Sampson Lesson Plan 3/20/18- 3/21/18 

 
Topic: 
The Plague in Medieval Europe 
 
Objective:  
Students will understand the lasting effects of the plague in Medieval Europe and how 
it still affects our world today by reading and analyzing a current event 
 
Common Core ELA Standards:   
7.6 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social 
structures of the civilizations of Medieval Europe.  
7. Map the spread of the bubonic plague from Central Asia to China, the Middle East, 
and Europe and describe its impact on global population. 
 
*Lesson will take 2 days 
 
Day One (start of lesson): 
 
Introduction/ hook (5 minutes)→ ​Students will recall past information by answering 
the daily warm up question about the plague, What do you already know about the 
plague? Once students have time to write down their answer, I will call on a handful of 
students to share and we will have a short class discussion on the topic.  
 
Lesson(20 Minutes)→ ​ I will first explain the lessons objective, which is to understand 
the plague within Medieval Europe, then analyze its causes and effects across the 
globe. Students will then get out their table of contents and write in it Plague Reading 
and Causes/ Effects chart. I will then pass out a class reading and ask students to get 
out a pen or pencil and a highlighter. We will then as a class right down the essential 
question at the top of the reading and then go through and number the paragraphs 
(EQ: What were the causes and effects of the Bubonic Plague?). Next as a class we will 
go through and read about the plague and discuss what caused and the effect it had. As 
we read I ask recall questions to make sure everyone is on the right track. Students 
volunteer to read one paragraph at a time. 
 
Activity/ Closure 30 Minutes)→ ​Once we are done reading, students will flip over to the 
back side and complete a Cause and Effect map on the spread of the plague which is 
answering the EQ from the beginning of the reading. The need to fill out three causes 
and three effects. We complete the first on together. After about 8 minutes we will 
review the maps together as a class and discuss. Next as a class we are watching a clip 
from the History of Us video series on the Bubonic Plague. They are to write down 10 
key terms as they watch. 
 
Day Two (Day of Observation):  
 
Introduction/ hook (5 minutes)→ ​Students will recall yesterday's information by 
answering the daily warm up question about the plague, Name one cause of the 
Bubonic Plague? Once students have time to write down their answer, I will call on a 
handful of students to share and we will have a short class discussion on the topic. 
Next I will have students get out their video key terms from the day before and we will 
review them together as a class.  
 
Lesson (10 minutes)→ ​ I will first explain the lessons objective, which is to understand 
how the plague still impacts our world today. I will then explain to the class that they 
will be reading a current event on the plague then complete an article analysis 
independently.  
 
Activity/ Closure (40 minutes)→ ​Once Students have completed the article and 
analysis, they we share what they wrote down with their elbow buddy. Each student 
will have 3 minutes to share. As they share, students are encouraged to check their 
own answers or add to their analysis. This peer interaction will help with 
understanding. Next as a class we will review the article and discuss main points. This 
conversation will help us understand the impact the Bubonic Plague still has on our 
world today.  
 
 
Differentiation: The article was taken from NewsELA where I printed different grade 
levels of the same article for some of my lower students. I also added sentence 
starters to some of the questions that needed to be answered on the article analysis 
sheet. Student seating was also considered for the elbow buddy work.  
 
Assessments: I will assess the content mastery of my students throughout this 
lesson will be by walking around the class and viewing what is being completed as a 
whole class, through class discussions, cause and effect charts that will be collected 
with their table of contents at the end of the unit and the article/ article analysis that 
will be collect after the lesson.  
The plague is a very old disease that still
makes people sick
By PBS NewsHour, adapted by Newsela staff on 01.09.17
Word Count 383

A brown rat, Rattus norvegicus, humanity's worst animal pest, causing enormous damage not only in consumption of
food but to service pipes and cables. They sometimes kill chickens, lambs or piglets, and can carry diseases, notably
bubonic plague. Auscape/UIG via Getty Images)

There is a disease called the plague that has been around for more than 1,000 years.
People almost always died from it.

In 2015, there were more human cases of plague than usual. Sixteen people got sick from
it in the United States. Last year, the number of cases dropped.

Four plague illnesses were reported in New Mexico in 2016. The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) says the illness is common in this state. The CDC is a
government group. It studies and ghts illnesses.

Plague Is Still Making People Sick

The plague is a terrible disease. It killed about 50 million people in Europe in the 1300s.
Since then, it has never been completely wiped out.

In 2015, there were 320 cases reported around the world. About nine people get the illness
in the United States each year.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1

Plague is caused by a certain bacteria, or germ. It lives in animals like mice and rats. It
also lives in the eas that jump on these animals. Fleas are small insects that feed on the
blood of animals. Fleas can pass on illnesses when they bite people or their pets.

Strong Medicine Can Often Help

There are three different kinds of plague. The most common is called the Bubonic plague.
The second is a blood plague. Most of these cases can be treated with strong medicine.

The most dangerous kind is called pneumonic plague. This kind starts in the lungs. Most of
the time it leads to death. Dr. Paul Ettestad said this usually happens because people wait
too long to get help. Ettestad treats sick animals in New Mexico.

The plague is very dangerous. But few people who get sick in New Mexico die, Ettestad
said.

Pets Can Carry Deadly Fleas

Those who get sick often get the illness from their pets. They usually live out in the country
where there are more animals.

“A lot of these dogs or cats, they let them inside the house," Ettestad said. "They sleep in
bed with people." He thinks this is how most people get sick.

The plague used to kill most people who got sick. It was very hard to help them get better.
Now scientists have much better medicine. Only a small number of people now die from
the illness.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2