Zika Virus Arrives in the Americas

In this lesson, students will analyze an informational text that describes the spread of the Zika virus through the Americas and its arrival in the United States. The text describes how the virus is carried by specific species of mosquitoes that are common in Florida and other warmer areas of the United States. An added concern with Zika is the link to microcephaly, a neurological disorder affecting fetuses and infants from infected mothers. The text also describes other viruses in the larger group that Zika belongs to and how these viruses affect the human body. This lesson is designed to support reading in the content area. The lesson plan includes a reading guide, text-dependent questions, a writing prompt, answer keys, and a writing rubric. Options to extend the lesson are also included.
Resource ID#: 163262 Type: Lesson Plan
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General Information

Subject(s): English Language Arts, Science
Grade Level(s): 6, 7, 8
Intended Audience: Educators educators
Instructional Time: 2 Hour(s)
Resource supports reading in content area:Yes
Keywords: virus, arbovirus, Zika, mosquito-borne disease, microcephaly, dengue fever, chikungunya, West Nile, yellow fever, virus transmission, text complexity, informational text
Instructional Component Type(s): Lesson Plan,  Worksheet,  Assessment,  Video/Audio/Animation,  Text Resource,  Tutorial,  Formative Assessment
Resource Collection: STEM Reading Resources

Aligned Standards

This vetted resource aligns to concepts or skills in these benchmarks.

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Lesson Plan

The Body's Defense System:

The lesson consists of a series of mini-lessons presented through a PowerPoint presentation with embedded videos, formative assessments, a simulation activity and a writing assignment that can be used as a summative assessment. The components of the lesson include the body's external and internal defenses, information on the white blood cells role in defending the body and in creating immunity, vaccinations and how they work to help produce memory cells and challenges to our immune system.

Type: Lesson Plan

Tutorial

Antarctic Evidence:

Click "View Site" to open a full-screen version. This tutorial is designed to help secondary science teachers learn how to integrate literacy skills within their science curriculum. This tutorial focuses on using specific textual evidence to support students' responses as they analyze science texts. The focus on literacy across content areas is designed to help students independently build knowledge in different disciplines through reading and writing.

Type: Tutorial