Unit Plan 17 (Grade 7 Social Studies): The Black Death and Social Change
Examine how the Black Death reshaped populations, labor systems, and belief structures across Afro-Eurasia—tracing its spread through trade networks and its lasting social and economic effects.
Focus: Examine the Black Death’s effects on population, labor/markets, and belief systems across Afro-Eurasia.
Grade Level: 7
Subject Area: Social Studies (World History • Economics • Inquiry)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Students analyze how plague spread along trade networks, how mass mortality reshaped work, wages, and mobility, and how communities interpreted catastrophe through faith and emerging public-health responses. Using maps, chronicles, and a labor-market simulation, learners build evidence-based explanations of cause/effect, perspective, and economic choice.
Essential Questions
- How did geography and trade networks shape the spread and impact of the Black Death?
- In what ways did labor scarcity change work, wages, and social structures?
- How did different communities interpret the crisis, and with what social or ethical consequences?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Explain multiple causes/effects of the pandemic and map major diffusion routes (Hist.2).
- Compare diverse perspectives/experiences (peasants, artisans, clergy, merchants, nobles, Jewish and Muslim communities) using primary/secondary sources (Hist.3).
- Use economic reasoning (scarcity, opportunity cost) to explain changes in wages, mobility, and policy responses (Econ.1).
- Construct a claim–evidence–reasoning explanation with citations and a labeled map inset.
Standards Alignment — 7th Grade (C3-based custom)
- 7.C3.Hist.2 — Causes/effects of major developments.
- 7.C3.Hist.3 — Diverse perspectives and experiences.
- 7.C3.Econ.1 — Scarcity, choice, opportunity cost in historical contexts.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can trace at least two routes of spread and link them to specific effects in regions.
- I can describe how labor scarcity affected wages/choices using scarcity and opportunity cost.
- I can support a claim about social change with 3+ cited sources and accurate map evidence.