LETHE

LEarning Through Emotions

129937 - CP - 1 - 2006 - 1 – IT – COMENIUS – C 21

The action has received funding from the European Community.

The contents reflect the partners’ views and the sole responsibility lies with the author. The European Agency is not responsible for any use that may be
made of the information contained therein.
 HOW TO COMPILE ONE’S OWN CURRICULUM IN LETHE:
A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE

Macro-Area: History

Topic: The Boundaries of History

Sub-topic (operational) chosen by the teacher: The Roads

of the Merchant and the Soldier in the Middle Ages

Subject: Castle building and the Feudal System under

Charlemagne and his successors (history programme
common to all streams – II and III year)
 STEP 1
Presentation, through the Lethe platform, of the video
“The Boundaries of History”
used as an emotional switch.
The video, prepared and structured by the teacher according to the
“model” version, will be shown in a classroom equipped with all the
instruments needed.
It should trigger an emotional reaction in each student who will then
express and describe it (what kind of emotion did this video arouse?)
through the
“comment” action
and the
Emotional Map
available in the text editor in the specific section of the project’s platform
(Revelation of the emotion: its expression and first rationalisation)
 Example:

“I felt fear when looking at armed men and war scenes”

“I felt a sense of pride and elation looking at the images of
knights and their deeds of bravery”
“I felt revulsion and a sense of refusal looking at scenes
describing dictatorial systems and centred on individual
power”
“I felt a sense of safety watching images of high walls and well
defended castles”

The comments will be recorded on the platform and both

teachers and students can read them again and keep
them in mind in future (memorisation/trace of the
emotion is functional to the following step)
 STEP 2
Understanding/justifying the emotion (student) and its first link to the
theme and the chosen subject (teacher).

After the individual emotions have been expressed and rationalised on a

shared level (Emotional Map), the teacher should require a justification
of the emotions felt by the student through the research/production and
sharing of selected material which

• has been categorised

• is related to the subject
• has been chosen and justified by the student
• expressive/organisational aspect of the material.
The setting of the material will be discussed in the class
and shared (In which direction will our research go? What
form shall we give to our material? Do we direct our
research to material referring to the setting proposed and
indicated in the platform?)

2) contents/curricula:
1. we should find video/photographic/written material
justifying the emotions felt and regarding the subject
we dealt with few lessons ago? – Castle building and
the Feudal System
or, if the subject has not yet been treated
2. look for material … justifying the emotions previously
felt which answers to your idea of the Middle Ages,
castles and knights…
........ See examples
The platform acts as a presentation support and as an orderly
research file:

Examples
a student can justify his/her emotion by showing:
 an mp3e file of “Epic Rock” music to explain the sense of
pride;
 a video file with part of a film, eg. The Name of the Rose, to
explain the feelings of fear and uncertainty;
 a text file with a passage from Hamlet referring to the fight
against arbitrary power and anarchy to explain the feelings of
revulsion and refusal;
 a file with other images (different from those on the Switch
video) of Medieval castles and fortresses to explain the
feeling of insecurity;
 3) the material should not only be presented but also be
accompanied by a description/text on:

why did you choose it? (conclusion of emotional justification).

Also in this case the material will be recorded on the platform

and both teacher and student can consult it again to keep it
in mind for the future (Memorisation/trace of the emotion is
functional to the following step)
 STEP 3
Referral of the emotional justification to the student’s personal
experience level.

The teacher, after having examined the material recorded and its
description, asks the student to “tell” about an experience already
had or to enact and recount one which is significant from the
following viewpoints:
1) an emotion felt in the past and “rationalised” in steps 1 & 2
2) “Context” and “justification” expressed in step 2
Also in this phase the expressive/organisational aspect of the material
expressing a personal experience is fundamental (categorisation/setting
action). How do we express our personal experience? Which reference
points do we have to define and use?
For now onwards the student will begin to organise and develop the material
representing his/her experience.
........ See examples
 Examples:
 To represent his/her personal experience a student could show photographs of a
trip to the Loire Valley describing the castles which, at that moment, gave
him/her a feeling of quiet and tranquillity (safety), or an amateur video of the city
walls of his/her home town could be produced with a map marking the wall
perimeter which in turn gives him/her a sense of protection and detachment from
the chaotic modern/contemporary life.

 A student could present a flyer of the “Epic Rock” concert and a file of amateur
shots taken during the event recalling ideals of chivalry and a “fantastic” view of
the Middle Ages which will give a sense of elation and pride; or he/she could
describe his/her experience (example) at the Stibbert Museum in Florence
where, while admiring the suits of armour on show, he/she felt a feeling of
fascination, pride and of identification with the men who wore them in ancient
times.

 A student could describe his/her first visit to an exhibition of techniques and

instruments of torture and imprisonment in the Middle Ages expressing his/her
sense of revulsion and refusal towards arbitrary justice and power and the
disrespect for human dignity in those Dark Ages.

........ And More ...   

  a student could describe an experience (oral tradition) narrated by
his/her grandparents regarding their stay in an ancient
residence/castle and its mysterious inhabitants (ghosts); a story told
by an elderly relative, from direct or indirect experience (folk tales)
generates fear; to make the case stranger, the student could
produce files/documents on the history of the palace or the
mysterious “presence” (eg. If it were the case of the Castello di
Sorci and the “condottiere” Baldaccio Bruno the student could
produce as a testimony documents describing events of Baldaccio’s
life and of his properties, mixing exerts excerpts from a television
production (You Tube) on the appearances of his ghost in the
castle.
 STEP 4
Re-organisation of the material collected into a form coherent with
and regarding the subject (teacher).

In this phase the teacher should make an effort to re-organise the

material presented by the students and use it to explain the
whole subject or part of it.

Examples:
The experience of the student who felt elation and pride could be
used to introduce and explain the idea of Middle Ages and
Feudalism (eg. The idea of Feudalism – Invented Middle Ages
– The Middle Ages of Historians and that of popular culture –
Giuseppe Sergi “The Idea of Middle Ages” Manuale Donzelli
Publishers)

........ See more examples

 The experience of the student who felt security and tranquillity could be used to
describe Europe after the Barbarian invasions, the decadence of the cities
(Roman institutions), the de-urbanisation and the need to build fortified
boroughs and new centres of power thus providing an opening for new social
dynamics beginning from the VIII century AD (Signori, Castles, Fiefs – Signorie
– Castle Building – From Signorie to Earldoms – Sandro Carocci, Manuale
Donzelli Publishers)
 The experience of the student who felt refusal and revulsion could be used for
an in-depth view of the contents of the previous paragraph: eg. The Feudal
social/political system under Charlemagne and its new structure under his
successors; the rise of local powers (earls, marquis, territorial signori,
ecclesiastic signori …) (Charlemagne: the unification and expansion of the
kingdom – Clientship, vassals, benefits - Paola Guglielmotti, “Manuale Donzelli
Publishers)”; The Signoria – The Late Carolingian and Post-Carolingian crisis –
dynamics and military aspects. The origin of the Signoria – some points of
view, Sandro Carocci “Manuale Donzelli Publishers)”
 The experience of the student who felt fear could be used to reinforce the
specific issues used to explain the Idea of Middle Ages and Feudalism
(Invented Middle Ages – the Middle Ages of the historians and that of popular
culture), or to open a window on the evolution of the figure of the Knight and
the Man of Arms in the Middle Ages.
Students can present the material using the platform as a basis
of the curricular explanation which can be structured as an
oral or written presentation by the teacher supplemented by
foot notes and in-depth study (through links, attachments,
bibliography).

The synthesis can be seen on the platform under the specific

step area.