The Sick Ship |
| This activity explains common diseases that sailors contracted such as scurvy, yellow fever, cholera, typhoid, and others. It then requires students to play the role of a ship doctor and to diagnose sick sailors based on their symptoms. |
Use this Activity: |
| Explain - Explain to students that disease was a very serious obstacle in the Age of Exploration, likely claiming millions of lives! Further explain that these diseases are still impactful in many parts of the world today. |
| Read Aloud/Share - Have different students read aloud the descriptions of the different diseases. Then, call on students to offer their diagonses in each description. |
| Discussion- Which of these diseases do you think is the worst? What steps do you think explorers could have taken to better safeguard their health? |
| Morning Work - This activity can serve as a fun start to the day or social studies class. |
| Homework -This activity is a great way to assign homework in social studies. |
| Interactive Notebook - This assignment serves as a great entry in interactive social studies notebooks. |