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Get a brief overview about the three major plagues of Europe.

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Get a deeper knowledge of how the black plague affected Europe.

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Informational (nonfiction) 1,883 words, Level Z1 (Grade 5+), Lexile 1020L
Multilevel Book also available in levels W and Z.

Imagine half of the people of your city are suddenly gone. That's exactly what happened to many Europeans who survived the Black Death. In The Plague!, students will learn about the bubonic plague, which caused the deaths of half of the people of Europe in the 1300s. Engaging text and detailed graphics will keep students interested in learning about this important historical event. This book can also be used to teach students how to ask and answer questions as well as to identify cause-and-effect relationships in text. The book and lesson are also available for levels W and Z.

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Informational (nonfiction) 1,883 words, Level Z1 (Grade 5+), Lexile 1020LMultilevel Book also available in levels W and Z. Imagine half of the people of your city are suddenly gone. That's exactly what happened to many Europeans who survived the Black Death.

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Students will play a black plague simulation game to see how easily it was to get it.

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Students will understand how the spread of the bubonic plague affected the lives of those living in Medieval Europe. Students will play a plague simulation game to simulate the rapid spread of the Black Death through Europe, explain what a plague and its cause in the 14th century was, summarize the effects of the Black Death, and cite evidence from their simulation to draw a connection between the plague and the subsequent social and economic changes that took place.

7.6.7. Map the spread of the bubonic plague from Central Asia to China, the Middle East, and Europe and describe its impact on global population.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.7
Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2
Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2
Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.9
Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

What were the causes and effects of the Black Death in Medieval Europe?

The night before, students read a chapter from their textbook giving them background information about the Black Death. To start off the lesson, the teacher will ask students if they have ever heard the nursery rhyme, "Ring Around the Rosy." Then the teacher will describe how that rhyme originated during the Black Plague. The teacher will then ask a student volunteer to summarize what they read last night. The teacher will describe the Black Death as the spread of a disease, called the bubonic plague, in Europe, from 1346-1350. It is estimated that over 25 million people died from this disease, which was over 2/3 of Europe's population at the time.

Vocabulary will be addressed throughout the students' reading from the night before. Before starting the simulation, the teacher will ask student volunteers to summarize what the Black Death/Bubonic Plague is and how it spread during the Middle Ages. Key terms include:

· Bubonic Plague, or the Black Death
· pilgrimage
· epidemic

To reinforce what students have learned from their reading, the teacher will also show this short clip that provides more background information about the Black Death: http://youtu.be/5hBOqGC1BLw

Afterward, the teacher will use a Black Death simulation to teach students about the causes and effects of the bubonic plague in Europe. This simulation has been adapted from the classroom of Cory M. Wisnia. In groups, students will simulate pilgrims and merchants traveling from town-to-town during the Middle Ages. At each town, these "travelers" will stay one or two nights before traveling to the next town. However, the twist is that some of these towns have been infected by bubonic plague, but students initially do not know who or how many people are infected and in which town. Therefore, at each town, the students will run the risk of contracting the plague for every night they are there. As they travel, students will find themselves or their classmates contracting disease and spreading it to other towns, or they might be the lucky ones to make it through the entire journey.

From this activity, students will see how quickly disease can spread from town-to-town and the means in which it spread (through travelers, pilgrims, merchants, soldiers, and those living in close proximity to each others). They will also see how the spread of the Black Death was able to decimate the population in Europe during this time. Additionally, they will be briefly exposed to how immunity to bubonic plague was able to develop. Cory Wisnia's lesson is included below. I've adapted the lesson plan, so that it only involves the bubonic plague and uses paper squares, instead of beans.

Black Plague Simulation (adapted from Cory M. Wisnia)

Supplies:
24 paper bags
24 playing dice (one per city)
Blue paper squares (200 per bag or 4800 total needed)
Red paper squares (One Bag---similar to the size of blue squares)
Large Map
Graphs
Colored sticky dots for graphing.

