Renaissance approaches to treatment and prevention
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can evaluate the effectiveness of Renaissance approaches to the treatment and prevention of disease.
Key learning points
- Many medieval treatments remained common in the Renaissance period.
- New American plants were used in treatments.
- There was a rise in quack medicine.
- Religion and ancient ideas, like miasma, continued to influence many methods of prevention.
- People with infectious diseases were sometimes isolated to prevent the disease spreading further.
Keywords
Humoural - something related to the medical Theory of the Four Humours
Quack - used to refer to people or medical practices which are useless and untrustworthy
Fasting - a period of time when someone avoids eating, often for religious reasons
Common misconception
Criticisms of bloodletting meant it was practiced less.
Bloodletting and other humoural treatments remained popular and were even used to try and treat King Charles II in 1685.
Teacher tip
Before completing Task C, ask pupils to list some changes in Renaissance approaches to treatment and prevention. Have them discuss if the changes meant that methods had become more effective.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Depiction or discussion of sexual content
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which term refers to a physical feeling or problem that shows that you have a particular illness?
Q2.What invention allowed books to be published more quickly, cheaply and accurately during the Renaissance period?
Q3.Which group, founded in England in 1660, encouraged scientific learning through experimentation and regular journals which shared new ideas and works?
Q4.Which physician was the first to identify the difference between measles and scarlet fever?
Q5.What proportion of books on astrology published in England between 1485 and 1707 were written by physicians?
Q6.What was observed for the first time by using a microscope in the 1670s?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1. medicines were often fake but marketed as cure-alls.
Q2.How many people received the Royal Touch between 1660 and 1685?
Q3.What disease was mercury used as a treatment for?
Q4.What was the purpose of pest houses?
Q5.Which of the following are humoural treatments?
Q6.Which statement is most accurate?
To help you plan your 10 history lesson on: Renaissance approaches to treatment and prevention, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 history lesson on: Renaissance approaches to treatment and prevention, 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.