The Black Death-- Research and Poster Project

Oh, the Black Death—oddly a class favorite!

This student-centered lesson (online research, poster creation) was created with the aim for students to develop a well-rounded knowledge of the Black Death and its impact on medieval society.

Part-One: Part one of the lesson includes a two-page research assignment where students must use the internet to investigate information on the Black Death. The questions vary from defining key words to critical thinking questions. This typically takes my sophomore world history classes two days to complete—but I require my students to record every website they used on each question (we focus on reliable sources all year, so this aspect forces them to consider the source and be accountable for the sources they use). Following the second day, we grade the information in class and share what we found—which the students love because they get to share gross/interesting features they found while researching.

Part-Two: The second part of the assignment requires the students to create a PR poster in response to a medieval scenario. They must use the knowledge they used in part-one to complete the poster. Included in the lesson plan is a rubric to grade the poster. I usually hang all of the posters in the hallways when they are complete (which the students love and it pushes students to produce quality work). This part usually takes my students two to three days, but again it depends on the level and quality of work you expect. I often team-up with our art department on this project and then the given to work on this part extends to five to six days.

If you have any questions do not hesitate to send me a message! Thanks.