Was the Black Death a
controllable or
uncontrollable disaster?
Project Objectives: To ……
discover the causes of the Black Death.
research the symptoms and cures for the Black Death.
decide whether the Black Death was an uncontrollable disaster.
advise the local authorities on how to respond to the Black Death disaster.
Start week beginning 6th March
End week beginning 20th March
Instructions:
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You must NOT cut and paste information from the internet – you need to present the information you
research in your own words.
Remember to include the information you are covering in your lessons.
Your project must be clearly named and include your Teacher and Teaching Group.
Make sure your work is stapled or put in a folder (No hard backed folders)
If you decide to make a film for task 4 either save it in a memory stick or email it to your Teacher.
Timings:
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Warm up task – 5 minutes Max!
Task 1 – ‘Discover the causes of the Black Death’ – 1hr Max
Task 2a – ‘Research the symptoms of the Black Death’ – 45 mins Max
Task 2b – ‘Research the cures for the Black Death’ – 1hr 30 mins Max
Prep. Task for Task 3 – 15 mins Max
Task 3 –‘Decide whether the Black Death was a controllable or an uncontrollable disaster’ - 1hr 30 mins Max
Task 4 – ‘Advise the local authorities on how to respond to the Black Death disaster’ – 1 hr Max
DO NOT SPEND LONGER UNLESS YOU REALLY WANT TO AND IT IS NOT DISTRACTING YOU FROM OTHER
HOMEWORK!!
Challenges:
The tasks have been set out in the ‘Attainment 8’ format that you are familiar with. Choose the skill level
that matches your most recent ‘current grade’ that your teacher has written on the front of your History
book. If you fancy a challenge look at the level above. REMEMBER THAT THE SKILLS BUILD ON ONE
ANOTHER. In order to evaluate and analyse you need to complete ‘explain’ first and complete analyse and
evaluate in sequence.
Warm up task:
Fill in one-two sentences that these people might be saying about the Black
Death.
Success Criteria: each character should be saying something different about the Black
Death. You could talk about the symptoms, the cures and what they believed caused it.
Task 1:
To discover the causes of the Black Death.
Remember your target skill – challenge yourself and try the one above or higher!
Identify:
Analyse:
Make sure you have said when and how
the Black Death reached England.
After explaining. Rank the reasons and
examples that you have discovered to
clearly show which reason/s you consider
the most significant in bringing the Black
Death to England.
Describe:
Make sure you describe when and how
the Black Death reached England.
Explain:
Make sure that you explain with reasons
and examples when, how and why the
Black Death reached England. Include as
many possibilities as you can.
Evaluate:
After explaining and analysing can you
use your knowledge of the time period to
consider any other reasons why the Black
Death arrived in England and spread so
quickly – remember Scotland and Wales
did not suffer as badly as England did.
Task 2a:
To research the symptoms of the Black Death.
(You may include pictures or diagrams.)
Remember your target skill – challenge yourself and try the one above or higher!
Identify:
Say what the symptoms of the Black
Death were. Try to include both types of
Plague.
Describe:
Make sure you describe the symptoms
well and say what happens on each day
of the illness. Include both types of
Plague.
Explain:
Make sure that you explain what the
person would be experiencing at each
stage of the illness. Give an explanation
for each symptom. IE. Why did their skin
go a black/purple colour?
Analyse and above:
After explaining, analyse the person’s
chances of survival.
Task 2b:
To research the cures for the Black Death.
(You may include pictures or diagrams.)
Remember your target skill – challenge yourself and try the one above or higher!
Identify:
In sentences identify a natural and
supernatural cure for the Black Death.
Describe:
In a short paragraph identify at least one
natural and supernatural cure. Describe
how the cure was supposed to work. Say
what the difference is between a natural
and a supernatural cure.
Explain:
Explain a variety of cures in detail
including examples of both natural and
supernatural. Clearly explain the
difference between the two approaches.
