Teacher's guide for Taking the Bite Out of the West Nile Virus

by Debbie Buco

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Introduction

Use this WebQuest to help 4 - 6 Interdisciplinary students learn about West Nile Virus. The goal is to get students to read and analyze information on the Internet, brainstorm and prioritize solutions for dealing with the WNV, and prepare a written report for the governor of Louisiana recommending how a budget of $100,000 should be spent to solve this problem.

Overview

Main Topic:	West Nile Virus
Subtopics:	, , ,
Grade Level:	4 - 6
Subject(s):	Interdisciplinary
Learning Goal:	engaging in critical thinking

Vision and Reality

If the learning goal were achieved in the most ideal of perfect worlds it would look something like:

The classroom of my dreams would be full of intrinsically motivated, independant, eager learners who attack the challenges before them, work cooperatively to problem solve and make decisions, and produce written products that reflect the thinking processes they have experienced. The students will have access to outside mentors by email and they will send their recommendations to the governor.

However, what I anticipate probably looks more like:

Based on the Vision set for this activity, the actual reality is more likely to be that some students will be motivated while others will stray off task, some students will work harder than others, some won't even want to read the Internet articles because they're more interested in the pictures, and some would rather spend the governor's budget on Play Station 2 game stations. Oh, woe is me!

The What - If Inventory

To give the activity its best chance at helping students learn, I assembled this list of possible resources:

Inspiration software for brainstorming prior knowledge, etc.
PowerPoint software to create presentations
Excell for creating graphs, etc.


Email access to Governor Foster and Bob Johannessen (mentor)
Lots of valuable and current websites with West Nile virus information


Email address for Bob Johannessen. He is the contact person for the Department of Health and Hospitals in Louisiana and is willing to be a mentor.
Send student Group Report to the Governor and Bob Johannessen.

West Nile Virus exhibit in library
Classroom presentations.

Standards

English/Language Arts

Standard One Students read, comprehend, and respond to a range of materials, using a variety of strategies for different purposes.

Standard Two Students write competently for a variety of purposes and audiences.

Standard Three Students communicate using standard English grammar, usage, sentence structure, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and handwriting.

Standard Four Students demonstrate competence in speaking and listening as tools for learning and communicating.

Standard Five Students locate, select, and synthesize information from a variety of texts, media, references, and technological sources to acquire and communicate knowledge.

Standard Six Students read, analyze, and respond to literature as a record of life experiences.

Standard Seven Students apply reasoning and problem solving skills to reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and visually representing.

Math

Number and Number Relations In problem-solving investigations, students demonstrate an understanding of the real number system and communicate the relationships within that system using a variety of techniques and tools.

Measurement In problem-solving investigations, students demonstrate an understanding of the concepts, processes, and real-life applications of measurement.

Data analysis, Probability, and Discrete Math In problem-solving investigations, students discover trends, formulate conjectures regarding cause-and-effect relationships, and demonstrate critical thinking skills in order to make informed decisions.

Patterns, Relations, and Functions In problem-solving investigations, students demonstrate an understanding of patterns, relations, and functions that represent and explain real-world situations.

Science

Science as Inquiry The students will do science by engaging in partial and full inquiries that are within their developmental capabilities.

Life Science The students will become aware of the characteristics and life cycles of organisms and understand their relationships to each other and to their environment.

Science and the Environment In learning environmental science, students will develop an appreciation of the natural environment, learn the importance of environmental quality, and acquire a sense of stewardship. As consumers and citizens, they will be able to recognize how our personal, professional, and political actions affect the natural world.

Social Studies

Geography: Physical and Cultural Systems Students develop a spatial understanding of Earth's surface and the processes that shape it, the connections between people and places, and the relationship between man and his environment.

Civics: Citizenship and Government Students develop an understanding of the structure and purposes of government, the foundations of the American democratic system, and the role of the United States in the world, while learning about the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

Economics: Interdependence and Decision Making Students develop an understanding of fundamental economic concepts as they apply to the interdependence and decision making of individuals, households, businesses, and governments in the United States and the World.

Conclusion

created by Debbie Buco email: bucod@apsb.org http://www.web-and-flow.com/members/dbuco/westnilevirus/webquest.htm