Coronavirus

In this guide, students will learn about scientific research into bias in sporting events that was made possible by the coronavirus pandemic. Then, students will define and discuss the role of questions in the scientific method before brainstorming a scientific question of their own.

Students will discuss the definition and importance of scientific questions, explore questions that scientists were able to investigate because of the coronavirus pandemic and brainstorm their own scientific questions.

Students will analyze a graph to identify inequities in COVID-19 vaccine access among nations based on wealth, discuss how affluence affects access to and distribution of vaccines as well as how disparities in vaccine distribution affect global pandemic recovery. Students will then work in groups to research COVID-19 vaccine access and distribution in their state or local area, identify potential inequities in vaccine access and distribution and construct a graph of their own.

In this guide, students will learn about challenges in vaccinating the world against COVID-19. Then, students will discuss the possible effects of varying vaccination rates on local and global scales.

Students will think about how communities connect on local and global scales through the lens of COVID-19 vaccine distribution and consider why global collaboration in STEM is crucial for solving some large-scale issues.

Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “Global inequity in COVID-19 vaccination is more than a moral problem,” which explores the scientific and economic impacts of the failure to fairly distribute vaccines globally. A version of the story, “Vaccine inequity will prolong pandemic,” appears in the March 27, 2021 issue of Science News.

In this guide, students will learn about strategies that five universities used to monitor coronavirus cases on campuses, analyze the strategies’ effectiveness at minimizing spread and reflect on the strategies used at their own school.

Students will explore and analyze various approaches some universities have taken to manage the COVID-19 pandemic on their campuses before comparing the strategies to those used at their own school.

Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “How 5 universities tried to handle COVID-19 on campus,” which explores five universities’ strategies for monitoring and stemming the spread of the coronavirus on campuses. A version of the story, “COVID-19 on campus,” appears in the February 27, 2021 issue of Science News.

This guide asks students to reflect on the scientific highs and lows of the last year as reported by Science News. Students will analyze summaries of awe-inspiring discoveries and reflect on the COVID-19 pandemic, including their lingering questions, personal experiences and hopes for the future.

Students will review a timeline of major events related to the COVID-19 pandemic and discuss lingering questions about the pandemic. With a partner, students will reflect on how the pandemic has affected their life and what changes the near future may bring.

Students will analyze visual displays of data about clusters of coronavirus cases and work in groups to develop their own visual model of virus spread. Then, students will discuss how the way data are displayed affect data interpretation, and how the displays might inform public health decisions.