Renaissance ideas about disease and illness
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can assess the extent of progress in Renaissance ideas about the causes of disease and illness.
Key learning points
- During the Renaissance, some people began to encourage new approaches to learning.
- New technologies and groups emerged which supported the development of new medical ideas.
- Thomas Sydenham was a physician who supported the scientific method.
- Many physicians did not accept new medical ideas and approaches.
- Medieval explanations for the causes of disease remained widespread.
Keywords
Symptom - a physical feeling or problem that shows that you have a particular illness
Common misconception
The Renaissance led to widespread acceptance of scientific ideas in medicine.
Opposition to change from physicians and the limits of new discoveries meant that many ideas about the causes of disease remained unchanged.
Teacher tip
Ask pupils to discuss what had a bigger impact on medical knowledge in the Renaissance period: new attitudes to learning or new technology?
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.Match each of the terms to their correct definitions.
explanations of what is wrong with someone who is ill
methods used to help those who are already ill
methods used to stop people becoming ill
Q2.What was the name of the plague outbreak which reached England in 1348?
Q3.Which medical belief suggested that illness was caused by substances in the body becoming out of balance?
Q4.Many Christians believed that disease was sent by God as a punishment for ...
Q5.What was miasma often associated with in the medieval period?
Q6.What was the main focus of physicians' training in the medieval period?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.A physical feeling or problem that shows that you have a particular illness is known as a ...
Q2.What were the approximate dates of the Renaissance period?
Q3.What new technology was invented in 1590?
Q4.Plague orders produced by the Royal College of Physicians began by suggesting was responsible for causing disease.
Q5.Why did many physicians reject the ideas of Thomas Sydenham?
Q6.Which statement is correct?
To help you plan your 10 history lesson on: Renaissance ideas about 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: Renaissance ideas about 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.