Responses to the Black Death
Responses to the Black DeathOverviewIn this three-part lesson, students explore the human impact of the Black Death in medieval Europe.Projected Time: ~2 hours (one 25-minute part and two 50-minute parts)Implementation time will vary across classroom contexts.Discussion Questions: ●On-ramp:Have you ever been surprised by how a person acted in a crisis or disaster? Why do you think some people help, others find people to blame, while others focus on their own survival?●Central Historical Question (CHQ):How did people treat each other during the Black Death? Why do people’s behaviors in these sources differ so much?●Off-ramp:Were the responses of people to the Black Death familiar to you? Have you seen those kinds of responses before? Why do you think people respond in different ways?Preparation for Discussion Facilitation:●Establish classroom norms for discussion. If you've already established discussion norms this year, plan to revisit them briefly with your students. If you haven't yet set any norms for discussion, we suggest taking 5-10 minutes to ask students to brainstorm a list the class can agree to (e.g., active listening, sharing air-time, being respectful). Ask students, “What norms do you think we should have in class when we have discussions? How should we treat each other?” Give students a few moments to independently record their own thoughts, then solicit ideas from students. You could give each student a couple of sticky notes to write their ideas on and have them add them to a board in the front of the room, have them submit their ideas using a virtual poll, or just call on students to share their ideas aloud. Based on what studentsshare, generate a list of class norms for discussion. You may want to ask additional probing questions (e.g., how should we respond when someone has a different perspective than we do?).●Consider students’ social-emotional learning. When preparing for discussions, keep in mind that different topics can be sensitive for different students. As you plan, consider how you will support students’ social and emotional needs and address any misconceptions that could cause harm.●For further guidance and support facilitating discussion, see the Deeper Discussions PD Toolkit.Table of ContentsPart 1: Introduction to the Black DeathPart 2: Black Death Source AnalysisPart 3: Central Historical Question Discussion
Responses to the Black Death1Part 1: Introduction to the Black DeathStudents Will:●Engage in a contagion activity to understand how pandemics like the Black Death spread.●Analyze a secondary source providing historical context on the Black Death.Materials: ●Slide deck: Responses to the Black Death (Google| PowerPoint)○Note, slides 3-12 of the deck are based on the OER Project article “Trade Networks and the Black Death,” which can be used in place of the presentation at the end of Part 1, if desired. ●Intro to the Black Death Worksheet: student version(Google| Word) and teacher version●3–4 decks of playing cards, jokers removed (note: for larger class periods, or for class periods where you want to give students a bit more time to trade, use four decks)●Enough index cards for each student in your class. Label one-third of the cards with “peasant,” one-third with “merchant,” and one-third with “noble.” Make an inconspicuous mark on one of the cards to denote Patient Zero.Opener: Contagion Activity (~15 minutes)1.As students come into the room, hand them each one of the index cards that you created. Make sure one card has an inconspicuous mark that will later help identify Patient Zero. About one-third of the class should be peasants, about one-third merchants, andabout one-third noblemen and noblewomen. 2.Distribute the playing cards randomly to the students and tell them that they are going to play a trading game with the cards. Project the instructions using Slide 1 in the deck. Explain to students:Speaker Notes (Slide 1).As you came in, some of you were assigned the role of peasants, others merchants, and others noblepeople. You are going to pretend to visit the market to trade for what you want. You each are starting with some playing cards, some of which you might want to keep, and others you can trade to get more of what you want. Peasants want food, signified by spades, merchants want money, signified by diamonds, noblepeoplewant increased social status, signified by clubs, and everybody wants happiness, signified by hearts. Each card is worth one point. Your goal is to collect as many cards as you can of your assigned suit, along with as many heart cards as you can trade for. You can decide how to make trades, and there is only one rule: Every time you trade with someone, you have to write that person’s name on your index card. Are there any questions?3.Once everyone is ready, set a timer for five minutes and allow them to trade.4.Once five minutes are up, have everyone return to their seats. Before allowing students to add up their points, tell them that you placed a mark on one of the index cards, and ask the students to look for that mark.