Analyse:
Complete the explain task in detail. Make
sure you have included several examples
of both natural and supernatural cures.
Analyse ( compare ) the effectiveness of
the natural and supernatural cures.
Consider why people may have chosen a
supernatural cure over a natural one.
Evaluate:
Complete analyse then consider to what
extent the limited cures and medical
misunderstandings allowed the Black
Death to spread further.
Preparation for task 3 – Colour the boxes to show the different reasons why the Black Death spread
Key Codes:
Living Conditions
Knowledge about the disease
People’s beliefs
Un-recognised connections.
Life was hard for the poor and they
often suffered from famine and
disease.
People believed that the Black Death
was a punishment from God because
of all the drinking, gambling and
fighting that had been taking place.
Merchant ships from China carried
infected rats and sailors to England.
The Black Death infected the
dockyard communities first and
spread along trade routes.
Towns were overcrowded and
people and illness spread quickly
from person to person.
Doctors were often untrained.
People believed that the evil planets Butchers would leave animal
of Mars and Saturn had moved
‘remains’ in the streets and as a
closer together. This had turned the result attracted rats into the town.
air bad. If they breathed in the bad
air they will catch the plague.
Houses were made of wood. They
rotted and could easily be gnawed by
rats allowing them access into
people’s homes.
There was not any organised method
of removing animal or human ‘waste
and filth’. It was often not removed
from the streets and as a result
attracted rats into the towns.
People believed that the body was
People believed that ‘bad smells’
made up of four humours – blood,
were responsible for spreading the
phlegm, black bile and yellow bile.
Black Death.
When someone was ill, it was
because their humours were
unbalanced. People had to get rid of
the unwanted substances in their
body.
The church believed that only God
could cure illness by prayer, fasting,
good works or going on a pilgrimage.
Monasteries helped to care for the
sick. It was believed that a King could
heal someone by touching them.
Those who handled the dead did not Some people made the connection
Most people believed in magic. They Remedies often depended on the
have any protection from the
between ‘animals’ and the spread of would wear charms to protect
wealth of the person.
disease.
the Black Death and started to kill
themselves from the Black Death.
There was no guarantee of success.
the stray cats and dogs that roamed
the street.
Task 3:
To decide whether the Black Death was a
controllable or an uncontrollable disaster.
Remember your target skill – challenge yourself and try the one above or higher!
Identify:
In a short paragraph show whether you think
the Black Death could have been prevented,
stopped or controlled.
Analyse:
Complete the explain task in detail. In
their own paragraph, analyse which
factor/s were contributed the most to
the spread of the Black Death. Decide
Describe:
and explain whether the Black Death
could have been prevented, stopped or
In a short paragraph describe how the Black
Death could have been prevented, stopped or controlled.
controlled.
Evaluate:
Explain:
Complete analyse then consider the
cause and consequences of people’s
In an extended paragraph use the evidence
actions. How far where the people at the
you have about the cause, cures, living
conditions, medical knowledge and Medieval time unwittingly making matters worse?
attitudes, explain whether the Black Death
could have been prevented, stopped or
controlled.
Task 4 :
Advise the local authorities on how to respond
to the Black Death disaster.
Time to share your expertise !l
Now that you have a lot of knowledge about the Black Death you need to share the
information you have and help the people suffering from the Black Death.
You can choose to do this as either an A4 sized poster, a letter, a leaflet or a TV public
health film ( you can film it! )
You need to advise the local authorities to take action to stop the Black Death from spreading
further. Base your suggestions on the evidence you have collected during this project. Think
about the causes, cures, religious beliefs, their living conditions and medical knowledge at
the time.
Useful resources:
You Tube:
Fleas on Rats
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZy6XilXDZQ
BBC Bite Size
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/z7r7hyc/revision
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/history/middle_ages/the_black_death/revision/4/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/history/middle_ages/the_black_death/video/
Other:
http://www.history.com/topics/black-death