Teacher Directions: Set up 24 stations with one paper bag and one die each. Copy skulls for one per student, and place labels for towns on bags. Have students help by counting out 200 blue squares and place into bags. Add the proper number of Red (Plague) squares to those bags which will have them (see chart below). Students shouldn't know how many Plague squares are in the bags.

Student Directions: In this game, students will simulate pilgrimage during the time of the Black Plague. There will be a total of 24 stations around the classroom; each station represents a different Medieval European town. Students will travel around to each station, and at each "town," they will roll one die to see how many nights they have to spend in that city. Several of the cities have just started showing signs of a plague outbreak, but students won't know which towns yet.

At each station, there will be a brown paper bag filled with either blue or red pieces of paper squares that represent their lodging and meals. Students will have to draw out of the bag as many squares as the nights they are staying. If they pull out a red square, that means they have contracted the Plague bacterium. If they have drawn only blue squares, then they are safe and disease-free. If the student has not contracted the plague, they can continue on their journey to the next town. Before leaving, the student has to replace the squares they have drawn for the next traveler. They must also mark their journey on their map and list how many days they spent in each location.

However, if the student contracts the plague, they need to tape a skull on him or herself, mark on the map where he or she got the plague, put all the squares back into the bag, and go to two more towns. At these next towns, that student will not pull out any squares. Instead, at the next town, he or she will roll the die, and if they roll a 1, 2, 3, they will get a red, plague square from the teacher and put it into the town bag. If they roll a 4, 5, 6, they will get two red, plague squares from the teacher and add them to the bag. Then at the following town, they will get a skull and put it on the bag of the second town. The skull symbolizes that this town has been infected and, therefore, marked for disease. In the Middle Ages, infected towns were also "marked."

Afterward, the student is "dead" and out of the game. However, the student has a chance to "survive" if they are able to roll two ones in a row. If they are able to do so, they can recover and continue on their way. This represents the fact that, although very rare, some people were actually able to recover from the plague, and some were even immune to the next plague. Otherwise, they have "died, and on the class map, they will put a red dot in the city where this occurred. They will also place a red dot on the graph to show how many towns they were able to visit before dying.

If they "die early" on their journey or finish plague-free, the students can start over again and make another journey, starting at a new location.

The materials and handouts for this game are included below.

After students have completed this simulation, they will return to these seats for discussion and reflection. Students will analyze the map and graph that and note any interesting trends that they see. The teacher will then ask the following questions and students will discuss in small groups and write their answers into a handout (included below):

1. How far did you make it on your journey? How many "travelers" in the class were able survive through their entire journey/pilgrimage? (Students will then calculate a ratio for who survived/didn't survive the plague)

2. What was the average number of days or towns a person traveled before becoming infected?

3. Was it better to spend more time in a less number of towns or be able to travel to many towns over a short amount of town?

4. Which type of trip (land, sea, pilgrimage, merchant) might be more dangerous and why?

5. How did the red squares increase so quickly? What did the additional red squares per town represent? Why and how did the bubonic plague spread so quickly throughout Europe?

6. Making inferences: How did the lives of the people affected by the Black Death change? How did the survivors respond to this epidemic?

7. It is theorized that the Black Death caused the decline of feudalism and the church. What is the connected between the Black Death and these two institutions? How could the Black Death cause the decline in power of feudalism or the church?

For homework, students will complete their reflection handout.

Formative Assessments: Class and Group Discussion after the simulation, Simulation Map and Graph
Summative Assessments: Simulation Reflection Handout, End of the Unit multiple choice test with a document-based short response essay

The teacher will provide multiple ways to access the content. Not only will students read about the Black Death, they will also learn about it through the video clip about the Black Death and the summaries of the reading that a student and the teacher will provide. Additionally, the simulation is another way for students to have a hands-on experience when learning about the Black Death. The map and graph will provide additional visuals to help students see the impact of the bubonic plague. To scaffold the simulation reflection worksheet, the teacher will allow students to work in their small group, and the teacher will also be available to answer any questions or concerns the students may have.

