Irish Potato Famine

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/irish-potato-famine

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 primary pathogen?Phytophthora infestans, an oomycete responsible for potato blight
2. What is the duration of severe crisis?Approximately 1845 to 1852
3. What was the Great Potato Sadness in Ireland?It was a time in the mid‑1800s when a disease called potato blight destroyed most of the potatoes that Irish families ate, causing many people to become very sick and some to leave the country.
4. Why did the potato blight spread so quickly in Ireland?The blight liked cool, wet weather and the Irish potatoes were all of one type, so when the disease appeared it could infect almost every plant very fast.

Oomycete: A type of microorganism that resembles a fungus but is biologically distinct, often causing plant diseases.
Laissez-faire Economics: An economic system where the government intervenes as little as possible in the affairs of businesses and individuals.
Monoculture: The cultivation of a single crop in a given area, leading to reduced biodiversity and increased vulnerability.