As a high school Biology / Biological Sciences and Environmental Sciences teacher, you can use this set of computer-based tools to help you in teaching about human health and diseases, vectors and vector-borne diseases such as malaria.
This lesson plan allows students to study the geographical distribution and spread of diseases. Further, students can explore how climate change could impact the spread of vector-borne diseases (specifically, malaria) and could consequently affect human health outcomes. The activity will also help students to identify policies for adapting to and mitigating the spread of diseases.
Thus, the use of this lesson plan allows you to integrate the teaching of a climate science topic with a core topic in the Biological Sciences.
Questions
Use this lesson plan to help your students find answers to:
1. What are the major vector-borne diseases and their symptoms? What is the current geographical distribution of these diseases globally?
2. Explain whether climate-related factors could influence the distribution and spread of vector-borne diseases.
3. How could an increase in the average global temperature affect the geographical distribution of malaria?
4. Recommend specific actions/policies that can help in mitigating the spread of vector-borne diseases caused by a rise in average global temperature, increase in sea-levels, and growth in population.
• Protozoa, Vectors, Vector-borne Diseases
• Malaria, Climate Change and the Spread of Malaria
• Climate Change and Human Health
Climate Topic
Climate and Health
Location
Global, USA
Languages
English
Access
Online (some material can be downloaded for offline use)
Approximate Time Required
150-190 min
Contents
Reading (20 – 30 min)
A reading that provides an overview of vectors and vector-borne diseases. Go to the Reading
Video (~8 min)
A video that explains the potential impact of climate change on disease vectors and the spread of diseases, and consequently, on human health outcomes. Go to the Video
Classroom/ Laboratory activity (60 – 90 min)
A classroom/laboratory activity to examine maps on malaria distribution, study temperature data, establish potential links between disease distribution and temperature, and predict the effect of climate change on disease distribution. Go to the Activity
Game (computer-based) (~60 min)
A computer-based game to help students understand the impact of climate on health, identify diseases, and choose actions or policies for adapting to and mitigating the spread of diseases. Play the Game
Step-by-Step User Guide
Questions/Assignments
Learning Outcomes
Additional Resources
Credits
Here is a step-by-step guide to using this lesson plan in the classroom/laboratory. We have suggested these steps as a possible plan of action. You may customize the lesson plan according to your preferences and requirements.
• With the help of the reading, “Vector-borne diseases”, introduce the topic of vector-borne diseases and the factors that influence their distribution and spread.
• Proceed to explain malaria (or another vector-borne disease) and its transmission.
• Discuss the environmental conditions that are conducive for the spread of malaria (or another vector-borne disease).
2. Play a video
• Then, play this video titled “Human Health, Vector-Borne Diseases, and Climate Change”, which can be used as a micro-lecture.In this video, Mary Hayden and Andy Monaghan from the National Center for Atmospheric Research discuss the role of weather and climate as one of the factors that could impact the spread of diseases, thus potentially affecting human health outcomes.
• Now, explore this topic in an engaging manner by conducting the activity, “Beyond the Bite: Mosquitoes & Malaria”, developed by Institute for Global Environmental Strategies.
• Print the maps and other data sheets for your students.
• Conduct the activity in the classroom or laboratory by following the procedure described in the downloaded file.
4. Facilitate a game-based activity
• Students can play the computer-based game “Climate Health Impact”, from Big Picture/Playgen, for an interactive experience.
• This game will enable students to understand the possible effects of climate change on human health in different regions of the world, to identify diseases from their symptoms, and to explore measures (specifically, policies) for adaptation and mitigation:
• Conduct the game-based activity by using the guidelines in the “Teacher Notes”.
• Note: This game requires a Flash player; therefore, it may not play in some browsers. The game works in Firefox.
Use the tools and the concepts learned so far to discuss and determine answers to the following questions:
• What are the major vector-borne diseases and their symptoms? What is the current geographical distribution of these diseases globally?
• Explain whether climate-related factors influence the distribution and spread of vector-borne diseases.
• How could an increase in the average global temperature affect the geographical distribution of malaria?
• Recommend specific actions/policies that can help in mitigating the spread of vector-borne diseases caused by a rise in average global temperature, increase in sea-levels, and growth in population.
The tools in this lesson plan will enable students to:
• enumerate some vectors and the diseases that they cause
• discuss the causes for the spread of vector-borne diseases
• explain the possible link between climate change and the distribution/spread of infectious vector-borne diseases
• discuss climate change-related actions and policies that will help in adapting to and mitigating the spread of vector-borne diseases
If you or your students would like to explore the topic further, these additional resources will be useful.
All the teaching tools and images in our collated list are owned by the corresponding creators/authors/organizations as listed on their websites. Please view the individual copyright and ownership details for each tool by following the individual links provided. We have selected and analyzed the tools that align with the overall objective of our project and have provided the corresponding links. We do not claim ownership of or responsibility/liability for any of the listed tools.
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