Great Plague of London

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/great-plague-of-london

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the location?London, England
2. What is the period of outbreak?1665-1666
3. How did the plague spread in London?Tiny fleas that lived on rats carried the bacteria that causes plague. In London’s crowded streets and bad sanitation, the fleas jumped from rat to rat and then to people.
4. Why did the plague make London so sick?The city was very crowded, with close‑packed houses and dirty streets. This made it easy for the fleas and rats to move quickly from one house to another.

Yersinia pestis: The specific bacterium responsible for causing plague in humans and other mammals.
Vector Transmission: The spread of disease through an intermediary organism, such as an insect or tick.
Miasma Theory: An obsolete medical theory that diseases were caused by noxious forms of 'bad air'.
Quarantine: A period of isolation imposed on individuals or communities to prevent the spread of infectious disease.