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Assassin’s Creed II: A Virtual Tour to the Italian Renaissance for 7th Graders

Written by

Pilar Khder

April, 2011

Table of Contents

Teaching Guide Overview 3

What is Assassin’s Creed II? 3

Using Assassin’s Creed II in the Classroom 4

The Advantages of Teaching with Games 5

Goals and Objectives 6

Grade Level Standards and Content Area 7

Where the Game fits into the Curriculum 7

What Teachers Need to Know Before Beginning 8

Hardware Requirements 8

Lessons Overview 9

Lesson One 10

Lesson One Goals and Objectives 10

Lesson One Setup 11

Lesson One Activity/Gameplay 11

Lesson One Follow-up/Debriefing 11

Lesson One Extensions 12

Lesson Two 13

Lesson Two Goals and Objectives 13

Lesson Two Setup 13

Lesson Two Activity/Gameplay 14

Lesson Two Follow-up/Debriefing 14

Lesson Two Extensions 15

Teacher Resources 16

References 17

Appendices 18

Assassin’s Creed II was developed and published by Ubisoft and was released for the PlayStation 3 in 2009 and for the Microsoft Windows in 2010. This game is a historical fantasy for a single player; it is a sequel to the 2007 Assassin’s Creed series and is followed by Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, released in 2010.

Teaching Guide Overview

Have you ever imagined being able to awaken your genetic memories and be transported to 1476 Florence, cradle of glory and Renaissance splendor? Have you ever wondered how it would be to have a one-on-one conversation with Leonardo da Vinci and be able to try one of his most intriguing inventions?

Let us go on an amazing trip of discovery and unparalleled adventures as we explore the fifteenth-century Italian countryside where we will encounter famous characters of this fascinating historical period.

This teacher’s guide will provide exciting activities where your 7th graders will have opportunities to investigate the origins and accomplishments of the Renaissance. At the same time, through these materials, you will be able to integrate other important program skills such as analysis, chronological and spatial thinking, evidence, point of view and historical interpretations.

What is Assassin’s Creed II?

Assassin’s Creed II was developed and published by Ubisoft and was released for the PlayStation 3 in 2009 and for the Microsoft Windows in 2010. This game is a historical fantasy for a single player; it is a sequel to the 2007 Assassin’s Creed series and is followed by Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, released in 2010.

At the beginning of the game, we encounter Desmond, whose genetic memories are awakened by the Animus, a device that transports us the past. The Animus will take us to Florence, at the height of the Renaissance, to relive the adventures and control the actions of our distant relative, Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Ezio does not know anything about the creed. He is the likeable son of an Italian banker, passionate about wine, women, family and honor, a typical youth of the Renaissance upper class. But soon, Ezio’s carefree existence is shattered when murder and betrayal, instigated by the Templars, take the lives of Ezio’s father and brother.

To discover the conspirators and to avenge these deaths, Ezio travels through Renaissance Italy, from Florence, to San Gimignano, to Forlì, to Venice and eventually to Rome. Historical figures like Niccolò Machiavelli and Leonardo da Vinci assist Ezio to improve his equipment. Finally, Ezio discovers that Rodrigo Borgia, who later becomes Pope Alexander VI, is the mastermind behind the crimes.

The students can swim, row gondolas, ride horses, have eagle vision and, during one mission, they are able to use Leonardo’s flying machine. Leonardo also provides specialized weapons, such as hidden blades, poison blades and a miniature firearm. There is a lot of interaction between the students and groups of mercenaries, courtesans, thieves, peasants and guards.

The music for this game was composed by Jesper Kyd. It is melodic, with acoustic and symphonic orchestrations, and provides emotional depth and diversity to the scenes. Assassin’s Creed II has lively and colorful graphics. The landscape’s perspectives are truly breathtaking and capture the essence of Renaissance Italy in minute details.

