It All Begins With A Name

Hear ye! Hear ye! Knights and damsels hear this, symmetry, ancestry, and symbolism all have ties to coats of arms. Medieval literature and history can be fun and exciting. There are numerous lessons that you can use with these pieces of art. Beginning in the early times of heraldry,  coats of arms were used to identify individuals during battle. They were passed down through male heirs from generation to generation. These later were used to identify a family or group, eventually leaving us with the family symbol we know today.

For elementary students in the lower grades, you can use coats of arms to discuss symmetry and symbolism. Students can take a template home and create one for their own family, making sure both sides are symmetrical. They should use symbols that represent family attributes. You can then ask students to write about why they chose certain symbols to go on their shield.

Upper elementary students can delve a little deeper into the true use of coats of arms. I like to give my students a family history project to do, and assign them to create a coat of arms. They can either create one of their own, or research their mother or father’s ancestry. This topic can also tie into a unit on Ellis Island. Students can discuss how the spelling used on a family coat of arms changed after people immigrated to America. There are many other ways a coat of arms can be used to teach a related topic as well. Students can design a coat of arms for a character in a story, or discuss mathematical concepts, like angles or shapes.

Middle and high school students love to read about King Arthur, knights, jousting, and swordfights. I used the coats of arms to help teach characterization in Medieval literature. Students would try to make a coat of arms for a particular character in a story, depicting their understanding of each character’s traits and qualities. What follows are other lessons that can be used to help students learn about coats of arms symbols.

Coats of Arms Symbols:

The colorful history of heraldry: In this lesson students learn about heraldry and the meaning of the coat of arms.

The Heritage Project: This lesson has students do research on their family history, and share their findings with the class after completing a project.

Designing a Coat of Arms: This lesson could be used for students in kindergarten through sixth grade, and comes with templates and extra activties.