TeachersFirst: Understanding H1N1, the Swine Flu virus

Sneeze Understanding H1N1, the Swine Flu:
TeachersFirst Editors' Choices

The potential spread of Swine Flu in schools and among young people is a major concern. TeachersFirst's editors have collected this helpful information for teachers, students, and parents to better understand the virus, how it is spread, and what YOU can do to stay healthy. This collection of resources has been hand-picked for accuracy and for age-appropriateness with students and so we may all participate in healthy prevention of the swine flu.

We hope you will share these resources with your colleagues and school parents by emailing this page or sharing the link from your school web page and in your school newsletter.

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2009 H1N1 Flu: The Next Pandemic Grade 10 to 12 - PBS- 10196

This lesson plan, created especially for students in grades 10-12, offers background information, activities, and critical analysis of the H1N1 Flu. Learn more about the flu, causes of the flu, participate in a class simulation, learn about vaccines, and much more. National standards are provided.

In the Classroom:
Divide your class into cooperative learning groups and delve into this lesson plan! Have groups read and review the handouts together. Challenge groups to create a multimedia presentation to share with the class. Provide some choices to share what they learned: an interactive map, online book, or even a group wiki. For interactive maps (showing WHERE H1N1 has hit) have students use a mapping tool such as Mapskip (reviewed here). This tool allows you to add audio stories and pictures. Use Bookemon, reviewed here, for online stories. Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries – check out the Teacher’s First Wiki Walk-Through reviewed here.

Novel H1N1 flu (swine flu) Grade K to 12 - Children's Memorial Hospital- 10199

This frequently updating site, offers a simple (yet thorough) explanation of the H1N1 flu. This helpful information on the Swine Flu is useful for all levels of students. Help students to better understand the virus and how to prevent its spread.

In the Classroom:
Be sure to list this link on your class website for families to explore at home. If your students have any questions about the Swine Flu, send them to this explanatory website.

H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu): General Information Grade K to 12 - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention- 10198

This site, created by the CDC, offers general information about the H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu). Learn what to do if you get flu-like symptoms, how to take care of a sick person in your home, facemask and respirator use, and more. This site also includes audio and video resources.

In the Classroom:
Provide this link on your class website for students and parents to access to learn more about the Swine Flu. Have cooperative learning groups investigate one of the articles/topics presented at this site and create a multimedia project to share with the class. How about creating a class wiki to discuss the groups' findings? Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries – check out the Teacher’s First Wiki Walk-Through reviewed here.

Swine Flu in Children, Influenza H1N1, DrTummy.com Grade 3 to 8 - Metacafe- 10194

This helpful information on the Swine Flu is useful for elementary and middle school students to better understand the virus and how to prevent its spread. Come along with Dr. Tummy to learn more about the H1N1 virus using this short video (less than 4-minutes). Learn about what the Swine flu is, the symptoms, how it is diagnosed, how it is treated, how it is spread, and more information. This site does include advertisements. If you want them to disappear, simply click the "full screen" option on the bottom right side of the page.

In the Classroom:
Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Challenge cooperative learning groups to create podcasts (maybe mock news reporting) about the H1N1. Assign each group a different area to explore (what is Swine Flu, how to stop the spread, and others). Use a site such as PodOmatic (reviewed here).

H1N1 (Swine) Flu: What you need to know Grade K to 12 - The United Federation of Teachers- 10202

This site offers "what you need to know" about the swine flu, specifically for schools. Topics include General Information, School Closure, What to do in your School, and Additional Information. Each topic has several "sub-topics." This resource provides a TON of information and is frequently updated.

In the Classroom:
If your students are learning about the swine flu, use this site to answer their many questions. Or better yet, have students work with a partner and research this site together. Have the groups create multimedia presentations. How about having students create a concept map organizing the various information using a tool such as bubbl.us (reviewed here).

H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu): Resources for Child Care Programs, Schools, Colleges, and Universities Grade K to 12 - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention- 10201

Take a look at this site, complete with resources for schools. Some of the articles (at the time of this review) included "Preparing for Flu: A Communication Toolkit for Schools (K-12)," "Guidance for State and Local Health Officials and School Administrators for School Responses to Flu during 2009-2010 School Year," "Infections Alert for Institutions of Higher Education," and a few others. The articles are frequently updated, so be sure to check back often!