Using Assassin’s Creed II in the Classroom

Assassin’s Creed II allows the students to travel freely through different Italian regions; a database helps them to identify historical landmarks, characters or services, an ability that can be used in third person view. This game is affordable and could be an exceptional supplemental material to the required World History and Geography: Early Modern Times content units. Assassin’s Creed II will provide a virtual review of the beginning of our modern times, enriching the lessons studied through the textbooks and the teacher’s lectures. As a supplement, Assassin’s Creed II will provide the students with opportunities to interpret facts, compare and contrast information, evaluate topics and formulate new hypotheses based on the units studied in class and the ideas produced by playing the game. The game lends itself to promote problem-solving and critical thinking skills facilitating the task of creating discussion questions aligned to Bloom’s Taxonomy that would ensure that the students’ thinking progresses to higher levels.

Additionally, Assassin’s Creed II could be used as a vehicle to promote the 6-12 Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies by providing a media source to evaluate ideas or events that would underline discrepancies among sources.

The Advantages of Teaching with Games

In his research, Gee (2007) discussed how video games incorporate learning principles that reflect those of recognized learning theories. In general, the video game design promotes a constructivist approach. The constructivist approach fosters a learner-centered environment where the instructional design actively engages the student in meaningful projects that promote collaboration, construction, experimentation and reflection. Constructivist is based on the works of many philosophical and psychological theories; research conducted by Mergel (1998) indicates that constructivist learning principles can be found in the writings of Bruner, Dewey, Kant and Piaget. According to Jonasson (2006), constructivists base their theory on the belief that learners construct their own reality; therefore an individual’s knowledge is built on his or her own experiences, mental structures and the beliefs that shaped the interpretation of the events.

Barab, Gresalfi and Arici (2009) have defined video games as powerful tools that through virtual quests expand the strategies associated with the traditional curriculum and transform students into investigative reporters, environmental scientists and historians who resolve meaningful dilemmas. By becoming heroes with the power to transform virtual worlds, the students are motivated to learn the course content as this would be necessary to make informed decisions. They will discover consequences and more important, they will understand that failure means an opportunity to start over and improve their performance.

Goals and Objectives

Upon successfully completing the lessons in this guide, given a multiple-choice and/or a true-false test, the students will be able:

▪ Explain where the Renaissance began and how it spread throughout Europe.

• Describe the key characteristics that distinguish the Renaissance from the Middle Ages.

• Define Humanism and its effects on the society during the Renaissance.

• Identify the key cities and the trade products along the Silk Road.

• Discuss the impact of the printing press on the Renaissance.

▪ Examine da Vinci’s contributions to the world.

Each individual teacher will decide the minimum passing score.

Grade Level Standards and Content Area

The Assassin’s Creed II Teaching Guide follows the California Content Standards for History/Social Studies for the public schools, 7th grade, section 7.8: Students analyze the origins, accomplishments, and geography diffusion of the Renaissance.

1. Describe the way in which the revival of classical learning and the arts fostered a new interest in humanism, (i.e., a balance between intellect and religious faith).

2. Explain the importance of Florence in the early stages of the Renaissance and the growth of independent trading cities (e.g., Venice), with emphasis on the cities’ importance in the spread of Renaissance ideas.

3. Understand the effects of the reopening of the ancient “Silk Road” between Europe and China, including Marco Polo’s travels and the location of his routes.

4. Describe the growth and effects of the new ways of disseminating information (e.g., the ability to manufacture paper, translation of the Bible into the vernacular, printing).

5. Detail advances made in literature, the arts. science, mathematics. cartography, engineering, and the understanding of human anatomy and astronomy (e.g., by Dante Alighieri, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Niccolò Machiavelli, Johann Gutenberg, William Shakespeare).

Where the Game fits into the Curriculum

Assassin’s Creed II provides a virtual reality to the units corresponding to the California Standards for History/Social Studies, section 7.8. The game presents different perspectives on the units that the students study in class, in particular those contrasting the Renaissance to the Middle Ages, including the historical facts on the Templars and the Assassins, Florence during the Renaissance, trading cities like Venice and figures like the Borgias and Leonardo da Vinci and his contributions.

