Knowledge/Skill Building
🌍 Black Death and Outbreak Evidence Sort
Learn from the past
Engage and critique perspectives
Gather and organize original data
Analyze and interpret data
6.3.12.HistoryCA.12
6.1.12.GeoHE.5.a
Plan an investigation or test a design individually and c...
Design, evaluate, and/or refine a solution to a complex r...
Product
Core Content
Project Launch
Essential Question
Critique and Revision
Submission Required
Students analyze trade-route maps, case data tables, short primary-source excerpts, and modern outbreak dashboards to compare movement, transmission, and public response across time. The teacher models how to calculate simple rates and read trend lines before teams annotate patterns on a comparison organizer. Teams then draft evidence-based claims about globalization and disease spread using at least one historical and one modern source.
Plan day
Day 4
Duration
80 min
Grouping
Small Group
Steps
7 steps
Lesson plan
7 steps · 80 min| # | What teachers do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Reconnect teams to the Outbreak Evidence Café by displaying 3–4 student questions from the launch, naming the goal for today, and assigning team roles for mapper, data reader, source reader, and recorder. (8 min) |
| 2 | Model how to read one trade-route map and one modern outbreak dashboard, then demonstrate one simple rate calculation and one trend-line observation while thinking aloud about variables such as movement, density, and public response. (12 min) |
| 3 | Have teams complete the evidence sort by grouping source cards into categories such as movement, transmission, public response, quality of life, and communication, then annotate each source with what it shows, what it does not show, and how reliable it is. (18 min) |
| 4 | Guide teams to transfer their strongest evidence into a historical-modern comparison organizer, including at least one map observation, one quantitative data point or rate, one primary-source perspective, and one note about technology or communication limits. (15 min) |
| 5 | Ask teams to draft 2 evidence-based claims answering how globalization and public response shaped disease spread across time, and list 2 possible design constraints or prevention needs that emerge from the evidence, including one accessibility or multilingual communication need. (12 min) |
| 6 | Run a gallery walk where teams post organizers and claims on their evidence boards, leave response cards for at least two other teams on strength of evidence, missing perspectives, and clarity of reasoning, and collect feedback. (8 min) |
| 7 | Lead a quick debrief in which teams identify one revision they will make next class, add 2 follow-up questions for the upcoming nurse feedback activity, and submit their organizer, claims, and response cards. (7 min) |
Preparation (10 items)
- Curate and print source sets for each team: Black Death trade-route maps, urbanization/population visuals, case data tables, short primary-source excerpts, and one modern outbreak dashboard or data display.
- Prepare a comparison organizer with sections for historical evidence, modern evidence, quantitative patterns, source limitations, public response, and possible design constraints.
- Create color-coded evidence cards or folders so teams can easily distinguish maps, data tables, primary sources, and modern dashboard materials.
- Select one worked example for the facilitator model that includes a simple rate calculation and a trend-line reading appropriate for 9th grade learners.
- Prepare bilingual vocabulary supports and visuals for terms such as outbreak, transmission, rate, trend, trade route, density, quarantine, dashboard, accessibility, and prevention.
- Set up evidence board spaces for each team with chart paper, tape, markers, sticky notes, and response cards for the gallery walk.
- Post or project a short list of student-generated questions from the Outbreak Evidence Café to reconnect today’s work to the larger investigation.
- Plan team groupings and roles in advance to support balanced participation, including consideration for multilingual learners and students who need structured discussion supports.
- Prepare sentence stems for claims, critique, and source analysis such as 'A pattern we notice is…', 'This source suggests…', 'A limitation of this evidence is…', and 'A prevention need this raises is…'.
- Review all sources for readability, bias, and relevance, and trim text length or add glossaries so teams can complete the sort within the class period.
Student-facing instructions
You will work with your team to compare Black Death evidence and modern outbreak evidence so you can begin answering how movement, trade, public response, and communication affect disease spread. Your materials include source cards, maps, data tables, short excerpts, a comparison organizer, markers, and response cards. First, watch the short model on how to read a map, calculate a simple rate, and interpret a trend line. Then, with your team, sort the evidence into meaningful categories, annotate each source, and discuss what patterns you notice, what perspectives are missing, and which evidence seems most reliable. Next, transfer your strongest evidence to the organizer and write 2 evidence-based claims that use at least one historical source and one modern source. You will also identify 2 prevention needs or design constraints that could matter for a policy brief, campaign, or prototype, including one need related to language access or communication. During the gallery walk, you will leave feedback for at least two teams and collect feedback on your own board. End by naming one revision your team will make next class and adding 2 follow-up questions for the upcoming community expert feedback activity.