Disease
Disaster
A WebQuest for 7th Grade (Life Science)
Designed by Mrs. Wagner-West
Introduction
This lesson was developed in partial fulfillment of the
Masters in Teaching program at Pacific
University.
Disease Disaster is intended to promote group work in middle
school (or high school) science courses, create an interest in careers
in investigative medicine, and increase knowledge of the many diseases
that have plagued our world.
Students will "become" integral parts of their research teams
and search for what may be causing the medical problems of
Deeville. The symptoms provided as jumping points for the
students are fairly general, which allows each team to identify
different diseases as the focus of their research. This also
shows students that not all
medical scientists agree on every
diagnosis and there are additional possibilities present.
The design of this project allows for group work and
responsibility, individual accountability, creativity, and fun!
Learners
This lesson was developed for a 7th grade Life Science course,
although it can be used by other courses or grade levels (including
high school). The presentations and research papers of different
levels will result in a variety of cognitive levels, depth of
investigation, and creative productivity.
Although the lesson is anchored in science and health, the
language arts skills are used in the research paper and social
studies/history research is required of the team. Links are
included for students to pursue additional knowledge of careers in the
science field.
It is suggested that students receive background information
(i.e. identification, transmission, pictures, etc.) on viral,
bacterial, parasitical, and fungal diseases and a list of examples of
each type of disease.
Curriculum Standards
Oregon Standards
Career-Related
Learning
Personal
Management: Exhibit appropriate work ethic and behaviors
in school, community, and workplace.
Problem
Solving: Apply decision-making and problem-solving
techniques in school, community, and workplace.
Communication:
Demonstrate effective communication skills to give and receive
information in school, community, and workplace.
Science
Organisms:
Understand the characterisitics, structure, and functions of organisms.
Diversity/Interdependence:
Understand the relationships among living things and between living
things and their environments.
Scientific
Inquiry: Forming the question/hypothesis; Analyzing and
Interpreting results.
Social Science
Geography:
Understand the economic, cultural, and environmental factors that
influence change in population, and evaluate the consequences of the
resulting increases or decreases in population.
World
History: Understand and interpret events, issues, and
developments within and across eras of world history.
English/Language Arts
Planning, Evaluation, and Revision: Pre-write, draft, revise, edit, and publish across the subject areas.
Writing: Communicate supported ideas across the subject areas, including relevant examples, facts, anecdotes, and details appropriate to audience and purpose that engage reader interest.
Speaking: Communicate supported ideas across the subject areas using oral, visual, and multimedia forms in ways appropriate to topic, context, audience, and purpose.
Process
This is the identical
process provided to the students.
1. You will be assigned to an investigative team of 4 students.
2. After numbering off in class, each number will be
assigned a role on the team. The roles are 1) R.N. with Masters
degree in Public Health; 2) DVM; 3) PhD; 4) MD.
3. We will discuss what each of these roles requires you
to research and investigate.
4. After review of the WebQuest assignments, your team
will have a meeting to talk about what the symptoms and description of
the case could reveal about this mystery disease.
5. As a team, decide what disease you believe may be
taking its toll on Deeville.
6. After disease identification, your team will begin
work on your individual roles.
7. Use research tools on the Web, in journals, and in books.
RNs: Virtual
Museum of Bacteria
Hidden
Killers: deadly viruses
Fungal
Infection
Parasites
of
Public Health Concern
DVMs: *use the RN and MD
websites for information on transmission
PhDs: A Brief
History of Infectious Disease *check the article titles on
the left of the page!
Disease
in
History
History
of Vaccination
Old
Medical Terminology Dictionary
MDs: WebMD
Healthfinder
World Health Organization
8. Regroup as an investigative team and discuss your
findings.
9. Determine your presentation format and get approval
from Mrs. Wagner-West.
10. ASK FOR HELP IF YOU NEED IT!
11. As a group, work on your presentation and final
paper. Each person is responsible for writing their own section,
but every team member is responsible for knowing the information found
by their teammates.
12. Have a FANTASTIC mock medical conference and HAVE
FUN!
Students should be divided into groups of four based on their personal interest in that field of research. A survey may be given prior to introduction of the WebQuest to determine groups and interest students in the project.
Keep in mind, that many students may choose well-known
diseases/plagues to research. Remind them that there are many
symptoms that suggest additional diseases and to keep their minds
open. The more diseases the students decide upon, the more
interesting the presentations will be.
The teacher should be well-versed in research skills and
strategies and provide support for students having difficulty accessing
materials. Novice teachers should not have many, or any,
difficulties with this lesson.
Variations
If computer access is limited or unavailable, this WebQuest
and provided links may be printed out and used as a lesson plan for
library and/or supplemental material research.
Resources Needed
- Internet access
- Library materials in history and medicine
- Word-processing software
- Video or audio materials for presentations
- Any additional supplies needed as requested by students.
Epidemic
Intelligence Service Officers
This website describes the duties of the epidemic officers of the
Center for Disease Control based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Virtual
Museum of Bacteria
Basic review of bacteria with some great animations and links.
