edHelper.com
Middle Ages

Serfs Work the Land

Serfs Work the Land
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 5 to 7
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   4.93

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    all-important, backbreaking, carded, fallow, harrow, hay-making, scythe, serf, under-recognized, convenient, provided, lifestyle, medieval, repaired, based, replenish
     content words:    Middle Ages

Print Serfs Work the Land
edHelper.com subscriber options:
     Print Serfs Work the Land  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)
     Quickly print reading comprehension
     Print a proofreading activity

Feedback on Serfs Work the Land
     Leave your feedback on Serfs Work the Land  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

Serfs Work the Land
By Sharon Fabian 		  
1     Serfs were the all-important, but under-recognized, group of the Middle Ages. The economy of the Middle Ages was a farming economy. It was based on the land and the people who worked the land day in and day out - the serfs.
 
2     Serfs were the farmers of the Middle Ages. They got up at dawn and went to sleep at dusk; they spent the daylight hours working the land. Their day was the same as the Earth's day. Their year followed the natural seasons of the year too.
 
3     One job that took up lots of the serfs' time was plowing. Their plows didn't run on gasoline; they were powered by humans or animals. Many peasants couldn't afford an ox to pull their plow, so they did much of the backbreaking work by hand. Fields were plowed whenever they were available. Some fields were allowed to lay fallow each year to replenish the soil, so these fields could be plowed during the growing season. Fields planted in crops were plowed after the fall harvest.
 
4     During the winter months, serfs caught up on chores that needed to be done. They made new tools and repaired old ones. Winter was also the time for slaughtering animals. Sometimes, their lords asked serfs to work on other projects too, such as building a dirt road.
 
5     Spring was the season for planting. The serfs carried their bag of seeds to the field and sprinkled the seeds into the plowed earth. Then they used their harrow, a tool something like a big rake, to cover the seeds with soil.

Paragraphs 6 to 14:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
Copyright © 2008 edHelper