Responses to the Black Death25.When the student with the mark reveals themself, tell them that they are Patient Zero and they were unknowingly infected with the Black Death. Therefore, anyone they traded with—and anyone those people traded with—is also infected. Tell them the Black Death, also referred to as a plague, struck Europe and Asia in the 1300s and was one of the most fatal pandemics in human history, killing an estimated 50 million people.6.Have Patient Zero stand up and read out the names on their card. Every student who hears their name is infected should also stand up. In addition, anyone who has one of the names Patient Zero reads out written on their own card should stand up—they’re infected, too. 7.Have the people who are standing (infected) read through their names. Again, every student who hears their name should stand up—they’ve been infected. Have all standing students read through all the names on their cards until everyone is standing or all connections are exhausted, and see who didn’t contract the disease and who did. Most (if not all) students will be standing at this point (and infected). 8.To close this activity, use the debrief questions on Slide 2 on the deck. Pass out the Intro to the Black Death worksheet. Ask the class if anyone was protected from the disease based on their role; they’ll notice that a highly contagious disease is an equal opportunity player. Then ask the class if they’re surprised at how fast the disease spread. Finally, ask students to jot down their response to the question, “If you knew that there was a chance that you could get sick from going to the market, would you still have gone? Would you have acted differently? Why is that?” Have students share their responses with a partner, then elicit a few student responses from the class. 9.Tell students this was meant to simulate the spread of the Black Death, one of the first pandemics known in human history, which occurred between 1346–1353 in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Presentation:Background on the Black Death (~10 minutes)10.Open the slide deck and go over the following background information with your students. Note that the slides are based on the article, “Trade Networks and the Black Death,” so students could read that article if you prefer. 11.Tell students that as you share with them about the plague’s historical context, they should take notes on the causes and effects of the plague in their Intro to the Black Death worksheet. Speaker Notes (Slide 3): The Black Death was a major plague that spread across Afro-Eurasia in the 1300s. As we go through these slides, pay attention to how trade networks connected people across long distances, because those same connections also helped disease spread. Note that the following slides are all based on the OER Project article “Trade Networks and the Black Death” by Bennett Sherry.Speaker Notes (Slide 4):The Black Death did not spread in isolation. It moved through a world that was already highly connected by trade. Merchants, goods, and ideas were traveling across Afro-Eurasia, and disease traveled along those same routes. This is an important idea for today: connections can bring benefits, but they can also create new risks.Speaker Notes (Slide 5):The Silk Road was not really a road—it was a large network of cities, ports, trade routes, merchants, and travelers. These connections linked distant regions and allowed goods and ideas to move across great distances. The plague spread from Mediterranean ports into inland Europe, largely following trade networks. This map shows how the plague spread throughout Europe.