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Students will understand how the spread of the bubonic plague affected the lives of those living in Medieval Europe. Students will play a plague simulation game to simulate the rapid spread of the Black Death through Europe, explain what a plague and its cause in the 14th century was, summarize the effects of the Black Death, and cite evidence from their simulation to draw a connection between the plague and the subsequent social and economic changes that took place.

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Students will read this to get an insight to who she was, how she lead the French to victory, and was the first female military leader.

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The illustrations are dynamic, evoking the look of superhero comics and conveying, along with the text, Joan's courage and heroism. Comic book fans and those interested in history will appreciate this work, which could complement a history curricula. This graphic novel is a fitting companion to Lee and Hart's other historical works Excalibur: The Legend of King Arthur (2007) and Outlaw: The Legend of Robin Hood (2009, both Candlewick). An enlightening and accessible account of the life and death of Joan of Arc.
-School Library Journal (starred review)

This book reads like a heroic adventure and will appeal to any middle- or high-school student who likes historical fiction or military fiction, or anyone eager to read about a heroic young woman who truly made a difference.
-Booklist

Striking visuals augment an already-captivating tale.
-Kirkus Reviews

Historical context is worked in effortlessly through both the illustrations and effective dialogue; text passages of philosophical, religious, political, and personal musings make Joan human rather than merely a historical cipher...Historical fiction buffs, even if they don't normally grab graphic novels, will find this an impressive mix of truth and emotion.
-Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

This bookopens with the trial of Joan of Arc for heresy in 1431 and tells her story in a series of flashbacks. The narrative is told simply and without extensive background information that might bog down the plot...The story highlights a strong female figure noteworthy for her personal morality and self-sacrificing dedication to making her world a better place-something most graphic novel collections still need.
-School Library Connection

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Messenger: The Legend of Joan of Arc by Tony Lee: 9780763676131 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

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The illustrations are dynamic, evoking the look of superhero comics and conveying, along with the text, Joan's courage and heroism. Comic book fans and those interested in history will appreciate this work, which could complement a history curricula.

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Students can write a newspaper article about Joan Arc.

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This creative writing exercise asks the children to write a newspaper report about Joan of Arc - a great way to get the kids putting pen to paper!

Explore Activity Village

"In the future, everybody will be world famous for 15 minutes." This fun worksheet asks the kids to imagine they are famous for 15 minutes, just like Andy Warhol suggests in his famous quote, and to write all about the experience as a newspaper report.

The kids can use our Thomas Edison newspaper writing prompt to describe his life and achievements, and they can colour in the picture of him if they like ...

Louis Braille creates an alphabet that allows blind people to read easily! That could be the headline on this Village News worksheet ... although in fact the braille language wasn't really adopted until after Louis Braille's death.

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This creative writing exercise asks the children to write a newspaper report about Joan of Arc - a great way to get the kids putting pen to paper! Explore Activity Village "In the future, everybody will be world famous for 15 minutes."

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Students will learn about the conflict between King Philip IV and Pope Boniface VIII.

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The King Who Kidnapped The Pope | King Phillip IV

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Interactive game to learn more about Constantinople and other facts.

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Excavate! Byzantine™

Apply C3 skills in this middle school social studies game that brings the ancient civilization of the Byzantine Empire to life through archaeology.

We are studying different civilizations this year and it's a FANTASTIC resource to help them make connections.

5th Grade Gifted Computer and Technology, Fort Walton Beach, FL

Excavating was great, and my favorite aspect of the game .

7th Grade Student, Ridley, PA

I LOVED the analysis questions because it assisted the kids in seeing the "big" picture and make connections.

5th Grade Social Studies, Canfield, OH

Questions regarding how to use in the classroom?

Contact Us.

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Excavate! Byzantine Empire - Dig-It! Games

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Apply C3 skills in this middle school social studies game that brings the ancient civilization of the Byzantine Empire to life through archaeology. We are studying different civilizations this year and it's a FANTASTIC resource to help them make connections.

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Students will get an understanding of this document and the events around it.

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The Magna Charta [James Daugherty] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Magna Charta

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Students will get a better look at how the castles were made and the reasons behind it.

