Original Pin Post about Glitter Germs! This is my original inspiration - the glitter germ lesson is the idea of Little Miss Kindergarten.
Germs!
So - this is my idea for Social Studies and my "Older" kids. You can do this same lesson but use it as an idea starter to get kids thinking about how diseases spread through cultures. I'm going to use it as my opener for the Black Plague lesson!
I mean, it's one thing to talk about the Black Plague... but to actually be "infected" - awesome. Maybe by the Principal or something?! Fun!
I would... use the Glitter germs to infect a few people to start the lesson and maybe a few objects. Start the lesson by having the infected kids pass out a those few items, then "trade" them a few times. See if anyone notices the glitter. Make sure you spread it around to a bunch of kids - then drop the Black Plague bomb on them. I would also have them brainstorm ideas for the "infected" versus the "uninfected."
- What do you do if you're not infected? Hide? Move away?
- Discuss how the disease also is with the items being passed around (like the fleas/rats on the ships)
I'm also planning on using the video of Remy from Ratatouille that talks about rats when introducing the plague.
Any other ideas for adapting this lesson for the older kids?
I wonder if you could do something similar for when Europeans infected the Native Americans?
ReplyDeleteDiane
Fifth in the Middle
I was just thinking that for 8th grade! Great minds think alike! ;)
ReplyDeleteCute...I love Remy. :)
ReplyDelete~Brandee
Creating Lifelong Learners
Me too! :)
DeleteGreat idea. This would definitely grab their attention.
ReplyDeleteJamie
Sixth Grade Tales
Love the idea! That's the kind of thing that really makes an impact! You might want to take a look at the book, Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. It's all about the plague and what one character goes through because of it. There may be a great page or two worth reading aloud. And I agree that Europeans and Native Americans would be another great link.
ReplyDeleteMarion
MentoringintheMiddle
I love this book Fever, and I think it really does a great job of helping kids understand the plague! We also have pages for middle school kids about the bubonic plague and about yellow fever (which is what they have in the Fever book). I think it's important for kids today to realize that the Black Death killed millions of people all across Asia and in Africa, as well as in Europe. http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/science/medicine/plague.htm
Deletehttp://www.historyforkids.org/learn/science/medicine/yellowfever.htm
Thanks for this awesome idea~
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