Integrated Unit Idea 5.HIM

Stage 5 - History, Industrial Arts, Mathematics

Castles

Unit Summary:
By the end of this unit, students will have:

• researched the role that castles played in Europe, the Middle East and Asia during the Middle Ages
• considered the construction of castles as a class separation of nobility and commoner
• put this knowledge into practise through the class design and construction of a 1:12 scale castle
• researched the different siege engines that were in use in the Middle Ages
• put this knowledge into practise through the design and construction of 1:12 scale trebuchets and ballistas
• analysed battlefield tactics throughout the Middle Ages
• used differential equations and mathematical approaches to physics, in conjunction with their siege engines, to destroy the castle.

Life Skills:
Building social relationships and working with others; rights and responsibilities in Work Health and Safety; problem solving skills; communication skills; planning, analysing, evaluating skills; creativity, design principles and processes in practice.

Outline:
Workplace Health and Safety in the Industrial Arts area
European castles - form, function, construction and destruction
Middle Eastern castles - form, function, construction and destruction
Asian fortresses - form, function, construction and destruction

Castle research project (individual/pairs):
- Choose one castle and create a timeline of the history of the castle
- Create a detailed floorplan of the chosen castle at its peak - focus on the topographical layout of the defences.
- Create a 1:144 scale model out of suitable materials (suggest cardboard or polystyrene/dowel)

Castle creation project (class):
- Choose one castle and, using the floorplan, construct a 1:12 scale castle out of suitable materials (suggest styrofoam blocks - scale can be played with, but a minimum of 1:48 scale *should* ensure functional scale siege engines are able to destroy the castle)

Siege engine project (groups up to four students):
- Research the different siege engines in use in Europe, the Middle East and Asia during the Middle Ages
- Create a multiview orthographic projection of either a counterweight trebuchet or ballista
- Construct a 1:12 scale siege engine out of suitable materials (suggest plywood - a sturdy wood is needed for stability and safety - scale *should* match the scale of the castle for more accurate results, however students constructing siege weapons may decide that bigger is better)

Castle destruction project (class):
- Research ballistic trajectory and learn about differential equations
- Research battlefield tactics, with a focus on castle sieges and castle weak points
- Using knowledge gained over the course of the unit to destroy the class castle