London culture 2

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• MBO
• Studiejaar 2

London Culture 2

In four lessons we'll be learning about some of the horrid things that have happened in London's history. You'll also find out more about a cultural piece that some of you will have the priviledge to see.

Goal:

By the end of the lesson you'll know more about 1 historical event + 1 of the most culturally significant shows of this time.

Today you'll be hearing more about the Plague but first let's return to (Dear) Evan Hansen...

Task: 

Listen and watch + do the activities in class. 

Your homework can be 

found on the last slide(s)!

Dear Evan Hansen

Let's introduce the characters!

ACT 1

Because of his social anxiety, Evan's therapist tells him to write letters to himself. About what will be good each day. So, that's what he does. I'll let you hear the first letter in a moment...!

In Act 1 we see that Evan’s broken his arm. Not Jared, nor Alana want to write on his cast. He bumps into Connor but when Evan asks him, Connor pushes him onto the ground  enter Evan’s crush (and Connor’s sister): Zoe. Feeling like an outcast, Evan writes a letter in which he wonders if anyone would notice if he was no longer around. Writing letters is one of the things his therapist told him to do. To find something good in each day. And one of the good things is his crush on Zoe. Connor happens to unfortunately read his letter (after signing Evan’s cast) but becomes furious when he reads about his sister.

ACT 1

Several days later, Evan is called into the principal’s office and is told that Connor committed suicide and that his parents found this letter to Evan (which was his own letter of course). When he goes to Connors house to have dinner, he lies. Telling them that Connor and him had been best friends, that they were emailing each other from a secret account (because dad Larry had been checking Connors real account). Jared then ‘helps’ Evan creating fake, backdated emails between himself and Connor.  

When Zoe finds out that Connor mentioned her in his so-called suicide note (Evan’s letter), she wonders why and asks Evan. He then tells (well, sings to) her, all the reasons he loved her – under Connor’s name. But in the end he gets so emotional and kissed her. 

Zoe pulls away and tells him to leave. 

ACT 1

At school, Evan and Alana notice that people start to forget about Connor and so together with Jared, they come up with the ‘The Connor Project’, to keep Connor’s memory alive. Evan ends up speaking at the memorial service (wearing a tie that Cynthia bought Connor but that he had never worn) and at the launch of the project Evan gives an inspiring speech about his loneliness and friendship with Connor – which then goes viral…

(And ends in Zoe kissing Evan.)

So now for the letter... 

In the last slide of this presentation, I added the text so if you wish, 

you can actually check it out later. 

You'll find out why I did this when you watch (and listen) to the video ;)

The Plague

The dreaded plague was thought to begin in 1130s China. 

By August 1348 it reached Britain and 3 months later, it reached the city of London.

In 1350, the plague finally died away but 

up to 2 million people had died from the plague by then. 

In 1665, the plague came back. London was filthy, stinky and overcrowded and because temperatures rose throughout the spring and summer, the plague went from strenght to strenght killing lots of people once more (around 100,000). 

Funny fact: people believed that the Great Fire of London 

(next week's lesson) put an end to the epidemic.

(Not true though...)

What do you think?

• Why did the plague spread so quickly (both in 1348 and 1665)?
• Why was there so little understanding about medicine and health in the 14th Century?
• What would have happened if people had known about germs or had had microscopes?
• Were there any positive outcomes of the 1348 plague?

Please write down your answers to these questions!

(Also do the exercises on the next slide.)

Homework Activities

The plague was nog a pleasant experience! People in the 14th Century didn't know much about what caused sickness and how to treat it.
Look at the symptoms, the cures and preventative measures and answer exercises A, B and C (hand in next week!)...

A. Put the list of gruesome symptoms into the order that you think a sufferer would have experienced them. 

1. internal bleeding

2. arms and legs become sore

3. headache, chills and fever

4. death

5. swellings split open, oozing blood and pus

6. swellings on neck and limbs

9. neasea and vomiting

B. Which four of the following do you think were used as 'cures' during the plague of 1348-1350?

1. putting the tail feathers of a live chicken onto the boils

2. rubbing antiseptic cream onto the boils

3. drinking lots of water

4. slicing the boils open, burning them with a red-hot poker

5. bathing in your own urine

6. eating plenty of fruit and vegetables

7. applying a live frog or toad to the buboes

C. Which three of the following do you think were used to 'prevent' the plague?

1. taking aspirine

2. sterilising everything in the house

3. eating a balanced diet

4. smoking tobacco

5. smelling sweet herbs or flowers

6. praying

You can do research to answer the questions or just to have some background information...

PS. On the next slide you will find the text to the video of Dear Evan Hansen.

Hand it in next week
(print it out please)!!!

Write the answers to questions in this week's lesson (slides 8 + 9)   on a piece of paper and hand this in before next week's class. 

Dear Evan Hansen,

Today’s going to be an amazing day, and here’s why; because-- because, today, um, all you have to do is just… be yourself.

But also confident, that’s important, and interesting, like easy to talk to, approachable, but mostly be yourself, that’s the big-- like, that’s number one, be yourself.
Just, um, just be true to yourself. 

Also, though, don’t worry about whether your hands are gonna get sweaty for no reason and you can’t make it stop no matter what you do because, because they’re not gonna get sweaty so I don’t even know why you’re bringing it up, because it’s not gonna happen, because you’re just-- all you have to do is just be yourself.

I’m not even gonna worry about it though, seriously, because it’s not like-- it’s, it’s, it’s not gonna be like that time when you had the perfect chance to introduce yourself to Zoe Murphy at the jazz band concert last year when you waited afterwards, just to talk to her and tell her how good she was, and, and you were gonna pretend to be, like, super casual, like you didn’t even know her name, like, she would introduce herself, and then you’d be like, “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you, Chloe? Is that your name; Chloe?” and then she’d be like, “No, it’s Zoe, I said Zoe,” and then you’d be like, “Oh, well, see, I thought you said Choe, because I’m, I’m just busy with other stuff right now, so thanks.”

You didn’t even end end up saying anything to her anyways because you were scared that your hands were sweaty, which, they weren’t that sweaty, until you started worrying that they were sweaty, which made them sweaty, so you put them under the hand dryer in the bathroom, but then they were still sweaty; they were just very warm now as well.