February 23, 2016
THE BASICS
Topic: Zika Virus
http://www.ibtimes.com/zika-virus-update-brazil-send-220000-soldiers-door-door-teach-mothers-about-2282220
Articles
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“Airline Bookings Drop After Zika Warning (video) (2/22) (Reuters)
“Venezuela ‘under-reporting Zika cases’” (2/21) (BBC News)
“NIH officials accelerate timeline for human trials of Zika vaccine, saying they will now begin in
the summer” (2/17) (The Washington Post)
“What real threat does Zika pose to the Rio Olympics? History has an answer” (2/12) (CNN)
“White House seeks $1.8B to fight Zika virus” (2/8) (The Hill)
“Here’s the Other Zika Problem Experts Are Worried About” (2/8) (Time)
Questions to Consider
 What is the Zika virus? How is it spread? What are the possible medical effects of the virus? Why
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does the warning to pregnant women make this virus both serious and difficult to control?
What medical treatment is available? How long might it take to produce an anti-Zika vaccine?
What might be the effect on attendance for the Summer Olympics in Brazil?
What is Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS)? How do medical researchers use data to pinpoint
disease?
How does the reporting language about the Zika virus relate to public reaction? What are the
adjectives that can cause panic about the virus? How is it possible to balance appropriate
warnings about any virus without warnings which lead to panic?
Which organizations are reliable sources of information about the Zika virus? What are the
dangers of using inflammatory language when reporting on the Zika virus?
What is the impact of a declaration of an international health emergency?
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How is the attention to the Zika virus similar to the coverage of the Ebola virus? What can we
learn from dealing with Ebola? Does the fact that Zika does not kill people make it less
threatening than Ebola?
What is the role of poverty in the spread of the Zika virus through exposure to mosquitoes?
What is a “war on mosquitoes”? Where do mosquitoes thrive?
Are mosquito-killing insecticides such as DDT an appropriate choice in the war against the Zika
virus? Why or why not?
What responsibility do richer nations have to research and fund efforts to counterattack disease
threats that attack poorer nations?
Is the concern about the spread of the Zika virus a health issue, a political issue, a media issue, a
rights issue, an ethical issue?
THE EXTRAS
Pre-teaching, Extensions & Further Reading
 “Zika Virus: What Happened When” (2/10) (NPR)
 “Short Answers to Hard Questions About Zika Virus” (2/12) (The NY Times)
 “Zika Virus: A New Threat and a New Kind of Pandemic” (1/13) (National Geographic)
 “The Great Zika Freak-Out: A Teaching Moment in the Psychology of Fear” (bigthink.com)
Lesson Plans
 “Zika Virus ‘Spreading Explosively’ in Americas, W.H.O. says” (1/29) (The Learning Network)
What’s the Connection?
Constitutional
 “What can Obama and Congress do about the Zika virus?” (2/8) (The Washington Post)
Oregon
 “Zika virus not a threat to Oregon, public health official says” (1/30) (Statesman Journal)
Students
 “Schools cancel trips to Zika-affected countries” (2/4) (Boston Globe)
Oregon State Social Science Standards
8.26. Examine a controversial event, issue, or problem from more than one perspective.
HS.33. Explain the role of government in various current events.
HS.35. Examine the pluralistic realities of society (e.g., race, poverty, gender, and age),
recognizing issues of equity, and evaluating need for change.
HS.59. Demonstrate the skills and dispositions needed to be a critical consumer of information.
HS.60. Analyze an event, issue, problem, or phenomenon form varied or opposing perspectives
or points of view.
CCSS Anchor Standards
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key
supporting details and ideas.
4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical,
connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or
tone.
6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and
quantitatively, as well as in words.
8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the
reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
We the People Lesson Connections
Middle School, Level 2
 Unit 6, Lesson 28: What is the relationship of the United States to other nations in the
world?
High School, Level 3
 Unit 4, Lesson 21: What is the role of Congress in American Constitutional Democracy?
 Unit 4, Lesson 23: What is the role of the President in the American Constitutional
System?
 Unit 6, Lesson 38: What are the challenges of the participation of the United States in
world affairs?