Golden Coat of Arms

1. Students research information about coats of arms and the knights who wore them on their shields. Why did they have these shields? Look for the many different symbols in coats of arms. Find out what the symbols meant during medieval times. Ask students if they had been a knight, which symbols would they have chosen?
2. To form a crest, fold a large piece of construction paper in half lengthwise. Use Crayola® Erasable Colored Pencils to draw a slightly curved line from the bottom of the fold up about 1/3 of the way on the outer edge. With Crayola Scissors, cut off the piece. Unfold your crest. Fold it in half the other way to form four equal sections. Crease well.
3. Cover the art area with recycled newspaper. With a paintbrush, paint two sections of the crest using gold Crayola Premier™ Tempera. Cover the other two sections with another color of Crayola Tempera. Dry.
4. On a separate piece of paper, students draw templates of their initials and other symbols about themselves and their family's heritage for the crest. Cut them out and trace them on the crest. Paint the initials and symbols using the opposite background color. Dry.
5. Accentuate designs in the crest with Crayola Glitter Glue. Dry.
6. For more stability, outline your crest on cardboard or posterboard. Cut it out. Attach to the back of the crest with Crayola School Glue. Dry.
7. To form a hanger, punch two openings on the top of the crest. Run ribbon or yarn through the holes and knot.
8. Students explain the meaning of the symbols on their crest to the class.

LA: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

LA: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

LA: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on grade level topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

LA: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

SS: Describe ways in which language, stories, folktales, music, and artistic creations serve as expressions of culture and influence behavior of people living in a particular culture.

SS: Use appropriate resources, data sources, and geographic tools to generate, manipulate, and interpret information.

SS: Examine the interaction of human beings and their physical environment, the use of land, building of cities, and ecosystem changes in selected locales and regions.

VA: Intentionally take advantage of the qualities and characteristics of art media, techniques, and processes to enhance communication of experiences and ideas.

VA: Select and use the qualities of structures and functions of art to improve communication of ideas.

VA: Use subjects, themes, and symbols that demonstrate knowledge of contexts, values, and aesthetics that communicate intended meaning in artworks.

VA: Describe and place a variety of art objects in historical and cultural contexts.

Possible classroom resources include: Design Your Own Coat of Arms: An Introduction to Heraldry by Rosemary A. Chorzempa; Coat of Arms by Catherine Daly-Weir

Working in small groups, students create other medieval artifacts such as a chalice, sword, or crown using gold and silver Crayola Premier Tempera.

In groups, students create a life-sized knight's suit of armor. Use silver Crayola Premier Tempera for an authentic look.

Students compare and contrast the use of coats of arms with Tartan plaids and other historic family symbols.