The Plague Doctor, 1664

If you are looking for a lesson to inspire and engage your students, then this play designed to be read out or performed in lesson on the challenges facing a young physician, his family and servants during the Great Plague of London 1664 - 1665, is just what the doctor ordered. The play and the support materials that have been uploaded are suitable for the full range of ability in a mainstream secondary or high school.

Using drama role play or the medium of a play to explore detailed and complex ideas and historical situations can be a particularly effective tools for engaging students of all abilities. This resource was written to be used in a history lesson with students at KS3 or studying GCSE Medicine Through Time, but it is also suitable for use in an English or Drama lesson. To this end, I have created additional tasks and activities that could be used in those subjects.

The plots and story line in the play of the Plague Doctor have been written to help students understand the medical knowledge that people used at this crucial moment in history when Britain was on the threshold of the Age of Science. As the story line unfolds, students will learn how people believed that diseases were spread and what attempts they made to try and avoid catching them. They will also learn how people reacted during an outbreak of an epidemic and the problems that this create for medical and civil authorities.

When you purchase this resource you will be able to download a nine page Word Document which contains the play, as well as a sixteen slide PowerPoint Presentation. The PowerPoint includes aims, objectives, differentiated outcomes, information slides, historical sources, pictures, diagrams, links to appropriate video clips as well as starters, plenaries, tasks and activities to help support the delivery of the play. Please see the preview for more information.

The aims and objectives of this lesson are:

Theme: Stuart England 1660 - 1714
Know: How did people react to the outbreak of the plague in London 1664-65?
Understand: How did people believe that diseases were spread at this time?
Evaluate: How successful were attempts to treat plague victims?
Skills: Source Analysis, Cause, Consequence & Collaboration

WILF – What Am I Looking For?
Identify & describe: How did people react to the outbreak of the plague in 1664?
Explain: How did people believe that diseases were spread at this time?
Analyse: How successful were attempts to treat plague victims?