Responses to the Black Death3Speaker Notes (Slide 6):The Pax Mongolicawas a period when the Mongol Empire brought relative peace to a large part of Asia. Because trade routes were safer, more merchants traveled and long distance trade increased. The Mongol rulers supported trade in part because it brought in tax revenue. This greater movement of people and goods also made it easier for the plague to spread across Afro-Eurasia. This map shows the extent of the Mongol Empire. Speaker Notes (Slide 7):The Black Death was a Bubonic Plague epidemic caused by a bacterium called Yersinia pestis. It often spread through flea bites. People who were infected often developed swollen lymph nodes, called buboes, and that many who got sick died. This was a fast moving and deadly disease.Speaker Notes (Slide 8):The disease began in Central Asia. Fleas carrying the bacteria lived on great gerbils, and climate conditions may have helped the disease spread outward. Fleas then traveled with traders, camels, rodents, and rats. Merchant ships helped carry plague infected rats into Mediterranean ports, which helped the disease move into new regions. Speaker Notes (Slide 9): The plague spread quickly because trade caravans and ships connected places that were far apart. Infected fleas and rats moved along those routes. The article also explains that Europe was hit especially hard because many cities were crowded, damp, and poorly sanitized. In addition, climate change during the 14th century increased the presence of Yersinia pestis in rodents. All of these conditions helped make the Black Death one of the deadliest epidemics in history. Speaker Notes (Slide 10): The Black Death killed up to 100 million people across Afro-Eurasia. In Europe alone, about one-third of the population died between 1347 and 1351. Many communities had to bury huge numbers of victims, and the losses disrupted trade and production. Even places that were not directly hit by the disease still felt its effects because long distance trade networks were disrupted. Speaker Notes (Slide 11): The plague changed more than population numbers. Many Europeans saw it as a time of death and destruction, and some began to question important institutions and social systems. Some people lost faith in the Catholic Church because it could not stop the disease. Some Jewish communities were unfairly blamed and attacked for the disease. Because so many workers died, surviving laborers had more bargaining power and could demand higher wages. In some places, these changes weakened feudalism and began to reshape society.Speaker Notes (Slide 12): The effects of the plague lasted long after the first wave ended. Labor shortages changed relationships between workers and landowners, giving surviving workers more power to negotiate for better pay and conditions. Some landowners shifted from farming crops to raising livestock because it required less labor. Higher wages meant that some workers could afford more goods than before, and some even moved to places where they could earn better wages. For some survivors, these changes led to a higher standardof living. Overall, the plague helped bring major economic and social changes in Europe.
Responses to the Black Death4Part 2: Black Death Source AnalysisStudents Will:●Discuss diverse ways people respond to a crisis (e.g., helping, blaming, or self-preservation).●Analyze primary sources presenting different reactions to the Black Death.Materials: ●Slide deck: Responses to the Black Death (Google| PowerPoint)●Source Set: Responses to the Black Death(Google| Word)●Responses to the Black Death Sourcing Worksheet: student version (Google| Word) and teacher versionOpener:Introduction to the Black Death Discussion (~10 minutes)1.Let students know that in today’s lesson, they will analyze historical sources that provide evidence of how people reacted to the stress of the Black Death during the 1300s. They are going to think about some of the ways that people treated each other during the Black Death and why different sources might tell different stories about how people treated each other. 2.Ask students to discuss with their neighbor: “Have you ever been surprised by how a person acted in a crisis or disaster? Why do you think some people help, others find people to blame, while others focus on their own survival?” You might prompt them by pointing out that some people rise to the occasion, while others struggle or react in surprising ways. Let students know they can draw from personal experiences, stories from the news, or even examples from movies and television shows. Activity:Primary Source Analysis (~40 minutes)3.Pass out the Responses to the Black Death Sourcing Worksheet. Use the talking points for Slides 13 and 14 in the Responses to the Black Death slide deck to introduce the three primary sources students will analyze.Slide 13 Speaker Notes.Historians study the Black Death in a number ofways. For example, archaeological evidence of burials of plague victims can help us understand the death count. Collecting DNA from the teeth of people who died of the Black Death can help us understand which bacteria was responsible and track how it spread. But if we want to understand how people felt during the Black Death and how they reacted, primary sources created by people who experienced the plague are the best places to look. During the Black Death people wrote letters; kept diaries, medical records, death records, and church records; made paintings and other artworks about the pandemic; and much more. Many of these records still exist; reading them can give us insights into how people reacted to the pandemic. Slide 14 Speaker Notes.Today we are going to read three accounts of the Black Death by three very different authors. Turn to the first source in your worksheet. It was most likely written by Jacob von Königshofen, who was born in 1346 and died in 1420. How old was he when the Black Death arrived in