Furthermore, the activities generated by Assassin’s Creed II will be tied to the Otay Mesa Adult School (OMAS) student learning outcomes (SLOs), in particular SLO # 2: Students will demonstrate and apply problem-solving processes and critical thinking.

What Teachers Need to Know Before Beginning

When incorporating this type of resource into the curriculum, one of the most important things for the teacher is to have a general idea about the video game plot, its capabilities, the controllers, the system requirements and how to take advantage of features like the Animus Database that provides large amount of information on the Italian Renaissance. The Assassin’s Creed II Manual, the first link in your Teacher Resource Section provides all the information you will need to install and play this game.

Additionally, the teacher should know how comfortable the students are with video games, and group them according to their strengths.

Hardware Requirements

Assassin’s Creed II will be set up on three different stations. In addition to three video games, three computers with the following minimum requirements would be needed:

▪ Operating System: Windows XP, Vista or 7 (32-64 bits)

▪ CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHZ or AMD Athlon X2 64 2.4GHZ

▪ RAM: 1.5 GB Windows XP / 2GB Windows Vista and Window 7

▪ Video Card: 256 MB DirectX 9.0 – compliant card with Shader Model 3.0 or higher.

▪ Sound Card: DirectX 9.0 – compliant sound card

▪ Direct X Version: Direct X 9.0

▪ DVD-ROM: DVD-ROM dual layer drive

▪ Hard Drive Space: 8 GB

▪ Peripherals Supported: Keyboard, mouse, optional controller

➢ Teachers should be aware that this video game does not support Windows 98 and 2000.

Lessons Overview

Before playing Assassin’s Creed II, the teacher will present an overview of the game, its characters and how the game relates to the unit under consideration. Each student will receive a handout (Appendix 1) that explains the controllers. Once each group starts the game, the teacher will become a facilitator, moving from one group to another and answering questions, if needed.

Each lesson will expand to two class periods of two hours each. The students will be divided into three groups of four students per group (the schedule and the number of students reflect the setup at the OMAS, twelve students per group, three hours per session). Within the groups, each student will take thirty minutes to play the game while two students observe and one takes notes.

After everyone has taken a turn, each group will discuss their experiences and what they learned for thirty minutes. At this time, the teacher will conduct the discussion and act as a facilitator. The last thirty minutes of the session will be dedicated to writing about what they learned, how the video game relates to the classroom text and how the lectures, the readings and the video game relate the school SLOs. The teacher will move from group to group, answer questions, and provide individual help, if necessary.

Lesson One

At the beginning of this lesson, the students will be carefully introduced to the Assassin’s Creed II game, following the schedule and the activities discussed above. At this point, the students have already read, discussed and completed exercises on the first three objectives for this course. Lesson one is developed to provide a better understanding on the main differences between the Renaissance and the Middle Ages, the importance and the characteristics of Florence during the Renaissance and the growth of trading cities.

Lesson One Goals and Objectives

After completing lesson one, the students will be able to:

▪ Identify the origins of the Knight Templars and the Assassins.

▪ Describe the Florentine society of the Renaissance.

▪ Locate on a map the key cities of the Italian Renaissance.

Each student will prepare a five-minute oral presentation on one of the above objectives. The rubric to grade oral presentations is found in Appendix 2. The teacher should feel free to change any categories in the rubric.

Lesson One Setup

Lesson one will start with a general discussion of the classroom lectures or handouts and Chapter 16 in the World History and You textbook or the textbook you are using. At this time, the students have studied new vocabulary referring to this unit and already know some of the key figures of the Italian Renaissance. The four groups should have already been formed. The teacher will address the lesson objectives and how they form part of the standards. The students will go over the navigation controls, asking questions, if necessary. The teacher will distribute and discuss the KWL handout (Appendix 3), to be completed as a group.

