Holley sixth-graders (l-r) Taylor Markham, Lisa Fantasia and Brittney Stanley work with teacher Edward Berlew in creating "chain mail," the protective body armor that was used in battle during the Middle Ages. This is just one of the activities that concluded a four-week unit of study on Europe from 500 to 1500 A.D.

It may have been the new millennium (or nearly the new millennium, depending on who you ask), but in the Holley sixth-grade classrooms last month, it looked more like the Middle Ages. Students were combing and spinning their own wool, weaving fabric, making sachets, playing scribes, and constructing their own "chain mail," which is the protective body armor that was used in battle.

The activities are part of a four-week unit on the history, geography, economics and government of Europe from 500 to 1500 A.D. At the end of the unit, teachers invite Lorna Czarnota, storyteller, to come in and teach students the crafts that were commonplace during that time. "The experience is a real hands-on way for students to get a feel for what life was like in medieval times," said teacher Brenda Schurr.

Czarnota, who has been a professional storyteller for more than a decade, begins her program with an hour-long presentation during which she explains the various uses of her vast collection of instruments, toys and utensils. Students then attend workshops on medieval crafts, chain mail and scribing.