Brief Description

In this lesson students will use Internet resources to learn about the relationship between human activities and emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. Students will organize their ideas into an essay that will be published online using the Writers’ Window Internet site.

Standards and Frameworks

Technology Standards

• 1T-P1. Use the appropriate technology device to complete a task
• 3T-P3. Use technology tools to publish and present information with interactive features

• Science 3-1, PO 3. Assess how human activities (e.g., clear cutting, water management, tree thinning) can affect the potential for hazards.

Academic

• Students will write a 5-paragraph essay that explains how human activities are influencing the emergence and/or reemergence of infectious diseases, scoring at least a level 4 on a 6 level rubric in the areas of Ideas & Content, Organization, and Conventions.

• Students will successfully publish their essay online using the Writers’ Window Internet site.

• Students should be familiar with using the Internet.
• Students should have basic word processing skills.
• Students should be able to follow a series of directions to publish an essay online.

 

Copies of Internet articles, As Humans Alter Land, Infectious Diseases Follow and Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases: A Global Problem, for each student

Computer lab with Internet access for Parts 3 and 4

Copies of Essay Directions and Assessment Rubric

 

Procedures

Before beginning this activity, preview the Internet articles and sites students will use. Depending on the student population, it may be necessary to pre-teach some of the vocabulary that students will encounter in the readings. Ideally, students will already be familiar with a variety of infectious diseases.

Review district policies regarding the publishing of student work on the Internet.
The Amphitheater Unified School District requires both students and parents to sign the Electronic User Agreement.

Part 1 - Introduction/Reading Article 1 with Large Group Discussion
(1 class period)

1. Introduce the ideas of emerging and reemerging infectious disease. What does it mean if a disease is infectious? Can new infectious diseases enter the human population? Where do they come from? Can diseases disappear from the population then come back at a different time? Can diseases change over time and emerge in a new form? What are some examples of diseases that fit into these categories? Tell students they will be reading two articles about the relationship between human activities and emerging infectious diseases. After reading these articles and exploring some additional Internet sites, students will write an essay about this relationship. Finally, students will publish their essays on the Internet.

2. Write the title of the first article students will read on the board (‘As Humans Alter Land, Infectious Diseases Follow’. Before passing out copies of the article to students, have them brainstorm a list of ideas/topics the article might include. Record their ideas on the board. If students have difficulties generating ideas, ask them what they are reminded of when thinking about the title. What kinds of changes to the land might lead to disease? Why might changes to the land impact the emergence of disease? What kinds of diseases might be discussed in the article? Tell students that they will refer back to the list after reading the article.

3. Pass out a copy of As Humans Alter Land, Infectious Diseases Follow to each student. Tell students that they will be reading and writing about short sections of this article then stopping to discuss each section with the class.

4. Ask students to read the first paragraph. In the margins of the article (or on a separate piece of paper), have them write down the thoughts they have while reading. The idea is to get them to actively think about what they are reading while they are reading. The following list of prompts can be written on the board to help generate thinking while students are reading.
· What are you reminded of while reading this section? (Example- West Nile virus is spreading into new places.)
· What questions do you have? (Example- How would cutting a forest help disease spread?)
· What mental images do you have? (Example- This makes me think of mosquitoes.)
· What is the purpose of this section of reading? (Example- People affect the spread of disease.)
Have students discuss their comments. If student comments are vague, provide them with some examples of more specific comments.

5. Have students read another paragraph (or several paragraphs) and write comments in the margins while reading. Have students discuss their comments. Continue this process until the entire article has been read and discussed.

6. Have students look back at the brainstorming list on the board. Which of their ideas were included in the article? What was the reason for thinking about the title of the article before actually reading it?

7. In the space at the end of the article (or on a separate piece of paper), have students make a 2-column chart like the one below. Have students fill in the chart based on the information from the article. Students may need some additional information to complete the right hand column. Tell them the second article they read (Part 2) will provide them with some additional details.
 
 

Description of human activity	How can this activity be linked to the spread of infectious disease?
Example-  1. Urban sprawl	As more people live in close contact with each other, it is easier for pathogens to spread.

Have students save their materials for use in Part 2.

Part 2 - Reading Article 2 with Small Group Discussion
(1 class period)

8. Organize students into small groups of four. Groups should include students of varying abilities. Briefly review the article from Part 1. Tell students that they will be reading a second piece about the same topic (Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases: A Global Problem). Pass out a copy of this article to each student. Have students look at how the article is organized. They should notice the interview format with questions and responses. They should also notice the summary statements in the left hand margin. Have students predict what kinds of information might be included in the article.

