

I took the required art history classes in college

but not much on the history of drama, dance, or theater.

As a result, I focus my Humanities class on the history of visual art.

Don't worry, we will cover drama, dance, and theater at some point

but in a much more condensed version.

We just wrapped up a unit on the Middle Ages.

In an attempt to make this unit as interesting as possible,

I created several hands-on activities for students

to choose from in lieu of a unit test.

One of my favorite assignments they could choose

was to create a carpet page like the ones

found in medieval illuminated manuscripts.

Instead of making it religious in nature,

the students included a symbol

that represented them.

However, they did have to adhere to the artistic conventions of the time:

-Ornate in design

-Symmetrical

-Complex patterns

-Flat (less attempt at the illusion of depth)

-Bright colors

This is what they created: