Renaissance Unit Study - Martin Luther

Week 12: We made salt dough maps of Germany which highlighted the places Martin Luther visited.

During the Renaissance, officials from the church in Rome traveled to the north selling indulgences. Purchasing an indulgence ensured safe passage into heaven, and helped to finance the building of St. Peters. Indulgences however, were not the only immoral acts practiced by the church.

Since the Bible primarily existed in Latin, the people had to rely on others to interpret its meaning. Martin Luther, a priest from the north, believed the inability of the people to read the Bible for themselves allowed greater corruption in the church.


Martin Luther took issue with indulgences and other practices of the church which he considered immoral. He made his view known to church officials and desired reform within the establishment. In addition, he worked to translate the Bible into German so the common man could read it for himself. Unfortunately, church officials did not want reform and they saw Martin Luther as a threat. In fact, he was considered an outlaw by the church.

Martin Luther lived in Germany and therefore his influence was greatest in the north. Although it was not his intention, his desire for reform lead to the formation of the Protestant Church. Throughout his life, he lived and traveled throughout Germany, and therefore, we created salt dough maps of Germany marking the locations where he spent time.

Salt Dough Recipe
1 cup of salt
2 cups of flour
1 cup of warm water

We live in Germany, so in addition to marking the locations where Martin Luther lived the kids marked a few favorite cities. Trier was marked on my son's map because he ate schnitzel in a restaurant and really liked it. He also labeled Munich and Berlin the capital.

My daughter added hedgehogs, pretzels, and mountains because she likes them all and Germany has them.