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David Macaulay's Castle takes readers inside the architecture and culture of castles in his classic careful and meticulous style. This revised edition now features full-color art with delightful artistic details shining through each page, along with newly researched information. Following the step-by-step planning and construction of the fictional Lord Kevin's castle, architecture enthusiasts, history buffs, and medieval history lovers will marvel at the magnificent works of the past. 80 pages with glossary, hardcover with dust jacket.

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David Macaulay's Castle takes readers inside the architecture and culture of castles in his classic careful and meticulous style. This revised edition now features full-color art with delightful artistic details shining through each page, along with newly researched information.

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Students will get hands on look of how feudalism worked.

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Feudalism was introduced to Britain by the Normans after the battle of 1066. King William claimed all the land for himself and proceeded to rent out percentages of it to the nobles. The nobles, in turn, rented out land to knights in return for their promise of allegiance. The commoners then worked the land and paid rent to the knights in return for their protection. I asked which class each child would have liked to belong to. The King was voted the most desirable class to be in!

I did a practical demonstration of how feudalism worked using Play Mobil figures and chocolate. This was so worth doing. I had thought the children understood feudalism but I this exercise showed they had missed the finer points of it. I set our rather grubby table as shown below. Really you could use any proportions so long as there is only one king, more knights than nobles and more peasants than knights.

Accordingly each peasant had to pay 6 out of their 10 chocolates (60%) to their knights in return for their protection. Each peasant ended up with only 40 % of the original equal share in the harvest:

Each knight could keep his 10 chocolates (100%) but out of the 6 given to him by each peasant, he had to pay 5 to the noble to show his allegiance (called a payment of fidelity) . Each knight, therefore, ended up with his 10 chocolates plus one each from the peasants he protected. In our illustration each knight had 2 peasants to protect and so ended up with 2 extra candies resulting in a total of 12 chocolates. This, in effect, was 120% of the original equal share of the harvest.

The nobles, although collecting the payment from the knights, were effectively being paid by the peasants at 5 chocolates each. Here our knights are paid by 2 peasants and each noble is paid by 3 knights (in other words 6 peasants) thereby receiving 30 chocolates in addition to the 10 from the harvest. From this 30 he needed to pay the king 6 chocolates from each knight who had paid his allegiance (a total of 18 chocolates). The nobles ended up with 22 chocolates, 220% of their original share of the harvest:

It was, as expected, the king who came out on top, ending up with 46 chocolates; a whopping 460% of his original share of the harvest:

And just to show pictorially the proportions comparatively:

Afterwards the chocolates were shared out....democratically of course!!

It is always a joy to see our children using what they have learnt, but Gary and I had to giggle when T11 approached us yesterday with an idea. He had, in his infinite wisdom, decided to set up a feudal system in our garden. Each child has a patch of land about 3m by 2m which we have already given them. T11 had other plans however. He began to explain some elaborate scam, whereby he would rent out the three patches to his sisters and give us a cut of his proceeds!! He he, gotta love that boy!

For more great maths ideas see:

The final activity I had planned is called the Four Alls and is from this book:

The Four Alls is a poem explaining the roles of each class in the feudal system. I had the children write out the poem and stick in appropriate pictures to make a lovely note page:

Next we began to make a diorama. The running shop near to us had saved us lots of boxes:

We made one into a castle by cutting turrets into its lid:

Next we stuck the boxes together with a lidded one at the bottom for the peasants, then the castle for the knights, a palace for the king and the church for the priests right at the top:

Now we were ready to decorate.

Domesday book next!

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Feudalism in the MiddleAges and the Four Alls - ANGELICSCALLIWAGS

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Feudalism was introduced to Britain by the Normans after the battle of 1066. King William claimed all the land for himself and proceeded to rent out percentages of it to the nobles. The nobles, in turn, rented out land to knights in return for their promise of allegiance.

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Students will gain understanding of the 100 year war on the borders throughout Europe, and why both sides were fighting for the land.

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History of England - The 100 Years War - Extra History - Part 1

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Students will learn about the parliament from before to now, and how it works.