Monks and Nuns

Monks and Nuns

Monks and Nuns
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 5 to 7
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	6.18

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		meditation, self-sufficient, monk, monastery, lifestyle, spiritual, medieval, nuns, travelers, reading, prayers, opus, prayer, separate, pages, world
	content words:		Middle Ages, Opus Dei, Saint Benedict

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Monks and Nuns
By Sharon Fabian

¹     Monks and nuns in the Middle Ages lived in a world apart from the lords and ladies, knights, serfs, and all of the other medieval people. Their lifestyle kept them separate from the rest of the world.

²     The place where they lived was arranged so that the monks or nuns didn't need to go outside of their own walls. Their communities were self-sufficient. They raised their own food and built their own buildings. The buildings where the monks lived were called monasteries. The nuns' buildings were called nunneries. Either one could also be called an abbey.

³     The typical day of a monk or nun was much different from the typical day of other medieval people. Keep reading to learn about the day of one medieval monk.

⁴     At 2:00 AM, our monk wakes to the sound of bells calling him to prayer. This prayer, called "Opus Dei" or "God's work," is the most important prayer of the day. He prays in Latin, along with the other monks at the monastery.

⁵     After the long prayer, he naps for a few hours until he is awakened by the bells calling him to sunrise prayer. Again, he prays in Latin along with the other monks.

Paragraphs 6 to 12:
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