The Black Death: how plague spread along trade routes, and what changed after
Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence
Circle the best answer.
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How plague spread (cards A to C; summaries in our words). Card A, what we know now: plague is caused by a bacterium, Yersinia pestis. It lives in rodents, and fleas that bite infected rodents can pass it to people. Today it is treated with antibiotics. Card B, the route, 1346 to 1351: the plague reached the Crimea, by the Black Sea, in 1346 and spread on trading ships. It came to Messina, a port in Sicily, in October 1347, to France and Spain by 1348, and across northern Europe in the following years. Card C, doctors at the University of Paris, in a report of 1348: they explained the sickness as bad air linked to the position of the planets. No one knew about bacteria or fleas as a cause until centuries later.
Which order of the chain matches card A, Ari asks?
- A flea makes the bacterium, and rodents then carry it to people
- A rodent carries the bacterium and passes it straight to a person by biting
- A person carries the bacterium, a flea bites it, and the flea then bites a rodent
- A rodent carries the bacterium, a flea bites it, and the flea then bites a person
Cards A and C both explain the cause. Why do scientists rely on card A, Bo asks?
- It was written by doctors, and doctors are right about most illnesses
- It is shorter and simpler than card C, so it is easier to follow
- It was written first, in 1348, and earlier reports are usually more accurate
- It rests on later evidence about bacteria and fleas that the Paris doctors lacked
Using card B, which list puts these places in the order the plague reached them, Jun asks?
- Northern Europe, then France and Spain, then Messina, then Crimea
- Crimea, then Messina, then France and Spain, then northern Europe
- Messina, then Crimea, then northern Europe, then France and Spain
- Crimea, then France and Spain, then Messina, then northern Europe
A student says, "Card B proves ships were the only way the plague spread." How strong is that claim, Kira asks?
- Strong: card B says the plague began in Messina and moved outward
- Weak: ships cannot carry fleas, so card B is not usable
- Weak: card B says ships carried it to new ports, but does not rule out other routes
- Strong: card B says the plague spread on trading ships, so no other way is possible
Why did port cities such as Messina meet the plague first, Milo asks?
- Bad air blows in from the sea and settles in port cities first
- Port cities were poorer, so more people there were bitten by fleas
- Port cities had many doctors, who carried the plague from house to house
- Trading ships docked there, and could carry infected rodents and fleas
What changed between the doctors' report of 1348 and what we know now, Noah asks?
- Evidence about bacteria and fleas replaced bad air linked to planets
- Doctors stopped trying to explain illnesses once plague was understood
- Planets are now thought to carry the fleas from port to port
- Nothing changed, because both cards blame bad air for the plague
Which statement could a Paris doctor of 1348 agree with, going by card C, Pia asks?
- Plague first reached the port of Messina in October 1347
- Plague comes from bad air, linked to the position of the planets
- Plague is caused by a bacterium named Yersinia pestis
- Plague is carried by fleas that bite infected rodents
A ship's record of 1347 says rats were found on board when it docked at Messina. How does it relate to cards A and B, Ren asks?
- It contradicts card C, which says rats carried the plague by ship from Messina to France
- It shows rats alone caused the plague, with no part for fleas or for ships
- It is of no use, because a ship's record is not a doctor's report from Paris
- It fits: rats on a ship could carry fleas to a port, as the cards suggest
A student says, "Card A shows people in 1348 could have stopped the plague with antibiotics." How strong is that claim, Tala asks?
- Strong: card A says antibiotics prevent each case of plague
- Weak: card A says plague cannot be treated with any medicine
- Weak: card A says antibiotics treat plague today, and no one in 1348 had them
- Strong: card A shows antibiotics work, so people in 1348 should have used them
Cards A and B together support which statement, Zee asks?
- Trading ships could carry infected rodents and fleas from port to port
- The plague spread because ships carried the Paris doctors from port to port
- The plague spread faster inland than along the coast
- Antibiotics carried on the ships stopped the plague in 1347