Responses to the Black Death5Europe? Answer: He was born around the time the plague arrived in Europe, and was a young boy during the Black Death. Königshofenwas an archivist from Strasbourg, which was a free imperial city in the Holy Roman Empire at the time. When writing this source, the author used notes from other historians who personally witnessed the events he recounts. Now, turn to the second source in your worksheet. This source was written by Ionnes (John VI) Kantakouzenos, who was born in 1292 and died in 1383. Did he live during the time of the plague? Answer: He was in his 50s when the plague started and lived well beyond the end of the plague. Kantakouzenos was the emperor of Constantinople when he wrote a first-hand account of the plague. In 1355, he abdicated, or gave up his throne, and retired to a monastery. During that time, he wrote a historical chronicle, or account, of the Byzantine empire between 1320 and 1356. It is in this chronicle we find this account of the plague from 1347–1350. Kantakouzenossuffered personally during the plague, and his son, Andronikos, died of the plague. In the account, he describes the disease and how it progresses. Why do you think Kantakouzenos might have included an account of the plague in his chronicle of the Byzantine Empire’s history? Why was it important to him to document what happened during the plague? Finally, let’s look at the third and final source in your worksheet. It was written by Ibn Battuta, a Muslim legal scholar who was born in Tangier, Morocco, to a family that had many Muslim judges, called qadis. He is most known for his extensive travels that covered about 75,000 miles across the Muslim world of the time and as far east as China and what is now Indonesia. This excerpt is from the travel book that he wrote, the Rihlah(Travels), in which he describes the places and people that he visited. In this excerpt, Battuta describes his visit to Damascus after the Black Plague had arrived in that city in what is now Syria. 4.Explain to students that the Black Death impacted a large number of cultures and communities across all of Afro-Eurasia, and that they will now zoom in to analyze three accounts that describe some ways that people reacted to the plague in different contexts. 5.Go over the sourcing activity instructions, namely that as students read each source, they should:●Note the name of the author and year of publication. ●When reading the excerpt, highlight or underline how people’s reactions and responses to the Black Death were described, add that information to the worksheet, then put a happy face (🙂) next to positive reactions or a sad face ( 🙁) next to negative reactions. ●Finally, consider how the author’s background might impact how they wrote about the Black Death. For this, students will need to refer to the description and author background of each source.Depending upon your class and experience with sourcing, you could model reading and analyzing the first source for the class. Refer to the teacher version of the worksheet for what students might write down in each box.
Responses to the Black Death6Part 3: Central Historical Question DiscussionStudents Will:●Make a historical argument about why reactions to the Black Death differed so broadly using your interpretation of evidence from primary and secondary sources.●Compare historical responses during the Black Death to your observations of behavior during modern crises.Materials: ●Responses to the Black Death Sourcing Worksheet: student version(Google| Word) and teacher version●Intro to the Black Death Worksheet: student version(Google| Word) and teacher version●Source Set: Responses to the Black Death(Google| Word)Preparation:●Set up your classroom arrangement to support the discussion structure you’d like to use during the lesson (i.e., whole class, groups of four or more students).●Review the student reflection exit ticket questions and decide which you will use.Opener:Preparing for the Discussion (~5 minutes)1.Tell students that they’ll be having a class discussion and that at the end of the lesson they will have an opportunity to share their feedback about it. You’ll use their feedback to improve future class discussions. 2.Have students take a seat in your preferred discussion structure (i.e., whole class, groups of four or more students), and take out their Resistance to the Black Death Worksheet from the previous day. 3.Take a few minutes to review your classroom norms for discussion.4.Ask students to identify one or two goals that they have for themselves during today’s discussion (e.g., bringing in evidence to support their points, being an active listener). Central Historical Question Discussion:How did people treat each other during the Black Death? Why do people’s behaviors in these sources differ so much?(~20 minutes)5.Tell students we are going to have a 15–20 minute discussion about the Central Historical Question:How did people treat each other during the Black Death? Why do people’s behaviors in these sources differ so much?During the discussion, I want you to engage deeply with the Central Historical Question, bring in evidence from the sources you’ve analyzed, bring in insights from your own background knowledge and life experiences, and really listen to the points that your classmates make and respond to them. Place the CHQs in a prominent place in the classroom for students to refer backto through the discussion. Give students 2–3 minutes to independently review their worksheet and jot down ideas of how they might answer the question at this point.
