Life in The Middle Ages: The Black Death

Your Task: 

The main purpose of this project is for you to determine what brought about the Black Death, also known as the Plague, in fourteenth century Europe and how this event contributed to the end of the Medieval period in history and the beginning of the Renaissance. 

You will work with a small group of 2-3 members to complete this task.  You will work your way through a list of informative sites and examine various sources to answer a key set of questions.  Along the way, it is expected you will experience questions of your own. You will note three of these questions your group has formulated and include these in addition to the questions below to create your final product.

Your final product will be a presentation utilizing a Web 2.0 tool of your choice.  Your fellow classmates are your intended audience for this presentation. In this presentation you must include the three questions posed below as well as the three questions your group has formulated on its own.  As the purpose of this task is to address the cause and effect of the Black Death, it is imperative that the questions you formulate address this purpose.

The checklist below will help you in your quest.  Please print a copy and use it to keep up with everything you must do to complete this project.

You will find the rubric that will be used to assess your completion of the WebQuest available to you on the Evaluation page as well as linked below.  Please be sure to review this prior to beginning your research!

 Initial Questions to Address:

1.   What was the population like in Europe both before and after the Black Death struck in the mid-fourteenth century?

2.   Where did the Black Death first enter Europe and how was it spread throughout the continent?

3.   What events were occurring in European politics at this time and were there any changes to political structures in Europe around the time of the Black Death?

 Your Questions toAddress:

1.   Cause and Effect question 1

2.   Cause and Effect question 2

3.   Cause and Effect question 3

Final Product:

You will create a Web 2.0 presentation for your classmates that will include these questions and the answers you came up with throughout your research process.  You may begin your search for Web 2.0 tools here:

http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/Home

If you have any concerns about what tool may be acceptable to use, please speak with your teacher.