Suggestions for Research and Projects

The Wonderful Tale of Donkey Skin

Charles Perrault

1. Who was Charles Perrault?
2. When and where did he live?
3. Which are his most famous fairy tales?

 

Depression

1. How many types of depression are there?
2. What are the symptoms of depression?
3. How can one cure depression?
4. How prevalent is this mental problem?

 

Design Projects

1. After her marriage with the prince, Gomikky asked the wicked wizard tailor for one more dress. What was the dress? Describe it, and draw it.
2. The King wanted to propose to the Fairy Godmother. He decided to give her a beautiful set of jewelry made of coral and pearls: a necklace, a pair of earrings and a ring. Design and draw this set.

 

Education in the Middle Ages

1. Which French Emperor established the first “schools” in Europe?
2. What did children of wealthy or aristocratic families study?
3. What jobs were available for women in the Middle Ages? Why would an educated woman become a governess?

 

Historical and Geographical Facts

1. How many kings of France were named Louis?
2. If there really was a King Louis the Fourth and a Half, round about which year would he have reigned? 3. Would he have been a Capetian or a Carolingian?
4. Draw the map of France during the time of the kings Louis IV and Louis V. Was it larger or smaller than today’s France?
5. What was Francia (the Frankish Empire)?
6. What were stem duchies (in Germany)?

 

The Plague

1. What was the plague?
2. How many types of plague were there?
3. How could you tell you got the plague?
4. How could one get infected?
5. Is the plague still present today? 6. Where in the world is it still present?
7. Could the plague bacteria be used as a biological weapon?
8. How many plague pandemics were there?
9. Is there any poison that produces symptoms like the plague’s?
10. How realistic is Nainai’s theory that it was the Duke who poisoned the Queen and made it look like she’d had the plague?

 

History of Zoos

1. When and where were the earliest zoos? 2. Where does the word “zoo” come from? 3. What is a menagerie?

 

Theater Project

1. Rewrite the story as a play.
2. Add songs
3. Add dances

 

Reproduction in Flowering Plants

1. Are flowering plants male, female, or both?
2. Which part of a flowering plant is the male part?
3. Which part of a flowering plant is the female part?
4. How is pollen transmitted from the male to the female part of the flower? Or from one flower to another?
5. How many female date palm trees can be fertilized by one male date palm tree?
6. Discuss why some flowers are either colorful, fragrant and or striated (rose, hibiscus) while others are inconspicuous, small, and without fragrance (dandelions)?