Lesson Plan: Medieval Maps and Monsters

This lesson uses maps made during the Middle Ages and Renaissance to show the sea monsters and monstrous peoples that explorers expected to find in distant parts of the earth. The presentation is followed by the Sea Monster Handbook, an activity booklet featuring an image search and space for students to create their own sea monsters. An additional activity, The Dangers of Exploration, uses a historic map of the known world as the base for a maze in which students must find a path to the Far East while avoiding entities that seafarers during the Middle Ages feared.

Presentation

Activities

Further Reading

  • Harwood, Jeremy. To the Ends of the Earth. 2007.
  • Van Duzar, Chet. Sea Monsters on Medieval and Renaissance Maps. 2013.