Teachers and educators will be excited to learn that there are now lesson plans and activities to help incorporate the Sir Kaye series of medieval adventure chapter books into the classroom. The lesson plans can be easily adapted for homeschooling activities as well. Each lesson plan is designed to help the young reader to look beyond the story, investigate the characterizations more deeply, and to foster critical thinking skills.
Below is a brief summary of the lesson plan for each book. The full lesson plans are available for download (http://www.donwinn.com/resources.html) and in addition, you’ll find supplementary material about life in the middle-ages with lots of fun facts.
Sir Kaye Book 1 Lesson Plan Summary
Sir Kaye the Boy Knight Book One: The Knighting of Sir Kaye paired with the Book 1 Lesson Plan will make a great addition to your curriculum. Apart from being a fun and engaging story that will help instill a love of reading in your students, Sir Kaye is a great introduction to Medieval themed literature. While children are expanding their vocabulary and spelling skills, this book, along with the lesson plan, is designed to teach kids important life lessons that will help them in and out of the classroom. The lesson plan is broken into three parts, each focusing in on a central theme from the story that the students will be able to apply to their own lives. These themes include the importance of bravery, the proper way to deal with jealousy, and how pride can hinder people from doing the right thing. The Knighting of Sir Kaye is a story your class will love
for years to come and the takeaways from the story will stay with them even longer.
Sir Kaye Book 2 Lesson Plan Summary
Sir Kaye the Boy Knight Book Two: The Lost Castle Treasure is a suspenseful and mysterious story that is sure to keep your students on the edges of their seats from beginning to end. Paired with its lesson plan, it’s the perfect book to introduce your class to new creative writing techniques. In the daily lessons, students are introduced to the idea that there are many ways to express emotion through writing and actions. Drawing from the text and through engaging role play, your class will learn to think creatively about different ways emotions can be conveyed. Once they have grasped this idea, students are challenged to write their own sentences describing feelings, which works to drive home the lesson and inspire classroom creativity. The Lost Castle Treasure is sure to reveal the creative excitement that reading and writing provide.
Sir Kaye Book 3 Lesson Plan Summary
Sir Kaye the Boy Knight Book Three: Legend of the Forest Beast is another adventurous installment in a series portraying complex and relatable characters that teaches kids that they are capable of doing great things. Combined with the lesson plan, it’s a fun way to teach students the importance of humility and to challenge their creative and objective writing skills. The lesson plan is divided into three parts, each beginning with fun trivia questions to test kid’s reading comprehension skills. Next, each segment provides fun and helpful activities such as creating fictional characters, becoming a Royal Chronicler for the day and writing about the goings-on of the classroom, and having a comprehensive discussion about what humility looks like in day-to-day life. In addition, the lesson plan provides daily vocabulary activities to help students fully understand the story and improve their dictionary and writing skills. Legend of the Forest Beast and its lesson plan are sure to heighten your student’s creativity and provide them with tools that will help them in and out of the classroom.
Sir Kaye Book 4 Lesson Plan Summary
Sir Kaye the Boy Knight Book Four: The Eldridge Conspiracy and Lesson Plan will be available in 2017.
The Sir Kaye titles are available for significant discounts to schools, libraries, non-profits, retailers, and vendors through Cardboard Box Adventures Publishing or Ingram/LSI. For media requests or event bookings, please contact us.
Author visits are available in person and via Skype. Contact Don Winn at author@donwinn.com about readings, presentations, workshops, and Q&A sessions, adapted according to age or special needs. Ask about a special Sir Kaye presentation about medieval life, including a Q&A with the students.
