The Black Death Unit set is part of Royal Fireworks Press Problem-Based Learning (PBL) series. Meant for students ages 10-15, the includes the Teacher Manual, one copy of the student Problem Log, and the Resource Book. Instructors will need to order additional copies of the Problem Log—one for each child.
Black Death is based on the plague that devastated Europe in the mid-fourteenth century. The place is the northern Italian town of Lucca, and the year is 1348. Reports of the Black Death have reached Lucca. It has been marching north through Italy, laying waste to one community after another. In Florence, more than half of the city is dead or dying of the disease—and Florence is not that far away.
In this unit, the students have been called as government officials to an emergency meeting to decide what the people of Lucca should do. They complete lessons that help them assess the level of risk they face, determine when the plague might arrive in their town, and consider what might happen if it does. The information available is only what was suspected at the time—that foul vapors carried the disease through the air, for example, instead of fleas. This creates a situation in which the students must use logic and rational thinking to try to save the townspeople against a terrifying unknown, and it ultimately leads to interesting conversations about how medical professionals approach new diseases today. The unit culminates with a presentation by the students to the town’s Council of the Elders of a plan to keep them as safe as possible.
The Resource Book contains primary source documents and other materials that instructors will need to provide to students as they work through the unit.
The Problem Log is where students record their work. It contains activity sheets, formal assignments, and other pages that are essential to children as they progress through the unit.
Black Death: Teacher Manual
Author:Gallagher, Dr. Shelagh A.
Subjects:Social Studies; Medieval History; Problem-Based Learning (PBL)
Age:10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
ISBN:978-089824719-0
Order code:7195
Price: $45.00
Website price: $35.00
National Association for Gifted Children curriculum award-winner!
For teaching one child, see Plague! Problem Studies for One.
This book is part of a series;
see the series description.
Black Death Teacher Manual Sample Pages:
Video clip
Black Death: Problem Log
Author:Gallagher, Dr. Shelagh A.
ISBN:978-089824720-6
Order code:7206
Price: $10.00
Website price: $7.50
The Problem Log is where students record their work. It contains activity sheets, formal assignments, and other pages that are essential to children as they progress through the unit.
This book is part of a series;
see the series description.
Black Death Problem Log Sample Pages:
Black Death and Plague! Resource Book
Author:Gallagher, Dr. Shelagh A.
ISBN:978-089824-721-3
Order code:7213
Price: $25.00
Website price: $15.00
This book is part of a series;
see the series description.
Black Death and Plague! Resource Book Sample Pages:
Black Death: Unit Set
Author:Gallagher, Dr. Shelagh A.
Order code:7195S
Price: $45.00
The unit set includes the Teacher Manual, one copy of the student Problem Log, and the Resource Book. Instructors will need to order additional copies of the Problem Log—one for each child.
Plague! Problem Studies for One: Parent Manual
Author:Gallagher, Dr. Shelagh A.
Subjects:Social Studies; Medieval History; Problem-Based Learning (PBL)
Age:10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
ISBN:978-0-89824-722-0
Order code:7220
Price: $45.00
Website price: $35.00
Plague! is the adaptation of Black Death for a single student. It takes the same problem but alters the PBL experience so that an individual child can participate in the process of learning about the issues involved in trying to save a town from the devastating effects of a lethal disease through discovery, research, and higher-order thinking.
Plague! is a unit based on the plague that devastated Europe in the mid-fourteenth century. The place is the northern Italian town of Lucca, and the year is 1348. Reports of the Black Death have reached Lucca. It has been marching north through Italy, laying waste to one community after another. In Florence, more than half of the city is dead or dying of the disease—and Florence is not that far away.
In this PBL unit, the child has been called as a government official to an emergency meeting to decide what the people of Lucca should do. He or she completes lessons that helps him or her assess the level of risk the townspeople face, determine when the plague might arrive in the town, and consider what might happen if it does. The information available is only what was suspected at the time—that foul vapors carried the disease through the air, for example, instead of fleas. This creates a situation in which the child must use logic and rational thinking to try to save the townspeople against a terrifying unknown, and it ultimately leads to interesting conversations about how medical professionals approach new diseases today. The unit culminates with a presentation by the child to the town’s Council of the Elders of a plan to keep them as safe as possible.
Note: The Resource Book for Plague! is the same as that used for Black Death. Click here for the Resource Book.
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