In the Classroom:
Use this site to find guidance on how to handle flu season. This is a great site to list on your school website.

H1N1 (Swine Flu) - What You and Your Family Need to Know Grade K to 12 - Children's National Medical Center- 10200

This informative site (also available in Spanish) is a great resource for families (or classrooms) all about the Swine Flu. Topics include: Can people catch swine flu from eating pork? What about the current swine flu outbreak? Can people catch swine flu? What are the symptoms of swine flu in humans? There are several other topics. This is a simple questions/answer site with a lot of helpful information.

In the Classroom:
Most of this site would be useful in Swine Flu research in the classroom. Make your class a healthier environment by sharing how the flu is spread. Share this link on your class website for parents to view.

Pandemic Panic Grade 3 to 12 - The New York Times- 10195

This site offers an extremely detailed and well written lesson plan about the H1N1 (Swine Flu) virus. The lesson plan provides a wealth of background information for teachers, class activities for a variety of subject areas (podcasts, KWL charts, etc..), articles of interests, thinking questions, video clips, interactive graphics, blogs, and much more. This site is truly a web 2.0 lesson plan that is READY TO GO! Standards are provided. Although this lesson plan recommends 3-5 class periods, you could easily pick and choose what is best for your class.

*There is a link to a lesson plan specifically for younger students (grades 3-5). Specific activities and standards are provided for the younger grades at that link. This website requires Adobe Acrobat (pdf). You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

In the Classroom:
Use this interdisciplinary lesson plan to encourage your class or school to maintain healthy habits, dispel incorrect information, and avoid spread of Swine flu. The activities, printables, and interactives are ready to go. Share the videos, podcasts, and other graphics on your interactive whiteboard or projector.

Understanding H1N1, the Swine Flu: TeachersFirst Editors' Choices Grade K to 12 - TeachersFirst- 10215

In the Classroom:
Share these resources with your colleagues and school parents by emailing the page or sharing the link from your school web page and in your school newsletter.

Swine Flu - Made Simple Grade K to 8 - Stuffmadesimple.com- 10192

This site offers a short (5-minute) video explaining the Swine Flu. Learn about the symptoms, causes, how to avoid spreading the flu, and more. This site does include some advertising. To avoid advertising, click on the full screen box (bottom right).

In the Classroom:
Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have cooperative learning groups create multimedia presentations (focusing on causes, the flu itself, how it spreads, how to better protect themselves, etc.). Have groups create commercials about their topic, and complete additional research. Video the commercials and share them on a site such as Teachers.TV reviewed here. Provide this link on your class website for students to share with their parents. See also this full listing of TeachersFirst Editors' Choice listings on the H1N1 flu.

What It Is and What to Do: Primer Grade 6 to 12 - Jacob Goldstein- 10197

Although this site is "plain vanilla," it offers a lot of information about the swine flu. The site is set-up in question/answer format. Examples of questions include, "What is swine flu," "Is the disease the same in Mexico and the U.S.," "What are the Symptoms," "Does my flu shot protect against the swine flu," and several others. Be aware this site has advertisements and students are able to comment on the article. You may want to preview the comments and advise students to stick with the content, not the comments.

In the Classroom:
Take a few minutes and go through this site one question at a time. Possibly, address the class with the specific question and have them brainstorm possible answers with a partner. Share this site to encourage your class or school to maintain healthy habits, dispel incorrect information, and avoid spread of flu.

The House Fairy Grade K to 3 - The House Fairy- 10193

This site, created especially for young elementary students, offers an audio (with pictures) presentation all about the flu (and Swine Flu). Come along with 6-year old Libby to learn what the flu is, how to avoid getting the flu, what to do if you have symptoms of the flu, and more. Vocabulary words are discussed (for example, "symptoms"). Click on the other pictures to explore other facets of this site.

In the Classroom:
Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Brainstorm ways students can keep themselves healthy. Encourage your class or school to maintain healthy habits, dispel incorrect information, and avoid spread of flu by sharing this site.