Pupils are hooked in with a story of the impact of the Black Death on one family. This is followed by an engaging analysis of an artist’s impression of a typical scene when pupils have to spot clues about the plague.
The main activity is a role play in which pupils in groups have to meet the other villagers and consider a range of possible, if implausible, ways of fighting the plague to gain a deeper understanding of the medieval mind and the limitations of their knowledge.
The lesson concludes with a short evaluation of what people did know in preparation for the next session in which they judge whether any medical progress has been made in over 300 years.
Learning objectives
- Pupils grasp that most people thought your health was in the hands of God to whom you prayed, and supernatural forces
- They understand that doctors didn’t know about
