The impact of the Black Death in Europe
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain the social and economic impact of the Black Death in Europe.
Key learning points
- The Black Death killed up to half the population in many European countries.
- The Black Death changed how people interacted with each other.
- Different countries responded to and were affected by the Black Death in different ways.
- The Black Death affected the lives of Europeans for centuries after the plague first struck.
Keywords
Population - the population refers to all the inhabitants of a particular place
Disease - a disease is a condition that impairs the proper function of the body or part of the body
Common misconception
The Black Death was a terrible one-off event.
Although the Black Death was a one-off event, the plague, the disease that was the Black Death, continued to afflict Europe for hundreds of years after it first came to Europe in the 14th century.
Teacher tip
Discuss or show students the symptoms of the Black Death and the timeframe from infection to death in order to help them understand the fear that this disease generated amongst people at the time.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What did people at the time believe caused the Black Death
Q2.Where has modern research discovered the Black Death originated from?
Q3.Roughly what percentage of the population of the Middle East was killed by the Black Death?
Q4.What is meant by the term 'plague'?
Q5.Which European city in modern-day Crimea was the first to experience the Black Death in 1346?
Q6.Which famous trade route is also suspected to have brought the Black Death to Europe?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which grand building in Sienna was never completed due to the Black Death?
Q2.How long was the 'quarantena' that Venice imposed on incoming ships to try and prevent the Black Death from spreading to the city?
Q3.How did the city of Milan deal with cases of the Black Death?
Q4.Place the countries into the order in which they were affected by the Black Death.
Q5.Which group of people were blamed for the Black Death in the Holy Roman Empire?
Q6.After the Black Death, how long did it take the population of Europe to return to pre-plague levels?
To help you plan your 7 history lesson on: The impact of the Black Death in Europe, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 7 history lesson on: The impact of the Black Death in Europe, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 history lessons from the The Black Death and the Silk Road: how connected was the medieval world? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.