Lesson Plans
These lesson plans will help you introduce the study of viruses to your students. Some of these sites also explore the environmental impact of today's technology on the quality of our air, water, and nonrenewable resources.
Many of the lesson plans come from the science educators at Discovery Channel School, The New York Times, and PBS. We think that they have provided excellent background material for their lessons, thought-provoking discussion questions, great ideas for use, and links to additional resources. We've included lessons for small groups of students working together to solve practical situations as well as individual activities for student reports and independent projects. Be sure to continue on to the section Activities Just for Kids, filled with interactive sites designed for middle schoolers to use on their own.
Written by teachers, this lesson plan is designed to help students develop a basic understanding of what viruses are, their characteristics, and how viruses can mutate and become deadly. Students learn that even genetically engineered viruses developed for their usefulness can be dangerous if they are not closely monitored. Included for teachers are ideas for extensions, links to additional articles, and standards-related information.
This lesson plan from the Discovery School staff provides an overview of HIV and AIDS. There are several ideas for presenting the material to a class, ideas for extension, discussion questions, links to more information, and a tie-in to science education benchmarks and standards.
What role can mathematics play in understanding epidemics? In this lesson plan from The New York Times Learning Network, students research epidemics that have devastated the world population at various points in history. They share and calculate statistics obtained in their research and develop graphs that compare and contrast the ways that different epidemics have affected the global population.
In this series of three activities from PBS's Frontline/World, students experience group and individual activities to help them learn about the effects that diseases have on various populations around the world. Students learn that proper health care is integral to keeping many viruses and diseases from spreading, and that prevention and control of disease is an important field in science. Focusing on the SARS epidemic, students examine what has been learned from past epidemics and make recommendations to minimize or prevent future outbreaks.
This lesson plan from The New York Times has students explore current global responses to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic. Students reflect on their prior knowledge of infectious respiratory diseases, investigate global responses to fighting the spread of SARS, and then write a news report for people in their region of study. Included are discussion questions for classroom activities, homework ideas, links for further investigation, and evaluation guidelines for teachers. MSP full record
This lesson plan teaches students the characteristics of bacteria—how they move, where they live, and how they reproduce. Students will also learn how bacteria can be helpful or harmful and create a design to illustrate what they have learned. Teachers are provided with learning objectives, discussion questions, extensions for alternative uses, and suggested readings. Teachers can link to teaching tools to create worksheets, puzzles, and quizzes. MSP full record
Students are guided through the planning and execution of a mock emergency health summit. They must think about how to address concerns and possible solutions on behalf of affected countries and the international health community at large. This hour-long interdisciplinary lesson plan from The New York Times is designed for middle school to high school use. MSP full record
This lesson plan from PBS Teacher Source gives students an in-depth look at the SARS epidemic with a focus on public health administration. An interview with David Heyman of the World Health Organization (WHO) forms the basis of the exercise, with video, audio, and transcript available. A NewsHour Extra story on SARS provides additional material. The site also offers ideas for homework and extension activities, each designed to help students explore and understand the process by which organizations like WHO tackle new disease outbreaks. MSP full record
In this activity, students study the nature and transmission of the Rift Valley (Kenya) fever virus to determine ways to prevent an outbreak. This is an interdisciplinary problem-based learning module for middle and high school students aimed at addressing real-world problems in environmental Earth science. Teacher pages include module notes, ideas for use, and ideas for planning, facilitating, and assessing information. MSP full record
Students work in small groups to research and explore a pathogenic virus or bacteria selected from the list provided in the activity. Students will create a multimedia presentation to the class explaining their findings. The activity is clearly explained and includes a grading rubric. MSP full record
This interactive mystery takes place aboard a yacht on which the crew is being infected with disease during a race. Students play the role of detective as they read through the mystery, making choices that affect the turn of the story. At the end of the story, students must process the information they have gathered to determine the containment of the outbreak. Teacher materials and background information are included. MSP full record
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Copyright
August 2006 — The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work
supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0424671. Any
opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this
material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of
the National Science Foundation.
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This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons License.
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