www.HealthyNewsWorks.org Copyright 2020 Healthy NewsWorks. LESSON — Yellow Fever 1793: Learning from the Past Teachers and Parents: Please use this lesson plan to help your children delve into the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia during 1793. It is designed for students in fifth grade and up. But it can be adapted for younger students. The lesson plan includes ideas for activities, including an illustration, a book review, and a short essay. We welcome your kids’ contributions. Please send it with your name and contact information to: [email protected]. Objective(s) SWBAT describe the outbreak of the Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic of 1793 and explain the medical responses to the epidemic. Health Content 1. Yellow fever symptoms (high fever and yellow eyes and skin) and treatment 2. In 1793, yellow fever was carried by mosquitoes and caused illness in more than 11,000 Philadelphia residents and the death of at least 10% of the city’s residents. 3. Benjamin Rush was a health hero at the time even though we now know that some of his findings about yellow fever were inaccurate. Sources: College of Physicians of Philadelphia (historyofvaccines.org), cdc.gov/yellowfever/index.html Standards Addressed RE.5.4.A Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding. RI.5.9 Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgably. W.5.7 Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic. W.5.8 Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources. Essential Understandings 1. In August 1793, yellow fever in Philadelphia resulted in more than 11,000 illnesses and the death of 10% of the city’s residents. 2. Dr. Benjamin Rush was a prominent physician at the time and worked to better understand the disease. Key Vocabulary epidemic – affecting a large number of individuals within a community or region at the same time (Merriam-Webster) pandemic – an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area (Merriam-Webster) virus – an extremely small piece of organic material that causes disease in humans, animals, and plants (Cambridge Dictionary) Materials Needed 1. HNW research handout – Yellow Fever 1793: Learning from the past 2. Smart board/computer/laptop/tablet 3. Extra paper
Transcript
www.HealthyNewsWorks.org
Copyright 2020 Healthy NewsWorks.
LESSON — Yellow Fever 1793: Learning from the Past
Teachers and Parents: Please use this lesson plan to help your children delve into the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia during 1793. It is designed for students in fifth grade and up. But it can be adapted for younger students. The lesson plan includes ideas for activities, including an illustration, a book review, and a short essay. We welcome your kids’ contributions. Please send it with your name and contact information to: [email protected].
Objective(s) SWBAT describe the outbreak of the Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic of 1793
and explain the medical responses to the epidemic.
Health Content 1. Yellow fever symptoms (high fever and yellow eyes and skin) and treatment
2. In 1793, yellow fever was carried by mosquitoes and caused illness in
more than 11,000 Philadelphia residents and the death of at least 10%
of the city’s residents.
3. Benjamin Rush was a health hero at the time even though we now know that some of his findings about yellow fever were inaccurate.
Sources: College of Physicians of Philadelphia (historyofvaccines.org), cdc.gov/yellowfever/index.html
Standards Addressed
RE.5.4.A Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.
RI.5.9 Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to
write or speak about the subject knowledgably.
W.5.7 Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build
knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
W.5.8 Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant
information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase
information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources.
Essential Understandings
1. In August 1793, yellow fever in Philadelphia resulted in more than 11,000
illnesses and the death of 10% of the city’s residents.
2. Dr. Benjamin Rush was a prominent physician at the time and worked to
better understand the disease.
Key Vocabulary epidemic – affecting a large number of individuals within a community or region at the same time (Merriam-Webster) pandemic – an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area (Merriam-Webster) virus – an extremely small piece of organic material that causes disease in humans, animals, and plants (Cambridge Dictionary)
Materials Needed
1. HNW research handout – Yellow Fever 1793: Learning from the past 2. Smart board/computer/laptop/tablet 3. Extra paper
www.HealthyNewsWorks.org
Copyright 2020 Healthy NewsWorks.
