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4 to 8 (middle school)
history, epidemiology
approximately 2 class periods
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Using the history of epidemics in the immigrant ghettoes of turn-of-the-century New York, and the public health measures they led to, this activity asks students to research recent episodes when diseases like colds or flus spread through their school. It also asks them to think of public health measures that might stop a disease from spreading again.
The activity is divided into three parts: 1) researching past episodes; 2) researching measures to prevent further episodes; and 3) presenting their findings to other students.
Start this activity off by getting your students to read the articles "The Battle with the Slum" and "Better Health for All."
Hold a class discussion about epidemics and public health. Begin with a discussion of the conditions that might have led to epidemics in the immigrant ghettoes of turn-of-the-century New York: crowding, poor ventilation, inadequate diets, overwork, lack of vaccines and medicines, etc. How did each of these factors contribute to the spread of disease? Next, you might have them think about epidemics today. What contributes to diseases like AIDS? What are the differences between the influenza and AIDS epidemics? What are some of the improvements we have made in the prevention and treatment of epidemics -- both in terms of vaccines and cures, as well as in the realm of public health measures? You might also want your students to focus on their school. What are some of the factors that cause diseases like colds and flus to spread quickly: crowded classrooms, shared lunchrooms, winter conditions?
Once you have discussed the spread of disease, it's time to focus on public health measures. Have the students discuss some of the measures sought or taken by New York officials 100 years ago: education, housing reform, health clinics, home visits by public health officials, shorter work hours, and, in extreme cases, quarantine and isolation. Then have the students discuss some of the measures that could be used to stop a disease from spreading through their school. Remind them that public health measures have to be taken carefully so that they don't disrupt daily life too much or violate people's civil liberties.
The activity is probably best done as a group or class project.
- To research past epidemics at their school, students are asked in this activity to seek out information from appropriate officials -- like the school attendance officer and the school nurse. You may want to talk to these people in advance and explain to them what the students are doing and what they are looking for. Essentially, the students are seeking to find answers to the following questions: when was the last epidemic, who got sick first, who got sick later, how many students were infected altogether, and when did the epidemic came to a halt. Obviously, privacy is an issue here. But students need not get names, just overall numbers and patterns.
- If researching a past school epidemic is not an option, you might direct students to books or encyclopedia articles about famous epidemics of yesterday and today: the great influenza epidemic of 1918 is one possibility for yesterday; AIDS is the obvious choice for today.
- Once they researched epidemics, it's time for them to think of measures to prevent or control future ones. Take a look at the suggestions we offer in Step 3 of the activity page.
- Finally, students are asked to present the measures they would take to prevent or control an outbreak of disease at their school. There are several options, such as a report, a visual display of data, or an informational poster. You can put these on display in the classroom or school for others to look at. Another option is to put on a kind of class play. Have the students pretend that a disease is spreading through their school. Different students can play different roles: as sick students; healthy students; teachers; administrators; maintenance and cafeteria people; and the school's nurse or nursing staff.
Epidemic!
The science of medicine has made great progress in the last 100 years. Antibiotics have helped control age-old epidemic killers like cholera, typhoid, and tuberculosis. Science has even wiped out one disease -- smallpox -- entirely from the face of the Earth, except in labs. But in some ways modern medicine has also made us overconfident. The overuse of antibiotics has bred new antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and there are new viruses to fight. This activity has helped students understand something about the way disease spreads and maybe will help them be aware how to fight it.
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Early New York