Activities from the Mysterious Illness Outbreak Module
At this time, the Mysterious Illness Outbreak is not a piloted and completed curriculum like Water Quality, Pesticide Spill, and Indoor Air Quality. However, the activities below are great resources to use in classrooms.
John Snow & the Cholera Epidemic - Word | PDF
Students will learn the essential steps in an epidemiology investigation by studying John Snow’s classic investigation of the cholera epidemic in London in 1854.
How Did I Get Sick? - Word | PDF
Students will learn about general factors associated with illness and how to determine the cause of an illness based on signs, symptoms, and diagnostic tests.
CDC Data Investigation - Word | PDF
Students use spreadsheets and the Internet to retrieve information about regional and national health data and to organize and analyze that data.
Dose/Response Experiments Using Lettuce Seeds - Word | PDF
Students conduct dose-response experiments in which they test the response of lettuce seeds to varying concentrations of salt (NaCl). They will measure the toxic effects of salt on plant growth by measuring two end points: seed germination and root growth.
What Makes a Product Hazardous? Reading Household Product Labels
Teacher Section Word | PDF - Student Section Word | PDF
Students read labels from household products to recognize signal words and understand the basis for what makes these products hazardous. By taking an inventory of hazardous household products in their home, garage, or utility area, students identify and chart the products and write a brief report on their findings to an adult decision-maker in their household. (This activity encompasses both language arts and science, and may be implemented in either classroom.)
Surface Sampling - "Is My Cleaning Service Worth the Money?"
Word | PDF
Students will learn how to conduct environmental sampling procedures on surfaces, develop a sampling strategy, and follow an established lab protocol.
Enzymes and the Nervous System - Word | PDF
In the first part of the activity, students use iodine and Benedict’s solution as color indicators to detect enzyme activity, specifically, the ability of the enzyme amylase, found in human saliva, to break down starch into sugar. Students will then develop their own diagnostic protocols to test for enzyme activity in starch samples. In the second part, they study the nervous system to see how enzymes are key to nerve cell transmission.
Investigation of an Outbreak - Word | Pdf
Student Spreadsheet 1 | Student Spreadsheet 2
In this activity students will analyze the data of an outbreak of gastroenteritis that occurred in southern Oregon in 1993. They will follow steps used by epidemiologists to determine whether there is an outbreak and the cause of the outbreak.
