SOCIAL SCIENCE YEAR 5

By Rafael Rodríguez Pérez

INDEX
0. Introduction: Romans
1. The Visigoth Kingdom
2. Al-Andalus
3. The Christian Kingdoms
4. Architecture in the Middle Ages

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0. INTRODUCTION: ROMANS

 Class discussion. Look read and answer.

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1.THE VISIGOTH KINGDOM

 Act out. Read cooperatively and prepare a short play in groups about the Visigoth
invasion.
In the 3rd century Romans suffered an invasion of Germanic tribes and one of
these tribes were the Visigoths.
The Visigoths were very strong, so they conquered the other Germanic tribes and
settled in the Iberian Peninsula.
They founded a powerful kingdom in 476. Its capital was Toledo.

 Individual activity. Read and draw in your notebook a Visigoth horseshoe arch with
the things that Visigoths adopted from Romans.
Visigoths adopted a lot of things from Romans:
- Latin
- Roman laws
- They converted to Christianity (now it was the
official religion)
Visigoths gave us:
- Horseshoe arch

2. AL-ANDALUS

 Class discussion. Read and discuss. What do you think Muslims changed in the
Iberian Peninsula?
Muslims from northern Africa took only 7 years to conquer most of the Iberian
Peninsula and the Balearic Islands.
Muslims called this territory Al-Andalus and made Córdoba the capital city.

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At first, Córdoba was a dependent emirate ruled from Damascus.

But in 756, the Emirate of Córdoba was independent and was ruled by an emir.

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 1-2-group. Read and write 4 questions to Abd-ar-Rahman III.

In the 10th century, the Caliphate of Córdoba
was established and it was ruled by the Caliph
Abd-ar-Rahman III. This was a period of great
cultural growth.
In the 11th century, Al-Andalus was divided
into small kingdoms called taifas. The taifas
fought each other continuously.
Christian Kingdoms took advantage of the
division between the taifas.

 Drama. Read and write a short dialogue among Muslims, Christians and Jews. Later,
act it out.
In Al-Andalus, there were:

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 Rotatory sheet technique. Read and draw a picture of a typical Al-Andalus

countryside or city in your notebook. Rotate your notebook.
In Al-Andalus people lived in the countryside (a lot of people) and in cities (not a
lot of people).

 The golden sentence. Read cooperatively and write a sentence to sum up all the
Muslin influences.
Muslims gave us:
• Knowledge about medicine.
• Knowledge about astronomy.
• Knowledge about philosophy.
• Knowledge about botany.
• Knowledge about mathematics.
• Knowledge about geography.
• Contribution to gastronomy.
• Contribution to architecture.
• Contribution to culture.
• A lot of Arabic words.

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3. THE CHRISTIAN KINGDOMS

 All for one and one for all. Read and answer.
Christians in the north of the Iberian Peninsula were organized into kingdoms.
They fought against the Muslims for 7 centuries!
a. How were the Christian
They unified into four large kingdoms:
kingdoms organized?
 The Crown of Castilla b. How long did Christians
 The Crown of Aragón fight against Muslims?
 The Kingdom of Portugal c. Which kingdom conquered
 The Kingdom of Navarra the largest area?

 Dictation. Read and discuss. Later, write a dictation to know the end of the
Reconquest.
In 1469, the marriage of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabel I of Castilla and Fernando
II of Aragón, united both crowns.
In 1492, at the end of the Middle Ages, Catholic Monarchs conquered the Muslim
Kingdom of Granada.

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 Numbered heads together. Read about the society in the Christian Kingdoms. Then,
in groups, write what you can see through this magic peephole.
Society in the Christian Kingdoms
was organized into 3 social groups:

 A little bit of this, a little bit of that. Read this information during one minute, close
your booklet and share what you have learnt with your groupmates. Later, the
speaker will tell the teacher as much information as possible.
In the Middle Ages, most of the population were peasants. They lived in small
villages. But as a result of the growth in trade, cities grew bigger and bigger.
Medieval cities had a castle, a cathedral or church, a city hall, palaces and a
market.
Cities were organized into
neighbourhoods or districts. They
were surrounding by walls and gates
were closed at night.
Many people were craftsmen:
carpenters, weavers and goldsmiths.
Other people were merchants:
they traded products in the markets
and trading fairs.
Thanks to trade, cities made a lot of
money and people built palaces,
cathedrals and universities.

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4. ARCHITECTURE IN THE MIDDLE AGES

 Class discussion. Read and answer. What are the differences among Al-Andalus,
Romanesque and Gothic architecture.
In the Middle Ages we have examples of Al-Andalus, Romanesque and Gothic
architecture

 1-2-group. Think and complete the table with the information below.

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 Thinking twins. Think and tell your partner which building is an Al-Andalus,
Romanesque and Gothic building. Tell him/her why.

 Work in pairs. Complete the unit timeline.

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