Late Middle Ages · 1346-1353

The Black Death

In 1347 ships from the Black Sea bring plague to Sicily, and within five years it has crossed all of Europe. Students watch the Black Death spread on the map, trace it along the trade routes and weigh how it changed the lives of the survivors.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 1346 to AD 1347
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

In 1347 ships from the Black Sea bring plague to Sicily, and within five years it has crossed all of Europe. Students watch the Black Death spread on the map, trace it along the trade routes and weigh how it changed the lives of the survivors.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Describe how the Black Death spread from the Black Sea across Europe between 1346 and 1353.
  • Explain why trade routes and crowded towns helped the disease spread.
  • Describe the effects of the Black Death on society, including wages, persecution and faith.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1346

Watch it spread

Turn on Spreads and choose the Black Death. Start in 1346 and drag the slider slowly to 1353. Which regions are reached first, and which last?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1348

Ships and roads

Set the year to 1348 and turn on Trade Routes as well. Compare the path of the plague with the routes. What do you notice?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1347

Where it entered

Turn on Historical Events (Natural Disasters) in 1347. Find where the Black Death reaches Europe and Constantinople. Why were ports the gateways?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. People in 1348 did not know about bacteria, fleas or rats. How did they explain the plague?
  2. In many towns Jews were falsely blamed for the plague and murdered. Pope Clement VI pointed out that Jews died of plague too. Why do people look for scapegoats in a crisis?
  3. After the plague there were far fewer workers. Why did wages rise, and why did lords and kings try to stop them?
  4. Some people turned to prayer and processions; others decided to enjoy life while they could. Why might the same disaster lead to such different reactions?
  5. Historians estimate that between a third and a half of Europe's people died. How would losing so many people change a village or a city?
4

Game round

10 min

Play Rule History as Mansa Musa, whose trading partners in Egypt and North Africa were also struck by the plague. Afterwards, discuss: what could any ruler of the 1340s have done against a disease nobody understood?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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