Hidden
Killers: deadly viruses
Student-built ThinkQuest with virus information, games, vocabulary, and
interesting additional information.
Fungal
Infection
Facts, history, and research information on fungal diseases.
Parasites
of Public Health Concern
Description of intestinal, blood-borne, and additional parasites.
A
Brief History of Infectious Disease
Fantastic historical site of diseases!
Disease
in History
Addresses historical concerns with overcrowding, sanitation, and
epidemics.
History
of Vaccination
Dates of individual vaccine development and use.
Old
Medical Terminology Dictionary
Interesting reference for old/historical names of diseases that may
arise during research.
WebMD
Current treament information search engine.
Healthfinder
Health library with prevention/wellness, diseases/conditions, and
alternative medicine.
World Health
Organization
Health topics and research of the health of the world's people.
Interesting
websites for further research:
(not specific to Disease Disaster)
American
Public Health Association
APHA is an Association of individuals and organizations
working to improve the public's health and to achieve equity in health
status for all.
US
Department of Health and Human Services
Includes links to every aspect of medical care.
Medical
Careers Video Library
Online videos covering extensive medical careers.
Self-Care
Flowcharts
Search engine of symptoms.
One teacher in the computer lab and librarian(s) are
suggested. This project is designed for student investigation, so
teachers, aides, and librarians should know to not suggest specific
diseases. They are there as research resources only.
Evaluation
Refer to the scoring guideline for detailed assessment material. The required student products include the paper, oral presentation, and visual presentation. This WebQuest allows for significant creativity and your students will create some phenomenal work!
Each student will be given an
individual grade based on their performance on their role specific
tasks. You will not be given a score for a section to which they
were not assigned. During the presentation, each student will
answer questions from both their section and one other section from the
group. Your ability to answer the questions from your own and
other section will determine your second individual score. Group
scores are based on the presentation of the final display and
paper. Using this rubric, each student will receive two
individual scores and two group scores.
| |
Beginning 1 |
Developing 2 |
Accomplished 3 |
Exemplary 4 |
Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Identify and determine the causes of the disease. Give support for conclusions and include visual representations. (individual grade - RN)
|
Disease name is given with no support. Causes are inaccurate and not supported. | Disease name is given with minimal support. Plausible identification of causes given with little or no support. | Disease is identified and explanation is supported. Plausible identification of causes given with accurate and descriptive support. Good choice of visuals. | Disease is identified with clear support and explanation is thorough. Plausible identification of causes given with accurate and exemplary explanation. Very clear and demonstrative visuals. | |
|
Determine the transmission of the disease and give support. (individual grade - DVM)
|
Transmission description is inaccurate for identified disease and not supported. | Transmission accurately described with minimal support. | Transmission accurately described with founded support (3 reasons for identification) and good detail. | Transmission clearly and accurately identified with in-depth explanations and support (4 or more reasons). | |
|
Describe the progression of the disease, treatment, and its social impact through history. Include references. (individual grade - PhD)
|
History of the
disease incomplete or without detail. |
History includes
description of the disease and its treatment in the past but fails to
discuss how it affected society. |
Description is
complete but with little or no visual representation/ documents or
references. |
Complete history
of the disease including referenced documentation and discussion of how
it affected and still affects society. |
|
|
Determine the preventative measures available and treatment/cure for the disease and give support. (individual grade - MD)
|
Preventative measures or treatment/cure given with no support. | Preventative measures or treatment/cure described in little detail. | Preventative measures and treatment/cure both described in detail. | Preventative measures and treatment/cure both described in detail with supported research references. | |
|
|
Student is able to answer questions from own section but not from others. | Student is able to answer questions from other sections with guidance from teacher or peers. | Student is able to answer questions from other sections without guidance. | Student is able to answer questions from other sections in detail and without hesitance. | |
|
Final presentation display. (group grade)
|
Display shows little effort or creativity and/or is missing parts. | Display shows
effort and has all sections included. |
Display shows
considerable effort and time, includes a sections' descriptions and
support, and includes at least two visuals. |
Display is very creative, includes detailed support and references in each section, and includes at least three visuals. | |
|
Final presentation paper. (group grade)
|
Final paper is unorganized and/or is missing parts. | Final paper is easy to follow, includes all sections, and has minor typographical errors. | Final paper is organized well, descriptive in each section, and has minimal or no typographical errors. | Final paper shows
complete comprehension of each section in detail with very few or no
errors. It is organized clearly and includes references. |
Credits & References
Blood
Morphology Background Picture
Web Design pages:
The
WebQuest Page
Design Patterns
We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is hereby granted for other educators to copy this WebQuest, update or otherwise modify it, and post it elsewhere provided that the original author's name is retained along with a link back to the original URL of this WebQuest. On the line after the original author's name, you may add Modified by (your name) on (date). If you do modify it, please let me know and provide the new URL.
Last updated on December 13, 2003. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page