Introduction We have all heard a lot of news and information about the COVID-19 pandemic. The word pandemic means that the event is happening across the world. Today we are going to learn about an epidemic that happened in Philadelphia over 200 years ago – called yellow fever. While pandemic means that it’s happening globally or in a wide geographic area, an epidemic is a disease that is affecting a specific area or community – in this case, Philadelphia. Yellow fever caused great alarm and panic in Philadelphia and nearly 10% of the population at the time lost their lives. We’re going to hear an interview with a journalist who has written a biography about Dr. Benjamin Rush, a prominent Philadelphia doctor who was alive during this epidemic and worked to find causes and treatments for the disease. Dr. Rush also was a signatory of the Declaration of Independence and is known as the father of American psychiatry for his pioneering treatment of mental illness.
Lesson Read “Fever 1793; Learning from the past.” Watch the article and watch the video interview with Stephen Fried on the HNW website: tinyurl.com/HNWYF1 A longer version of the video is available at: tinyurl.com/HNWYF2 Respond to the follow-up questions.
Dig Deeper (Optional)
1. Read the historical fiction book Fever by Laurie Halse Anderson and
write a book review. Was there information from watching the
interview with Stephen Fried that was helpful in understanding the
book?
2. Read “Yellow Fever Stalks the Founders” by Stephen Fried in American
Heritage published in Spring 2020: tinyurl.com/HNWStephenFried
3. What is the role of science in dealing with a disease outbreak? What
are some of the challenges that doctors in 1793 had to face? What are
some of the challenges scientists and physicians face today when
dealing with an epidemic/pandemic?
Health Journal Yellow fever struck Philadelphia during a time when science and medicine had limited information and resources. Describe one method that Benjamin Rush used to treat yellow fever.
Check for Understanding
Turn and Talk: Even though Benjamin Rush didn’t fully understand yellow fever, why was he considered a hero during the outbreak of 1793?
Assignment Assignment #1: Use the information from the interview and information located
on the CDC website (www.cdc.gov/yellowfever) to create a PSA – a brief
message to encourage a specific action. Students will ‘travel back in time’ to
1793 and create a PSA to let Philadelphia residents know what causes yellow
fever and how to prevent it.
www.HealthyNewsWorks.org
Copyright 2020 Healthy NewsWorks.
YELLOW FEVER 1793: Learning from the past
The COVID-19 virus is not the first virus that has presented a serious threat to the public’s health. In August 1793, people in Philadelphia started to become sick with a high fever and yellow eyes and skin. Dr. Benjamin Rush, a well-known doctor of his time, declared, “All was not right in our city.” He identified the sickness as yellow fever. Despite the fact that many residents left the city to avoid getting ill, it is estimated that more than 11,000 people got the disease and about 10% of the residents died, according to the College of Physicians of Philadelphia’s website History of Vaccines.org To learn more about the yellow fever epidemic, watch the video interview with Stephen Fried on the Healthy NewsWorks website. Mr. Fried is a historian and author of a biography of Benjamin Rush. After watching the video, ANSWER the questions below.
3. What are some things that people did in 1793 to protect themselves against yellow fever? ______________________________________________________________________
4. What were some of the yellow fever treatments that Dr. Rush and other doctors used? ______________________________________________________________________
5. How long did the 1793 epidemic last? ____________________________________ 6. What have people learned causes yellow fever? How is it treated today? ______________________________________________________________________
7. Compare the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 and the COVID 19 pandemic. What are the similarities and the differences? _____________________________________________________________________
Create a Public Service Announcement about Yellow Fever A public service announcement (PSA) is a brief message to encourage a specific action such as to stop smoking, wear sunscreen, or eat fruits and vegetables. The PSA generally should make one quick point. You are transported back in time to Philadelphia 1793. You have a chance to let Philadelphia residents know what causes yellow fever and how to prevent it. Check out the CDC website (www.cdc.gov/yellowfever) to help you with your PSA. WRITE your message (or a "call to action") in the space below for your PSA ___________________________________________________________________ Creating your PSA should be fun. Design your ad in the space below or on a separate piece of paper. Be sure your words are spelled correctly. Your illustration should be simple so your reader understands your message. The page should not look cluttered.
