WEBBING, OUTLINING, and SUMMARIZING
Suppose you were asked to write the main ideas about the Middle Ages. You could brain storm for ideas first and then organize them into a web form.
From the web form you can further organize your ideas. The plan is to follow sequential thinking and order your ideas into topics, subtopics, and supporting details.
The Middle Ages
I. Setting
| A. Time | |
| B. Place |
II. Feudalism
| A. Land Ownership | |
| B. Land Use |
| 1. Castles | ||
| 2. Manors |
III. People
| A. Nobles |
| 1. Kings | ||
| 2. Lords | ||
| 3. Knights |
| B. Commoners |
| 1. Serfs | ||
| 2. Freemen |
IV. The Church
| A. Christianity | |
| B. Clergy |
| 1. Monk | ||
| 2. Nun | ||
| 3. Priest | ||
| 4. Pope |
| C. Cathedrals | |
| D. Crusades |
V. Changes
| A. Towns and Cities | |
| B. Disease |
| C. Guilds |
| 1. Craft | ||
| 2. Merchant |
| D. Magna Carta | |
| E. Inventions |
VI. Nation-States
| A. Wars | |
| B. Countries | |
| C. Renaissance |
From a well planned outline a summary of ideas may be composed. Think about topics, subtopics, details, and logical sequence. Below is an example of such a summary.
The Middle Ages
The Middle Ages was a period of time in Europe from about 500-1500 AD. Since the Roman Empire fell and there was no central government in Europe the government formed was called Feudalism. It was based on the Kings' ownership of lands and the people who were loyal to them, protected them, and worked for them. The people of the Middle Ages lived and worked on the land in castles or the surrounding manors. The people of the Middle Ages were divided into two classes; the nobles and the commoners. Kings, lords, and other family members were the powerful wealthy nobles. They were protected by skilled armed warriors called knights. The commoners were either serfs or freemen. They were poor workers that toiled on the noble's lands.
One factor that brought the nobles and commoners together was the church. The Christian religion was very important to the events of the Middle Ages. Clergy such as monks, nuns, and priests served the church on the manors and in the villages. Bishops made religious decisions based on the ruling of the Pope who was the head of the church. Because of Christianity large cathedrals were built throughout Europe and wars, called Crusades, were fought against Muslims for the Holy Lands.
As the Middle Ages continued, changes began to occur. The towns and cities became crowded, plagues of disease spread, craft and merchant guilds grew powerful, and kings were forced to limit their power by signing documents such as the Magna Carta. This brought freedom to people's lives. In this freedom new ideas emerged and many inventions developed to improve life.
As the lives of the people changed so did the face of Europe. King fought against king for control of their thrones and new nations formed such as England, France, Spain, and Portugal. The changes in the people's lives, their nations, and their government helped to bring an end to the Middle Ages and fueled the beginning of the Renaissance.
Select one of the following topics to web, outline, and summarize.
1. Reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire
2. Five themes of geography
3. Causes and effects of World War II
4. Three branch system of government
5. The Egyptians
