Students explore how medieval Europe was organized after Rome fell — a strict pyramid of kings, nobles, knights, and peasants bound together by feudalism, an exchange of land for loyalty and protection.
Students will be able to…
With no strong central government after Rome fell, how did medieval Europe keep order — and why was your whole life decided by the level you were born into?
Project this and tap each level of the feudal pyramid. Have students see how land and loyalty flowed up and down the system.
Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.
With Rome gone, how did Europe keep any order?
Students investigate.
Students analyze.
Students conclude.
Students take action.
Aligned to the C3 Framework for Social Studies and Common Core literacy in history/social studies.
Explain the powers and limits of governments and structures like feudalism.
Explain how economic decisions affect the well-being of individuals and society.
Classify developments as examples of change and continuity.
Integrate visual information with text in a model.
Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.
Have students explain how the Black Death (a deadly plague) killed so many people that it weakened feudalism and gave surviving workers more power. A printable research sheet is in the Social Studies library.
Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.
A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.
A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.