7th Grade European Renaissance Studies

The seventh grade recently completed a European Renaissance block, during which they studied art, music, history, literature — and even performed Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night.

We asked the Class of 2023 Content Creators Club to share some memorable facts they learned during this block. Here is what they shared!

Rachel Ruysch was one of the most successful Dutch female artists of her time. She started making art at age 5, and by 18 was selling her work. At 29, she married and proceeded to have 10 children. By the age of 30 she finished Posy of Flowers with a Red Admiral Butterfly on a Marble Ledge (the painting I chose to replicate) in oil paints. This was in 1700.

~ Clara R.

“The Medici banking family gained so much power and wealth during the Renaissance that they practically governed all of Florence, Italy. ”

King Henry VIII’s teeth were blackened because of how much sugar he ate.

~ Pan S.D.

“Shakespeare was a poet and writer. He’s written many plays, like Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, and more. When he was in middle school, his father illegally sold wool and had to pay a fine. He ended up in debt, so Shakespeare quit school to help his family.”

Due to Shakespeare’s lack of education, people questioned whether he actually wrote the plays.

~ Gracie S.

The word “renaissance” means rebirth. This time period is called the Renaissance because many people had a really big realization of humanism — which means the thought of life and the meaning of life. People during this time often wondered why we were chosen to be alive.

~ Lola B.

“King Henry VIII chopped off about 55,000 - 70,000 heads in his lifetime. That’s 6.6 heads a day! ”

People during this time would pay the church to forgive their sins so they could get into heaven.

~ Gracie S.