1 How did Martin know that there was something wrong with the potatoes?
2 What did they smell like?
3 What happened when the potatoes were broken open?
4 What did Mr Arkins say would happen to his family without any potatoes?
5 What is the name of the terrible fungus that killed the potatoes?
Draw...!
Draw a picture of a potato plant.
Fact File
Potatoes are very nourishing and good for you. Eaten with milk they provide everything that your body needs. At the time of the Famine the poor Irish grew a potato called a 'Lumper'. It produced a very large crop even on poor soil, but unfortunately it very easily got diseased. In 1845 a terrible disease called 'blight' killed the potatoes. It was a fungus that grew very fast in damp weather and was spread by the wind.
Explore...!
Weigh enough potatoes to feed yourself for the day - remember that will be your only food. Try to imagine how many potatoes you would need to feed a family of ten or twelve people for 365 days.
Imagine......!
Imagine that you are part of a large poor family one hundred and fifty years ago. You come out one morning to find blight on your potatoes.....Write a description of what happens.
Imagine that you are a scientist. You have to find a cure for blight. How do you do it? Keep a diary of your efforts to find a cure.