Lesson One Activity/Gameplay

Each group will take a pre-designated computer station, and they will go once again over the navigation controls, finding each control on the keyboard. The group will select one student to start the game and one student to take notes while the two remaining students observe the game and suggest notes for the activities to follow. From the Main Menu, the student will select Play to start the game. The students will rotate positions every thirty minutes. Depending on the players’ ability, the groups may not be at the same level.

Lesson One Follow-up/Debriefing

Each group will discuss the game and what they learned from this activity in relation to the subject. Each student will complete the KWL sheet (Appendix 3), with at least two entries for each objective, briefly stating what he knows about the topics, what else he wants to know about them and what he learned after his research.

Additionally, the entire group will orally discuss the following questions, based on the game and their own readings:

a) What are the main differences between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance?

b) What social groups did you encounter in Florence? Describe their clothing.

c) Compare and contrast jobs on the Renaissance with today’s jobs.

d) What is the political situation in Florence when this story takes place?

e) Who is Lorenzo de Medici and what do you know about his family?

f) What cities did you visit during your trip to Renaissance Italy? In what areas are they located? Describe them.

Lesson One Extensions

The students will choose and complete one of the following activities. If feasible, this work will be shared with the lower grade levels, the English Language Development students or the English as a Second Language students.

a) Select a historical figure present in the Assassin’s Creed II game, write his/her biography. Tell us why you chose this person.

b) Develop and illustrate a travel brochure on an Italian city, describe its geography and its historical ties to the Renaissance.

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Lesson Two

Lesson two will concentrate on examining Venice during the Renaissance and its importance as an independent trading city. This lesson will also investigate historical figures like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Niccolò Machiavelli and their contributions to literature, science, the arts and engineering. This lesson relates to item # 5 of the California Standards for History/Social Studies for 7th grade and is built on the vocabulary and concepts studied in the previous lesson and the classroom textbook.

Lesson Two Goals and Objectives

After completing this lesson, the students will be able to:

▪ Analyze the importance of Venice during the Renaissance and its relation to the Silk Road.

▪ Describe specific landmarks in Italy.

▪ Explain Leonardo da Vinci’s contributions to science.

As in lesson 1, the students will be assigned one objective and will prepare a five-minute oral presentation. The rubric to grade oral presentations is found in Appendix 2. The teacher should feel free to change any categories in the rubric.

Lesson Two Setup

Lesson two will start an entire group discussion on the main concepts learned in lesson one and how the Assassin’s Creed II supported the lesson by providing a virtual reality for the lectures/textbook contents and the activities completed for that segment.

The four groups will go back to their designated stations, taking the navigation chart, if needed. Lesson two will follow the same format delineated for lesson one: each student will rotate every thirty minutes, with one player, one scribe and two observers who dictate notes to the scribe.

Lesson Two Activity/Gameplay

The students will retrieve their game and will play it as described above, the teacher will give each student a handout instructing them to keep notes on the details of their visit to Venice and to the following landmarks: St. Mark Basilica, Santa Maria del Fiore, the Sistine Chapel, Santa Croce, Santa Maria Novella and Palazzo Vecchio, explaining that these landmarks are located in different areas of Italy.

Again, the teacher will take the role of a facilitator, moving from group to group.

Lesson Two Follow-up/Debriefing

Each individual group will discuss the game and the places they visited, each student will complete entries on their journals about the places they found most interesting. The entire group will discuss the following topics, based on Assassin’s Creed II, their textbook and the lectures.

1) Discuss the imports brought to Venice along the Silk Road.

2) Where did Leonardo da Vinci find his inspiration to draw the blueprints of this flying machine?

3) Describe the Sistine Chapel and its significance.