9. Students will individually read an interview question and response. They will write comments in the margins as they did with the article in Part 1 (the writing prompts from Part 1 can be put on the board again). Then they will stop and discuss the question/response/comments with the members of their small group. This process will be repeated for each interview question and response. As students are working in their small groups, their progress should be monitored. Join groups that are having difficulty and model for them. Provide students with examples of the types of written comments they might make while reading an interview item. Make sure that all group members are sharing their ideas in the discussion.

10. Have students complete the chart they started at the end of Part 1. What human activities can be added to the list? What details can be added to the right hand column? Have students save their materials for use in Part 3.

Part 3 - Organizing Essay/Independent Research
(1 class period, computer lab with Internet access needed)

11. Pass out copies of the Essay Directions and Assessment Rubric.  Tell students they are going to organize their information from Parts 1 and 2 into a five paragraph essay that answers the question, “How do human activities influence the emergence and reemergence of infectious diseases?” The 2-column chart they made at the ends of Parts 1 and 2 should be helpful in organizing the essay. Review the essay directions and assessment rubric with students. Remind students that because these essays will be published on the Internet, they need to be well done.

12. Encourage students to include additional information about infectious diseases in their essays. The two articles from Parts 1 and 2 mention a variety of infectious diseases that could be incorporated more specifically into student essays (West Nile virus, dengue fever, malaria, SARS, bird flu, mad cow disease, Rift Valley fever, hantavirus, influenza, Lyme disease, Nipah virus, etc.). The Center for Disease Control’s Infectious Disease Information provides links to these diseases. CDC’s Emerging Infectious Diseases: A Strategy for the 21st Century provides additional information that some students might find useful. There are links on the upper right hand side of this site that go to a variety of more specific sub-topics. The Why Files- Zoonotic Diseases Go Global contains much of the same information at a lower reading level.

13. Develop a timeline for essay completion. In addition to writing the essay, students will need time to edit and re-write their essays. This can be done during class time or assigned as homework. Once the essays have been revised, students are ready to publish them online.

Part 4- Directions for Publishing on the Writers’ Window site
(1-2 class periods, computer lab with Internet access needed)

1. Explore the Writers’ Window site with students before having them publish their work. The Guidelines for Writers’ Window presents helpful information that describes appropriate use of the site to students. The information can be printed out and reviewed with students before they prepare their work for publishing.

2. Examples of published student work can be found at Read Published Writing. You might want to preview this site and find several examples of published work to share with students. Alternatively, students can spend some time exploring published student work on their own or with a partner.

3. Having students register on the Writers’ Window site is an optional step. Information about the benefits of registering and the online form that students will need to complete is located at Registering for Writers' Window. To register, students will need to provide a screen name (first name only), an email address (optional), the school’s name (optional), country, date of birth, and a password. Students should not include their last names in their screen name or use personal email addresses. The teacher’s email address can be used if students want to receive feedback from  Writers’ Window. If students do register, make sure to have them write down their screen name and password and provide you with a copy of it. This can help to save time in the event that a student forgets their screen name and/or password.

4. Have students type the work they will publish in a word processing program. The work must be edited prior to publishing. Tell students that people from all over the world will be able to read their work and make comments. Because of this, it is important for the published piece to be as polished as possible. Make sure to have students save their work on the computer or a disk before publishing it.

5. Once the piece is ready to publish, students will need to go to the Writers’ Window submission form. There is some general information that students will need to fill out. If students registered (see step 3 above), some of this information will automatically be filled in for them. Students will need to choose the type of writing they are submitting from a pull down menu. They will also need to enter the title of their piece of writing. When students get to the box titled ‘Your writing’ they can copy their piece from the already typed word processing document and paste it into this box.

6. At the end of the submission form, students may choose to add ‘Author Notes’ to their piece if there is any special information that they would like to share with potential readers. This is optional. Students should not provide any personal information such as their full name, address, and/or email address.

7. At the end of the form there is a ‘Submit Your Writing’ button. Once this button has been pushed, students have completed the publishing process. The Writers’ Window site can be periodically checked for published work.

8. Once student work has been published, students can read each other’s work and provide online feedback to each other. They may receive feedback from people in other places as well. Encourage students to share published pieces with family members, friends, other teachers, etc.
 
 

See Essay Directions and Assessment Rubric.

Three of the 6-Traits of Writing are used to assess the final essay (Ideas & Content, Organization, and Conventions).
 
 
 

Teacher Name: Carrie Bejarano
Site:  Amphitheater High School
Date Submitted: April 28, 2004