Fermilab LInC Online

Guild Hall

Scenario

Summary

Student Pages

Index of Projects

The students arrive in Mrs. Panagakis' language arts class, dressed in various Renaissance dress. They are eager to begin working on acquiring knowledge in reference to the Renaissance period during which Shakespeare lived, worked and performed. They have spent the last two and a half weeks as follows:

 

The First Week in Mrs. Panagakis' class:

• reviewing internet search strategies,
• divergent thinking skills,
• incorporating tools such as graphic organizers (Student Project Planner, Secondary Resouce Log),
• accessing the world-wide-web in the computer lab (especially the school website "Virtual Renaissance") to gain a better understanding of the overall Renasssaince Period.

 

The Second Week in Mr. Bauman's class:

• accessing the world-wide-web in the computer lab and the learning center for print materials to develop a feel for the history of Guilds.

 

The First Half of the Third Week in Mrs. Panagakis' class:

• brainstorming about guilds,
• choosing their character role to play and research based upon discussion of the "What are Guilds?" handout
• applying for either a guild card as an apprentice to a master in their chosen guild or an intern card as an assistant to a gentleman in the liberal arts.

 

Applying for the guild card was not an easy task. By the time of the Renaissance there were 21 important guilds. Members of the seven great guilds were the richest and most influential businessmen:

 

1. The Arte de Calimala (guild of workers in wool)
2. The Arte della Lana (guild of wool merchants)
3. The Arte dei Giudici e Notai (guild of judges and notaries)
4. The Arte del Cambio (guild of bankers)
5. The Arte della Seta (guild of silk weavers)
6. The Arte dei Medici e Speziali (guild of physicians and pharmacists)
7. The Arte dei Vaiai e Pellicciai (guild of furriers)

 

The 14 lesser guilds were also something of a force, politically, if not financially. These lesser guilds, ususally called the craft guilds, included:

 

1. Butchers
2. Shoemakers
3. Blacksmiths
4. Builders
5. Secondhand Dealers
6. Wine-dealers
7. Innkeepers
8. Sellers of Salt, Oil, and Cheese
9. Tanners
10. Armorers
11. Ironworkers
12. Girdlemakers
13. Woodworkers
14. Bakers

 

Gentlemen were involved with one of the seven liberal arts:

 

1. Grammar
2. Logic
3. Music
4. Rhetoric
5. Arithmetic
6. Geometry
7. Astronomy

 

Students were presented with a listing of the guilds available. It was explained to them that they would eventually need to play the role of both an apprentice trying for his/her journeymen's rank and first job and the role of a master reviewing the work of the apprentice in prepartion for hiring. Because of this two-pronged approach and the duality of the roles to be taken on by the students, they were asked to form groups of 4. Within each group, students would team into pairs. The entire groups then had to decide upon which guild they wanted to become apprenticed to for the remainder of the project. A guild could only be chosen once by any group of 4 within each class period. It was also explained to the student's that within their group of 4, the two pairs must keep the knowledge that they acquired secret until the presentations at the end of the unit. This "secrecy" reflects what actually took place during the Renaissance as competition between guilds was very high and no guild wished to give away secrets from his master's house.

 

(It should be noted that if at all possible, partnerships with other classes in remote locations will be established with 2 from our school and 2 from the remote school forming a team of 4 for a particular guild).

 

Once a guild was selected, the students had to go to the Guild Hall site on the school's webserver and print out the appropriate apprentice membership card from their guild's pages. They were now ready to "go forth" and seek a master guildsman of their choosing.

 

The master guildsmen are composed of staff members who, holding the position of master for several guilds if necessary, are given information by the lead teachers of the project beforehand. This enables them to be prepared to ask tough questions of those students approaching them for inclusion into a particular guild. This master/apprentice relationship will continue throughout the project, with students recieving proper "marks" upon their apprenticeship cards for each visit to their "master".

 

Other mater/apprenticeship relationships will be established with real-life experts in their particular fields which correspond to the nature of each guild. E-mail and tele-conferencing will occur which will enable students to access this outside resources.

 

Weeks 4-6:

 

The students are now ready to spend the next three weeks in the computer lab and learning center investigating the skills and various aspects of their chosen guild or liberal art through use of the school website, searching the internet, utilizing material in the learning center, and investigating appropriate CD-ROMs. They will also utilize the other resources available to them within the school such as the art lab, the home economics facilities, the science labs, etc. This will enable them to showcase their talents at the Guild Hall in order to procure employment under prospective employers who have come to hire the needed talent for various projects such as:

 

• catering banquet feasts,
• building cathedrals or hospitals,
• forming an exploratory voyage,
• designing inventions or tools,
• engaging in scientific inquiry,
• commissioning artistic works,
• establishing a bank,
• designing clothes,
• mounting a theatrical production

 

During the 6th week, students will brainstorm in groups and as a class what each of these projects entail (type of craftsman and liberal arts people would you need to complete them). From this chart, the students will compose rubrics which list the skills needed by the various crafsman and liberal arts people. These rubrics will be used to judge whether an apprentice or intern is ready to enter the real world and be taken on by a prospective employer.

 

Each student will play both the role of a prospective employer as well as employee. This will take place over a two day period as the culminating activity for the unit. One day, half the students will display and demonstrate the skills and knowledge they have obtained concerning their chosen guild or liberal art. The other half of the students will take on the role of prospective employers and armed with the student created rubrics, will evaluate the quality of work done by students, giving reasons for their decisions.

 

The scripts, products, and primary and secondary research sources of those passing from apprenticeship to working status will be added to the school's website by volunteer students in the following summer, to share with upcoming classes and the world-wide community.