The impact of the Black Death on England
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can recognise that the Peasants' Revolt had multiple causes and describe the appearance of the Black Death in England.
Key learning points
- The Peasants' Revolt took place in 1381.
- The Peasants' Revolt had many long-term causes.
- Some historians argue that the Black Death was related to the causes of the Peasants' Revolt.
- The Black Death arrived in England in 1348.
- The Black Death killed around half of the English population.
Keywords
Peasant - a person in the medieval period who worked the land and had few legal protections
Rebellion - an act of direct resistance against a leader or government
Feudal system - the social system of medieval England, with peasants, lords and the king in a strict hierarchy
Bubo - a swelling of the lymph nodes and a symptom of the plague
Common misconception
Historical events have one cause.
This will be addressed across the course of the unit, but within this lesson it is worth drawing attention to the competing causes listed in the discussion of the Peasants' Revolt.
Teacher tip
Encourage pupils to think about the different causes of the Peasants' Revolt by sketching out the three mentioned diagrammatically.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of upsetting content
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Depiction or discussion of serious crime
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of these do you think best describes a peasant?
Q2.Peasants were at the bottom of a social hierarchy known as feudalism or the system.
Q3.The Black Death was a...
Q4.Put these rulers of England in chronological order. They did not all succeed each other: there is usually a big gap between their rules.
Q5.What three-letter word means money that individuals pay to the government, which then uses it to fund its spending?
Q6.Historians often consider different factors in their explanations and interpretations. Which of these would be about the decisions and policies of a government or ruler?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.In which year did the Peasants' Revolt take place?
Q2.In which year did the Black Death first reach England?
Q3.How many people do historians think died of the Black Death in the first year it affected England?
Q4.Which of the following were most likely to be targets of the Peasants' Revolt?
Q5.Put these symptoms of the Black Death in the order in which they appeared.
Q6.Why is Melcombe famous in relation to the Black Death?
To help you plan your 7 history lesson on: The impact of the Black Death on England, 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 on England, 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 Peasants' Revolt: why do historians disagree about its causes? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.