Medieval Grain Harvesting Comes to Life
On a warm September day, Burr and Burton social studies teacher Thomas Von Allmen brought his Medieval History class to the Dene Farm to harvest an assortment of grains that Food and Farm Studies teacher Derek Anderson had planted for the class back in the spring. The oats, buckwheat, and wheat had grown to maturity on the Dene Farm, and like medieval farmers, the students needed to thresh, winnow, and grind them in order to turn the grains into usable flour.
Students first harvested the oats, then threshed them, separating the edible grain from the straw on which it grew. Using a common house fan and large stainless bowls, they winnowed the grain, blowing the chaff away, after which they had a usable grain for grinding. Through the tasks, students noticed both how extensive the process is, and that the harvest itself had been diminished due to bird damage--both important aspects of small-scale grain production. In order to make the most of students’ time at the Dene Farm, Anderson had pre-harvested the wheat, so that students were also able to experience the process of grinding the wheat into a coarse flour--one that the class plans to turn into pizza dough in the near future.
In the modern context where many of us purchase food ready to eat--or nearly so--at the grocery store, it can be difficult to imagine a medieval existence, which revolved so completely around growing food. Von Allmen and Anderson teamed up so they could bring this concept to life for students; Von Allmen explains, “If we think of medieval Europe as being mostly an agricultural society, then to be able to experience what it's like to harvest, thresh, winnow, and grind something by hand all the way from the plant to the flour really deepens the understanding of the period for my students.”
Von Allmen felt that the exercise particularly illuminated one of the key texts of the class, Life in a Medieval Village, which details agricultural advances that were the hallmark of the period. “The design of the town is in support of an agrarian lifestyle, so you have storehouses, and mills, and all of these integrated pieces,” Von Allmen said.
With this collaboration, Von Allmen and Anderson demonstrate the power of Burr and Burton’s core value to provide engaging educational experiences. Von Allmen is enthusiastic about this and other collaborations that enable his students to have authentic experiences: “We can learn about medieval life from 10,000 feet, but I think kids really benefit from being able to get in there and experience it firsthand.” ⭑
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Students first harvested the oats, then threshed them, separating the edible grain from the straw on which it grew. Using a common house fan and large stainless bowls, they winnowed the grain, blowing the chaff away, after which they had a usable grain for grinding. Through the tasks, students noticed both how extensive the process is, and that the harvest itself had been diminished due to bird damage--both important aspects of small-scale grain production. In order to make the most of students’ time at the Dene Farm, Anderson had pre-harvested the wheat, so that students were also able to experience the process of grinding the wheat into a coarse flour--one that the class plans to turn into pizza dough in the near future.
In the modern context where many of us purchase food ready to eat--or nearly so--at the grocery store, it can be difficult to imagine a medieval existence, which revolved so completely around growing food. Von Allmen and Anderson teamed up so they could bring this concept to life for students; Von Allmen explains, “If we think of medieval Europe as being mostly an agricultural society, then to be able to experience what it's like to harvest, thresh, winnow, and grind something by hand all the way from the plant to the flour really deepens the understanding of the period for my students.”
Von Allmen felt that the exercise particularly illuminated one of the key texts of the class, Life in a Medieval Village, which details agricultural advances that were the hallmark of the period. “The design of the town is in support of an agrarian lifestyle, so you have storehouses, and mills, and all of these integrated pieces,” Von Allmen said.
With this collaboration, Von Allmen and Anderson demonstrate the power of Burr and Burton’s core value to provide engaging educational experiences. Von Allmen is enthusiastic about this and other collaborations that enable his students to have authentic experiences: “We can learn about medieval life from 10,000 feet, but I think kids really benefit from being able to get in there and experience it firsthand.” ⭑
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