Ms. Reda

Health Education

Truman High School

The morning was quieter than usual. Normally, when you wake up in the morning you hear the birds singing. You decide to look outside; it appears you have entered the Twilight Zone. The birds that are normally music to your ear are lying dead on the lawn. Your colleagues call you reporting the same matter. Your current job is an investigator for the Center of Disease Control. Questions begin to ponder in your head, what could have caused the death of these birds? Are we as a society in danger? How do I announce my findings without causing hysteria? What other areas do dead birds affect?

When you get to work, you start to test the specimens found. Your investigation suggests that the birds are infected with the West Nile Virus, a virus in which you know nothing about. Now that you have defined the problem, the next step is finding some answers.

Your task is to prepare a news editorial on the current environmental problem, the West Nile Virus. The key in writing your report is to make sure you do not cause public hysteria. This of course does not mean that you are going to leave vital information out.

Information needed on your cover page:

§ Name of the Subject: West Nile Virus

§ Name

§ My Name

§ Date

§ Class period

The actual editorial:

§ Clear introduction of the environmental problem.

§ Identify causes, evaluate polices, and develop solutions.

§ The paper must be double-spaced.

§ The font used must be 12pt.

§ The editorial must be printed in black ink.

§ Page number should be on right hand corner of the page.

Presentation:

§ Your presentation will be timed. You will have five minutes to complete the presentation.

Map:

§ Your map should highlight the infected areas of the West Nile Virus in the United States. Use different color stickers to highlight the areas.

Final Product should include the following:

Ø Four pages in total:

o First three pages is the editorial

o Fourth page is the map

o Presentation

Your responsibility:

! You will have five class days to complete your editorial and 2 days in the weekend. The editorial will be worked on independently. If there are any problems ask Ms.Reda!

· 1^st day - define the problem.

· 2^nd day- gather information, and identify the causes.

· 3^rd day- you will evaluate the policies for the particular problem.

· 4^th day- develop a solution.

· 5^th day- gather up all of your information and write your editorial.

· 6^th day- rough draft and revision of your editorial.

· 7^th day- write your final draft. You must hand in the finish product the following day.

You are going to write a three-page editorial on the West Nile Virus. You will use the six steps listed in the PPA website. The PPA website will help aide in your research. http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/ppa/intro.html

The following information needs to be incorporated into your editorial:

v Define the problem.

v Gather evidence

v Identify causes

v Evaluate a policy

v Develop Solution

The hyper-links above will explain in detail a synapse of what specifically you are looking for.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/q&a.htm

http://www.nationalatlas.gov/virusmap.html

http://www.cfe.cornell.edu/erap/WNV/

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ep/WNV/summary.html

http://www.nsc.org/ehc/ew/disaster/westnile.htm

http://edcp.org/html/wn.html

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/

http://www.healthopedia.com/west-nile-virus/

Grading System	Inc 1	Poor 3	Average 5	Good 7	Excellent 10
EDITORIAL
Grammar
Identifying Causes
Evaluation of Polices
Develop Solutions
Organization Of the Editorial
MAP
Map of the U.S. Highlighted Infected Areas
PRESENTATION
Speaks Clearly
Eye Contact
Posture
Enthusiasm

Total Points____________________________

Total number of points:

90-100= Excellent

80-89= Good

70-79= Average

60-69= Just Passing

Below 60= Fail

Standards:

E1 Reading

E1c student reads and comprehends informational material to develop an expertise and produce written or oral work.

S5 Scientific thinking

S5c Uses evidence from reliable sources to develop descriptions, explanations, and models.

S5d Proposes, recognizes, analyzes, considers, and critiques an alternatives explanation.

S5e Identifies problems: Proposes and implements solutions and evaluates the accuracy and outcomes investigations.

S6d Acquires information from multiple sources.

S6 Recognizes and limits sources of bias in data.

S7d Explains a scientific concept or procedure to other students.

The West Nile Virus has become very prevalent within the last few years. The Center of Disease Control is doing extensive research on how the public can protect themselves against this specific virus. Are the prevention tactics being used really safe? The toughest part of the job is coming up with interventions that do not pose a threat to the public.

This is just one virus amongst several that the CDC is currently working on. What are some other viruses that currently pose a threat to us? This is a question you should ponder about because in the future you will have to research these viral threats.