Booklet | accessory:The Middle Ages

A school librarian in Northwestern Wisconsin purchased a copy of the first edition of Dungeons & Dragons in 1974, very soon after it was made. As a gaming friend of David Arneson, one of the inventors of D&D, he was already interested in war gaming and he was excited to work with his sixth-grade social studies class using the new role-playing game. He designed a class project around the experience. The results are two photocopied booklets which describe the experience. This particular booklet, prepared by the librarian, outlines the project and assigns each student to read specific parts of the document, shaping an individual experience as a knight during the middle ages. The other booklet, prepared by a student "bard," documents one class of students' varied experiences. The class's objectives included: 1. To teach mythology and legends of the medieval period; 2. To teach map reading and map making skills; 3. To give practical application for mathematics skills in recording; as well as other basic and important objectives. Each student was assigned a character and carried out a particular task. The magician, for example, had to know the myths and legends,��??while the bard had to write the stories.��??The result, after the introductory information, is a booklet containing stories the students wrote about the many different groups of students? adventures in a medieval landscape populated with legendary creatures. Together, the booklets and the librarian's documentation of the class demonstrates how, even during Dungeons & Dragons? first edition in 1974, some educators saw the pedagogical value of this role-playing game. These sixth-graders had fun imagining a fantasy world while they learned both history and socialization skills at the same time. The donor heard of the museum's acquisition of the game and the student booklet, and provided the introductory document and his early role-playing dice.