Each week, students will...
...in class, learn about the history of castles and look at slides of real castles to discuss features and details of their construction.
...in class, use the zoom annotation tools to engage and participate in learning
... outside of class, as "homework", complete a three part build in Minecraft. Each step needs about 10 to 20 minutes of build time to complete. Each step has a teacher created instructional how-to video. Learners can use any version of Minecraft on any platform to complete their build. 
...send a photo to the teacher after each of three steps of the build to receive a short personalized video message from the teacher as well as the next short building tutorial. (Photos of the screen can be taken on a smartphone.)
...at the start of next class, I share the photos of the builds with the class, and each learner may tell the class about their build. 

Each week will be focusing on certain aspects of castle design. Learners will have specific instructions for which part of the castle we will be building. Each learner will be building in their own “world” on their own device (ie we will not be on a shared server).

Week 1: The Location and the Tower
We will be discussing how and why people chose locations for castles. We will learn about what factors influenced where castles were built. We will look at slides of real castles that demonstrate these concepts. We will also look at slides of the earliest, simplest castles and learn the name for this style of castle, motte and bailey. We will practice locating the continent of Europe on a world map. In Minecraft, we will choose a location for our castle and construct a tower keep with a spiral staircase. 

Week 2: The Interior
This week we will talk about how castles grew over time from the simple tower of the early castles to the expansive keeps of later castles. We will, as always, look at slides of both ruins of castles as well as the interior of intact castles. We’ll learn about the great hall, solars, kitchens (and pantries, larders, and butteries), chapels and oratories, cellars, undercrofts, and of course…guarderobes!) We’ll talk about heating, lighting, cooking, and smoke! In Minecraft, learners will be encouraged to add rooms of their choice on to their first castle tower.

Week 3: The Outerwall and the Gatehouse
We will discuss how walls were built and made strong. We will talk about defensive features of walls, and how new ideas changed features of wall construction over time. We will look at slides of these features. We will learn vocabulary words such as crenellation, portcullis, barbican, curtain wall, concentric, and machicolation. In Minecraft, we will construct the outer wall and the gate house. (With optional underground escape tunnel!) 

Week 4: The Bailey
Life in a large castle required a small town of people to provide for all the castle’s needs. Our last lesson will be spent talking about all the support the castle needed. We will discuss various trades and crafts of the medieval day and, in Minecraft, we will build many ancillary outbuildings (such as a smithy and a stable). 

Week 5: Show and Tell and Scavenger Hunt!
We have done a lot of building! This week we will look at the pictures of your finished castles. We will also take some time for Show and Tell...if you have a book, a lego set, a model, or anything else related to castles, please bring it to share with the class. Finally, we will review what we learned about castles with a scavenger hunt!