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Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction

Macaulay, D. (1973). Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction. Houghton Mifflin.

Grades 5–8

Informational / Nonfiction

Part Two

I thought Cathedral was interesting because it explained how cathedrals were built a long time ago during medieval times. I was surprised that it took many years to finish building a cathedral and that so many workers helped build it. The diagrams made the information clearer and helped explain difficult ideas. If I read this book with students, I would ask questions like, “Why was teamwork important when building the cathedral?” and “What does the cathedral tell us about people’s lives during medieval times?”

Part Three

The book explains each step of building a cathedral in order. The medieval setting helps readers learn about history and understand why cathedrals were important to communities. I think the illustrations are really good because they clearly show the building process and the architecture. The point of view focuses on teaching readers facts about history and construction. Overall, I think this book is effective because it combines history, architecture, and reading in an interesting way.

Part Four

Lesson Objective

Students will explain how medieval cathedrals were built and describe the different jobs workers had during construction.

Discussion Questions

Why did cathedrals take so long to build?
What different jobs were needed during construction?
What can readers learn about medieval society from the cathedral?

Lesson Activity

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.3 — Explain relationships between historical events and ideas.

Students will create their own cathedral drawing and label important parts of the building.