Lesson Two Extensions

The students will create the script and select the graphics for a PowerPoint presentation on the Renaissance. This presentation will illustrate the main topics that were discussed in lessons 1 and 2. The students will prepare the script; the teacher will make available the images from the site listed in the reference section. If feasible, this PowerPoint will be shared with the lower grade levels, the English Language Development student or the English as a Second Language students.

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Teacher Resources

♦Assassin’s Creed II Manual discusses all the information you will need to install and play this game, in addition to providing a great overview on its features and capabilities.

♦The following link provides a series of videos related to Assassin’s Creed II:



These videos would be an excellent resource for the teachers to familiarize themselves with different scenes throughout the video game.

♦The following site provides relevant information on the Animus.

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References

Animus User Manual (2009) Montreal: Ubisoft.

Assassin’s Creed II (n.d.). Article retrieved on 4/9/2011 from

Assassin’s Creed II Images (n.d.) retrieved on 4/9/2011 from

Barab, S., Gresalfi, M. and Arici, A. (2009) Why Educators Should Care About Games. Educational Leadership. September 2009.

Gee. J. (2007) What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.

Jonassen, D. (2006) Constructivist Education. Article retrieved on 4/14//2011 from

Mergel, B. (1998) Instructional Design and Learning Theory. Article retrieved on 4/26/2011 from

Appendix 1

Animus User Navigation Controls

|Move Forward |W |

|Move Backward |C |

|Move Left |A |

|Move Right |D |

|High Profile |Right Mouse Button |

|Armed Hand |Left Mouse Button |

|Open Hand |Left Shift |

|Head |E |

|Legs |Space Bar |

|Throwing Knives |1 |

|Hidden Blades |2 |

|Sword |3 |

|Fists |4 |

|Weapon Selector |Q |

|Pan Camera Up |Arrow Up |

|Pan Camera Down |Arrow Down |

|Pan Camera Left |Arrow Left |

|Pan Camera Right |Arrow Right |

|Target Lock |F |

|Contextual Camera |T |

|Map |Tab |

|Pause |esc |

|First Person Camera |9 |

The Animus 2.0 allows you to control Ezio through a combination of standard and contextual buttons. Standard buttons always perform the same action. For example, pressing the Q key always selects the weapon selector. Conversely, the action resulting from a contextual button press will change depending on the context the ancestor s currently in. For example, the space bar can make Ezio sprint, jump, dodge or run up a wall, depending on the context.

Appendix 2

Grading Rubric for Oral Presentations

|CATEGORY |4-Excellent |3-Very Good |2-Good |1-Needs Improvement |

|Content |Shows a full |Shows a good |Shows a good |Does not seem to understand the |

| |understanding of the |understanding of the |understanding of parts |topic very well. |

| |topic. |topic. |of the topic. | |

|Speaks Clearly |Speaks clearly and |Speaks clearly and |Speaks clearly and |Often mumbles or cannot be |

| |distinctly all (100-95%)|distinctly all (100-95%)|distinctly most (94-85%)|understood OR mispronounces more |

| |the time, and |the time, but |of the time. |than one word. |

| |mispronounces no words. |mispronounces one word. |Mispronounces no more | |

| | | |than one word. | |

|Preparedness |Student is completely |Student seems pretty |The student is somewhat |Student does not seem at all |

| |prepared and has |prepared but might have |prepared, but it is |prepared to present. |

| |obviously rehearsed. |needed a couple more |clear that rehearsal was| |

| | |rehearsals. |lacking. | |

Adapted from Rubistar

The letter grade equivalency for the above rubric is:

|Letter Grade |Equivalency |

|A |4 Excellent |

|B |3 Very Good |

|C |2 Good |

|D |1 Needs Improvement |

Appendix 3

Renaissance Period

|K |W |L |

|What you know |What you want to know |What you have learned |

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This Teaching Guide was created for the Otay Adult School GED Program. This programs includes 7th to 12th grade students and follows the California Content Standards for the five GED subjects.

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