Outbreak: A Webquest about Epidemics

| Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Teacher Notes |

"Ring around the Roses Pocket full of posies Ashes Ashes We all fall down...."

Introduction

"Ring around the roses" was not always so harmless; it deals with one of the grim periods of English medical history. At the time of the Black Plague in England the first signs of a victim was a ring of red rash around the neck (roseola). As the disease progressed there was a horrible body stench which was combatted by filling the pockets of the victim with sweet-smelling flowers. Eventually those so stricken would "all fall down" -- dead!

In this quest you will investigate a communicable disease and present your findings as a short play to the class where each of your team members plays a different role.

Task

Your team will produce a short skit to the rest of the class to inform them about a particular disease. Each person on the team will assume a different role in the play, one will be the doctor, another will be the patient, and a third member will play a family member of the patient. The play should be written with the intent to educate and inform the class about the disease, though creativity should be used in getting your message across.

Process

1. First, your team will need to choose a disease from the list of diseases. In order to prevent everyone doing the same disease in the class, there will be a sign up sheet, when you have decided, sign your groups' names next to the disease. Diseases will be chosen on a first come first serve basis. Do not worry at this point if you don't know much about the disease, the point of this quest is to learn about it. See disease list.

2. Once you've decided on your disease, you will need to research that disease. Each team member should keep a notebook where they write down their notes on the disease. Some questions to think about while you're searching:

Useful Websites Center for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/ National Foundation for Infectious Diseases http://www.nfid.org/ Communicable Disease and Immunization Index http://www.metrokc.gov/health/prevcont/ Infectious Facts http://www.astdhpphe.org/infect/ World Health Organization (W.H.O) http://www.who.int

 

3. Discuss with your team members the information you found and develop your skit. Remember the purpose of the skit is to inform others. Each person will be playing a role. (If less than four members, eliminate nurse or family member role.)

4. Write your skit (this document will be turned in the day your team does its presentation to the class). It is not necessary that each team member memorize their parts, but it may be more enjoyable for others watching if a little advance planning and preparation was involved. You are also allowed to bring in props and you are expected to "act your part" in the play. Your skit should answer all of the questions above.

5. Create a pamphlet or booklet for the patient to take home. This booklet should explain the disease, the symptoms, and what to do to alleviate symptoms and prevent the spread of the disease. The pamphlet is an information pamphlet on the disease you are studying. (You will turn this pamphlet in.)

**Also, many diseases on the list were much more common hundreds of years ago, your team can choose to do your skit at a different point in history than modern day, just be sure that your audience is aware of the date.

Evaluation

Play Production
Information	The skit addressed the following topics: No (0 pts) Yes (1 pt) How disease was contracted Symptoms Tests to confirm disease Treatment/Prevention Prognosis (recovery chances)
	Minimal (1)	Satisfactory (2)	Exemplary (3)
Organization	Group did not seem well prepared, skit was disorganized	Group seem prepared, some minor issues in organization, or some team members didn't know their parts	Group seem prepared, each knew the parts, skit went smoothly
Creativitiy	Team members apathetic, skit dry or boring.	Skit was somewhat creative, team members attempted to act their parts	Skit was creative, team members "acted the part" and kept the attention of the audience
Pamphlet
Information	Contains very little information about the disease or treatment,	Somewhat informative, some areas of information are lacking	Very informative, contains lots of information about the disease and treatment, has graphics or other interesting features
Design	seems sloppy or hastily put together, disorganized or contains many grammatical errors	somewhat organized, may contain some grammatical errors	Pamphlet organized, contains graphics or other interesting features, no grammatical errors
Preparedness	2 days late on turning in pamphlet	1 day late on turning in pamphlets	Turned in on time, group was ready to present to class

 

Conclusion

At the end of this quest, you should be "experts" in the disease you studied. You will know how the disease is passed from person to person, how a person can prevent getting the disease, and what treatments are available to those who contract it. You will also be aware of the history of the disease. After watching the other groups perform their skits, you should also have a fair understanding about some of the other diseases on the list.

 

Teacher Notes

This quest can be accomplished in 2-3 days.

Day 1 - Introduction of the Quest, forming of teams, choosing disease and general discussions among the group about how to approach the problem

Day 2 - Computer lab reserved, students research invidually and compile their factsheets

Day 3 - Group reconvenes to share their knowledge, assign roles and create skits.

Which disease is the most threatening to human kind? Defend your choice.

State Goals

Science

STATE GOAL 13: Understand the relationships among science, technology and society in historical and contemporary contexts.