Travel through time in this KS2 scheme of work discovering how medicine has changed from the days of prehistoric civilisations and witch doctors, to the NHS and modern medical discoveries. Would you have liked to be treated by an Egyptian doctor or would you prefer to have fallen ill during the Tudor period?

Each of these seven lessons explores the features and changes in medicine and disease from prehistoric times to the modern era, investigating why changes occurred, what effect this had on the people of the time and how discoveries changed the way we approach the treatment of illnesses. With lesson plans, slideshow presentations, differentiated activity ideas and lots of printable resources, these KS2 Medicine and Diseases lesson include everything you need to teach your class about this interesting theme in British history.

A Knowledge Organiser is available to support the learning in this scheme. It is included in the Complete Series download or can be purchased individually.

You might also like our Health Topic Bundle – perfect if you're looking for a cross-curricular approach to your planning. 

Prehistoric and Ancient Egyptian Civilisations

Begin a journey through medical history with the prehistoric civilisations. Explore how historians have hypothesised and investigated this period of time using primary and secondary sources, learning about these people’s beliefs about disease and how some of these ideas were passed on to the Ancient Egyptian medical practices. Can the children compare the two cultures and how they treated their sick?

View Lesson 1

Ancient Greeks and Romans

Take the next step along the timeline to explore how the Ancient Greek and Roman civilisations influenced medicine and how people thought about the human body and disease. Discover the advancements made by Greek physicians such as Hippocrates and Galen and how they influenced medicine for thousands of years. Reflect on the Roman public health systems and how they helped keep their citizens fit and healthy.

View Lesson 2

The Black Plague

The children take a trip back in time through role play and questioning to discover what life was like during the Medieval period. Discover the epidemic of the Black Plague and how it was believed to have spread across the country and the different ways people attempted to cure themselves of this fatal disease.

View Lesson 3

Tudors

Turn the children in your class into archeologists as they start the lesson enquiring about an artefact they have discovered. They create their own hypotheses about the artefact and then discover if their ideas were correct. They then explore the weird and wonderful world of Tudor folk cures and the ailments they were supposed to treat.

View Lesson 4

Victorians

Investigate and explore some of the key turning points for medicine and medical treatments from the 19th century. Have your class look into and research the lives and discoveries of some of the important Victorian figures such as Florence Nightingale and Joseph Lister. Challenge your class to reflect on the discoveries to decide which they think was the most important change, idea or invention during the Victorian period.

View Lesson 5

20th and 21st Century Medicine

What is the NHS and why was it started? Discover the world of modern medicine and how it came to be. Learn about how modern medicine has been influenced by the past and what discoveries have been made in the past 100 years which have progressed our medical understanding even further.

View Lesson 6

An Overview

Consolidate your class’s knowledge and understanding of medicine throughout the ages in this lesson which focuses on recapping what they have learnt about prehistoric civilisations through to today’s medicine. The children have the opportunity to show off all that they have learnt throughout this scheme of work and use this knowledge to create a piece of work which shows their favourite facts from each periods and records the journey of medicine throughout history.

View Lesson 7

This Year 5/6 History Knowledge Organiser has been created to complement our History 'Britain Beyond 1066' strand. It is designed to support your children’s understanding of key vocabulary linked to this scheme of work. Enquiry questions have been included to encourage your children to think like a historian within this topic.

View Knowledge Organiser