influenzawebquest

Public health poster in Chicago banning sick people from a theatre

It is 1918. World War I rages on in Europe, but lately, there are hints of an even greater menace, here on American soil. Stories of people waking up healthy and dying by evening. Whole families wiped out within a matter of days. The hospitals are overwhelmed, physicians are unsure of the best methods of treatment, and people are scared to leave their homes.

The Spanish Influenza has struck!

Task
You are a public health official working in Atlanta in 1918. Your group's task is to create a health pamphlet for the public health awareness campaign for the Spanish Influenza. This pamphlet will include images and information relating to the flu, and should answer these questions:

When and where were the first cases of the flu located?
What are the symptoms associated with the flu?
What is the incubation period?
What are the characteristics of those who catch the flu (young, old, lived in the country)?
What do medical experts think cause the flu?
What precautions do medical experts advise to stop the spread of the flu?
What precautions do governmental officials take to prevent the spread of the flu?

Public health notice to keep windows open

While researching information, keep in mind that the health pamphlet should reflect the scientific knowledge in 1918, not current day.

Process
Working with your group, use the following links to answer the questions about the Spanish Influenza. Pay close attention to primary sources.

http://1918.pandemicflu.gov/index.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/introduction/influenza-introduction/
http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/1918flu.htm
http://www.stanford.edu/group/virus/uda/

Use the websites above or the following links to find at least three pictures for the pamphlet. Be sure to cite your sources.

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/influenza-epidemic/
http://www.life.com/image/77947495/in-gallery/25771#index/0
http://nmhm.washingtondc.museum/collections/archives/agalleries/1918flu/1918flu.html

After compiling information, open up the Microsoft Publisher file named 'Health_pamphlet.pub' located in your group's folder on the student server.

Using the answers to your research, create a health pamphlet to inform and warn the public about the Spanish Influenza. Again, you are working from the perspective (and scientific knowledge) of someone in 1918. You can see examples of modern day health pamphlets at the following website.

http://www.toucaned.com/Products/PublicHealth/AdultPamphletSeries.html

When finished, save the pamphlet as a PDF file in the group folder.

Evaluation
The project will be graded based on the following rubric:

	Poor	Fair	Good	Excellent
Information	Pamphlet includes correct information for less than 3 questions	Pamphlet includes correct information for 3-4 questions	Pamphlet includes correct information for 5-6 questions	Pamphlet includes correct information for all questions
Images	Pamphlet includes no images related to the subject	Pamphlet includes 1 image related to the subject	Pamphlet includes 2 images related to the subject	Pamphlet includes 3 images related to the subject
Pamphlet	Pamphlet shows poor design, lack of titles, inconsistent font choices, layout is lacking	Pamphlet shows adequate design and issues with titles, fonts, and layout	Pamphlet shows good design with titles, fonts, and layout used properly for the most part	Pamphlet shows excellent design with titles, fonts, and layout used properly
Mechanics	More than 4 spelling and/or grammatical errors	Four spelling and/or grammatical errors	One to 3 spelling and/or grammatical errors	No spelling or grammatical errors

Conclusion
After submitting your pamphlet, meet with your group and discuss the following items:

How much did you know about the Spanish Influenza before this project?
What did you learn about the Spanish Influenza that surprised you?
What scientific information do we know now that could have helped back then?
Are there any similarities between the media coverage back then and the media coverage today?

Images courtesy of Life magazine and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Last updated on 2.25.2011 by E.G.King