Responses to the Black Death76.Open the floor for a discussion on the Central Historical Question:How did people treat each other during the Black Death? Why do people’s behaviors in these sources differ so much?Remember to prioritize student voice over teacher voice; however, if the discussion has trouble starting or sputters, consider using some of the suggested facilitation moves below to support students in deepening their discussion. ChallengePotential Teacher Facilitation Moves If studentsaren’t engaging deeply with the CHQ,you might try ...●Probe for elaboration: Can you say more to the group about that? And can you tell us more about where you’re coming from? ●Return to CHQ: Let’s come back to our Central Historical Question. Where are we with that? If studentsaren’t engaging with each other, you might try ...●Uptake student comment:I’m hoping a few of you can share your reactions or questions to the group about what [student] just shared about ...●Expose the discussion structure:I’m hearing [student A] say [this], and [student B] say [that]. Can we do a show of hands onwhich argument you agree with at this point? ... Can you discuss with each other to see if you can come to an agreement, or at least figure out where you disagree? If studentsaren’t engaging with the sources, you might try ...●Pressing for textual evidence:Where do you see evidence for that in the text? ●Marking text:Let’s bring our attention to [specific place in the text]. If studentsaren’t bringing in their knowledge from outside of the text,you might try ... ●Pressing for broader evidence: Are there things in your personal experience, or any knowledge from outside of the texts, that supports or challenges what we’ve discussed so far about [historical topic or question]? ●Exploring student perspective:We’ve been connecting to the text a lot, and that’s really important, but I also want to hear your actual thoughts about [historical topic or question]. Off-Ramp Discussion:Were the responses of people to the Black Death familiar to you? (~5 minutes) 7.Remind students of the earlier discussion about how people react in stressful situations, and ask them: Were the responses of people to the Black Death familiar to you? Have you seen those kinds of responses before? Why do you think people respond in different ways?Note: As you facilitate the discussion for this prompt, know that students may choose to bring up their
Responses to the Black Death8experiences in the Covid-19 pandemic, but we specifically made the prompt broader so that students who do not wish to speak from a place of personal experience about the pandemic can bring in other topics.Activity: Independent Writing (~15 minutes)8.Tell students that now that they’ve had the opportunity to hear various arguments and discuss the evidence, they will write a paragraph sharing their own individual conclusion about the Central Historical Question. To build a strong argument, they should use evidence from as many sources as possible. Share this prompt:Write a paragraph responding to the following prompt. Make sure to support your claim with evidence from the sources you’ve analyzed: How did people treat each other during the Black Death? Why do people’s behaviors in these sources differ so much?Closing: Exit Ticket & Reflection (~5 minutes)9.Share the exit ticket questions you selected or adapted from the choices in the box on the next page and have students take a few minutes to reflect and share their feedback on the discussion. Tell them: “As you answer the exit ticket questions, I want you to think back to the goals that you set for yourself during the discussion. Please be honest and thoughtful in your reflections, because your answers will help improve the way that I might teach this lesson in the future and the ways that I decide to facilitate future discussion lessons.”
Responses to the Black Death9CategoryPotential Exit Ticket QuestionsWe suggest that you either pre-select one question from each of the categories below, or have your students pick one from each category that they’d like to answer. Historical content●How did today’s discussion deepen or change your understanding of [historical topic]?●If you could go back in time and ask someone from history a question based on today's discussion, who would you talk to and what would you ask them? Discussion experience●How confident did you feel contributing to today’s discussion? What helped or held you back?●What was one perspective shared by a classmate that made you think differently about the topic? How did it change your thinking?●Overall, how do you think the discussion went? Why did it go well or not go well?Planning for the next discussion●What is one specific goal you have for improving your participation in future discussions?●What could we do as a class and what could I do as your teacher to make the discussion better next time?
Responses to the Black DeathThe creation of these materials was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305A220457 to Digital Promise. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute orthe U.S. Department of Education.This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0.