Homemade castles let Naperville Christian students 'shine'

They have towers, a drawbridge, inner and outer walls and six defensive features. These castles were built to withstand the unhappiest of peasants. And they were built by third-graders.

Students at Naperville Christian Academy recently completed an eight-week project to build a replica castle on a 30-inch-by-30-inch base as the highlight of their studies about medieval European history.

The completed castles - made of cardboard, clay or foam bricks and decorated with faux stone finishes - sit in the hallway on display where they are the envy of younger students, third-grade teacher Lisa Wiersema said.

"Students in first and second grades know it's coming," Wiersema said about the castle-creation project. "It's a pinnacle project for the year."

The class has been learning the history of castles and why they were developed by early royalty as they built their kingdoms.

"They were originally fortresses to protect from the angry peasants whose land had been taken," Wiersema said.

Students spent class time researching castle design and drawing sketches before building their creations at home.

"We looked at a lot of books to learn about the features," Wiersema said.

With the castles complete, the students are moving on to the crusades as they study European history and geography. Castle-building isn't reading or writing, but Wiersema said it gives students a way to use other gifts.

"It's fun to see students who might not be as strong in writing or the typical classroom subjects have a chance to shine in a more artistic way," Wiersema said.