History GCSE Medicine Edexcel KT2 L9 Great Plague Renaissance c1500–1700 (Fully Resourced).
This fully resourced lesson examines the 1665 Great Plague in London and asks whether it was dealt with more effectively than the medieval Black Death. No textbook required.

Lesson content (step by step):

Do Now / 5-a-day starter: recap quiz on the Black Death and Renaissance medicine so far. Students correct in full sentences to ensure secure knowledge before comparing the two epidemics.

Teacher-led input / reading: overview of what people believed caused the Great Plague in 1665 — punishment from God, astrology, and especially miasma. Students note down key similarities to medieval ideas.

Prevention methods: pupils record evidence on official and individual responses, including:

Quarantine of households (marked with red crosses).

Shutting theatres and banning large gatherings.

Burial of victims in mass graves.

Killing cats and dogs.

Use of herbs, pomanders, and smoking tobacco.

Treatment methods: pupils learn that most continued to rely on traditional approaches — bleeding, herbal remedies, prayer, transference — and judge their effectiveness.

Comparison grid task: structured worksheet where students compare the Black Death (1347–51) and the Great Plague (1665). They identify continuities in causes and treatments, but also note small changes in prevention (greater government action, organised quarantines).

Judgement writing: scaffolded exam-style paragraph answering the question: “Was the Great Plague dealt with more effectively than the Black Death?” Sentence starters and success criteria provided.

Plenary reflection: students write a one-sentence verdict on whether Renaissance society had made any real progress in tackling epidemic disease between 1348 and 1665.