Middle Ages Main Lesson Books (… and What Is a Main Lesson?)

Yesterday, we shared a beautiful lesson on the Middle Ages created for our distance learning program from 6th Grade teacher Ms. Terziev. Part of the learning process throughout the Waldorf curriculum is the creation of a main lesson book: with the teacher’s guidance, students create their own illustrations and summaries of the material presented in class.

The creation of a main lesson book is one of the ways Waldorf teachers incorporate art, creativity, and meaning into every lesson, while also encouraging recollection and a personal connection to the material. In a Waldorf school, children don’t reference textbooks to remember their lessons, but their own handmade work.

Below, some images from this year’s 6th Grade main lesson books during their Middle Ages block.

If you’d like to learn more about main lessons, Summerfield Waldorf School in Santa Rosa, California, offers a primer on main lessons, main lesson books, and how they support learning and retention. Click here to read “Where Are the Textbooks? The Use of Main Lesson Books in Waldorf Education” from Summerfield Waldorf School.