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This CNNfyi.com lesson plan is supplemented with material from

Planning for prevention of the West Nile virus

July 30, 2001
Web posted at: 4:54 PM EDT (2054 GMT)

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Overview: Since 1999, the West Nile virus has claimed nine lives in the United States. What are some precautions people can take to prevent the spread of this virus? Challenge students to investigate the West Nile virus and create a written proposal for their city or state to prevent the further spread of the virus.

Curriculum connections: Health, environment

Objectives
Students will be able to:

Identify the process by which the West Nile virus is spread.
Design a plan to prevent the spread of the West Nile virus in a specific city or state.

Standards
Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning
Health standard 2, grades nine-12
High school students need to know how the prevention and control of health problems are influenced by research and medical advances

Materials
CNNfyi.com article, "West Nile experts say don't be scared, be careful"
Internet access
Newspapers or newsmagazines
World maps

EXTRA INFORMATION

From Riverdeep: Tracking the West Nile Virus

Suggested time
Article and questions only: 30 minutes
Full lesson plan: Two to three classroom periods

Procedures
1. Survey the class about their prior knowledge of the West Nile virus by directing each student to write down what they already know about the virus and what they would like to discover about the virus.
2. Have students read the CNNfyi.com article, "West Nile experts say don't be scared, be careful" and ask the following:

What is the West Nile virus? How is the West Nile virus spread to humans? Why do you think the virus is fatal to the elderly or people with weakened immune systems, while other people infected with the virus only experience flu-like symptoms?
Who are Dr. Helen Burns and Dr. C.J. Peters? What are some precautions recommended in the article that can be taken to prevent mosquito bites? Why is it important to reduce sources in which mosquitoes breed? What are some household examples of mosquito habitats?
What are some advantages of eliminating sources in which mosquitoes breed? Why is it more beneficial to eliminate these sources than to kill adult mosquitoes using sprays? What are some benefits and drawbacks to spraying for mosquitoes?
How do viruses survive? What is the process for the spread and transmission of the West Nile virus? Why is it important to track the spread of the virus? How are scientists identifying the presence of the virus? What might be some other ways to identify the presence of the virus?

3. Remind students that Pennsylvania created a program that focused on three major areas: Education about risk reduction, creation of a system that would detect the presence of the West Nile virus and establishment of procedures to control the mosquito population.
4. Pair students. Direct each pair to further investigate research how the West Nile virus is spread, effects of the virus and ways to contain the spread of the virus. Direct each pair to create a chart recording the information.
5. Have each student identify specific information he or she has learned about the virus. Then ask: Did you find any information that you learned which refuted what you thought you knew about the virus? If so, what misinformation did you have about the virus? Refer to the questions you wrote prior to reading the article and doing research. Were all your questions answered? If not, did anyone in the class discover the answer to your question?

Assessment
Have each student create a written proposal for their city or state recommending a program to control the spread of the West Nile virus. Instruct students to consider the use of drugs and pesticides, the elimination of swampy breeding grounds and the potential use of vaccines and transgenic mosquitoes.

Accommodations
Visual/spatial
Students can create a diagram illustrating the spread and transmission of the West Nile virus.

Challenge
Inform the students that the West Nile virus is an arbovirus. Arboviruses are a large group of viruses that are transmitted between animal hosts by blood-feeding arthropods, such as mosquitoes. Direct students to identify other examples of arboviruses and determine the similarities and differences between another arbovirus and the West Nile Virus.

If you use CNN NEWSROOM, use the video and follow the Daily Guide from July 27, 2001, on the West Nile Virus for additional questions and activities.