DESK
Course:
US History II (11th grade)
L e s s o n
Title
History Mystery: 1918 Influenza
Author / Source
RaDon Andersen, Northridge High School
Objectives
What will students
know and be able to
do at the end of this
lesson?
This lesson is designed to help students work with a variety of primary and secondary
source documents, develop an argument, defend a position, and connect an historical
event to today. Students will also analyze the role of government in preventing
disease, and examine historical clues to determine relevant information.
Lesson Materials
and Resources
All materials are included in the lesson. Materials used include:
1 set of clues for each group of 5 students
Copies of the 1918 Mystery Group Worksheet for each group of 5 students
Resources used for this lesson include:
Kolata, Gina. Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search
for the Virus that Caused It. New York; Simon and Schuster. 2001.
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/influenza-epidemic/
Instructional
Activities
Begin the lesson by providing some background information:
Life in America in 1918 was pretty exciting. The country had just entered the Great
War, however, the danger was in Europe, not in America. Most Americans felt safe,
and there were plenty of distractions; movies, cars, sports, and radio programs helped
people forget the realities of war.
In the middle of this prosperity, a great tragedy occurred. In March 1918, at Fort
Riley, Kansas, a soldier went to the infirmary with what he thought was a bad cold.
Twenty-four hours later, he was dead. By the end of the week, 500 soldiers were sick,
and 24 had died. By the end of 1918, over 600,000 Americans were dead, and 30 to
70 million people world-wide had died.
Tell the students their task is to examine a set of clues to determine what happened. In
particular, they need to look for answers to these questions:
 What caused the deaths?
 Why did people die so quickly?
 How did the deaths affect America and the world?
 How were the deaths impacted by the war, and vice versa?
 How did government actions help, and hinder, the situation?
 Could something similar happen again?
Put students in to groups of 5. Instruct each group to choose a recorder, and a
spokesperson. Distribute a set of clues to each group, insuring that each student has at
least 2 clues.
Instruct students to examine their own clues first, then discuss their clues with other
members of the group.
© 2/16/2016 Davis School District, Farmington, UT 84025
All Rights Reserved
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Groups should work together to complete the “1918 Mystery Group Worksheet”.
When all work is complete, the spokesperson from each group will present the
conclusions of his / her group.
After each group has had the opportunity to share, discuss the “answer” with students.
Include connections to their answers whenever possible (point out parts of the mystery
that they “solved”).
A short explanation:
A very powerful virus, influenza, was responsible for the deaths of millions in 1918.
The disease is airborne, so it spread quickly through the close quarters of military
units. As units from around the world traveled to Europe to fight in the war, the virus
mutated, so when the soldiers returned home, they brought an entirely different strain
with them. Public gatherings, such as war bond drives and patriotic parades, also
contributed to the rapid spread of the disease. Unfortunately, doctors believed the
disease was bacterial, so their efforts to stop the spread of the disease were not
effective.
Formative
Assessment
How will I check for
understanding?
How will students
show what they
know?
Students will be assessed based on their participation in the group and class
discussions and completion of the group worksheet.
Extending the
Lesson
What are ways to
reteach the
objectives?
What are ways to
enrich the lesson?
There are several videos and other resources that could be valuable in extending the
lesson, or providing additional enrichment for students. These include:
American Experience: Influenza 1918. PBS Home Video, 1998.
Secrets of the Dead: Killer Flu. PBS Home Video, 2004.
There are also several primary source documents available at:
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/influenza-epidemic/records-list.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/influenza/
© 2/16/2016 Davis School District, Farmington, UT 84025
All Rights Reserved
Page 2 of 2