New 19th century ideas about the causes of disease and illness
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can evaluate the impact of Germ Theory on explanations for the causes of disease in 19th century Britain.
Key learning points
- Miasma continued to be widely accepted as a cause of disease.
- Spontaneous generation suggested that decay and disease caused microbes to appear.
- Louis Pasteur's Germ Theory disproved spontaneous generation.
- Robert Koch proved certain bacteria cause specific diseases.
- Germ Theory was initially rejected by many British doctors.
Keywords
Microbe - any living organism which is too small to be seen without a microscope
Culture - bacteria grown under laboratory conditions
Common misconception
Germ Theory's accuracy meant that it was immediately accepted in Britain.
Many doctors still defended spontaneous generation and it took the additional proof provided by Robert Koch's work to convince many that microbes caused disease.
Teacher tip
Ask pupils to compare the work of Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch. Ask whose contributions were more important for understanding of the causes of disease and illness. You may prompt pupils to think about links between their work and the reaction of others to their findings.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Having means that someone is unable to catch a particular disease.
Q2.How many of King George III's 15 children were inoculated?
Q3.Who discovered a vaccine for smallpox?
Q4.Which disease did smallpox vaccinations involve infecting a person with?
Q5.Which statement is accurate?
Q6.Why did the British government prefer vaccinations to inoculation?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is bacteria grown under laboratory conditions referred to as?
Q2.Match each individual to the correct description of their medical contributions.
leading critic of Germ Theory in Britain
leading supporter of Germ Theory in Britain
first developed Germ Theory
proved that microbes caused some diseases
Q3.A is any living organism which is too small to be seen without a microscope.
Q4.Which theory argued that microbes were the result of decay and disease?
Q5.What was a typhoid outbreak in Wales in the 1880s officially blamed on?
Q6.Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.
To help you plan your 10 history lesson on: New 19th century ideas about the causes of disease and illness, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 history lesson on: New 19th century ideas about the causes of disease and illness, 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 4 history lessons from the Medicine in Britain, c1250–present unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.