When we think about the ways in which our world is connected, systems of global trade, international travel, or economics come to mind. But as pandemics like COVID-19 or the Spanish Flu have taught us, public health is one of the most critical aspects of our reliance on each other.
With one of the most significant global health crises in living memory sweeping the planet, now is an important time to discuss these issues with students. But with misinformation, misunderstandings, and misgivings about the virus and its effect on society, it’s vital that sources of information are reliable. Boclips for Teachers has built collections of videos and learning resources to support you in teaching the topic. Reliable resources help students understand the patterns behind epidemics, how epidemics become a pandemic, and the precautions communities and nations may take like quarantine, isolation, and vaccination development. Keep reading to discover our top five videos to use in your global health lesson plans.
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A good introduction to the topic of global health and the Coronavirus, this video covers everything from the origins of the virus, to treatments, to conspiracy theories. Middle school students could use the video as a basis to write an informative poster or guide to the virus. Meanwhile, older students can use it as evidence for an essay on truth vs misinformation about the Coronavirus.
'Flattening the curve' can be a difficult concept for kids to understand but this short animation uses the analogy of sailors at sea to simplify the idea. For elementary students, this video could be used as a hook before students create mindmaps to show the ways that they can help to flatten the curve.
This video explores pandemics throughout history including the bubonic plague, swine flu, malaria, and others. Experts from around the world discuss the aspects that governments and medical organizations need to consider to tackle the spread of disease. For high school students, this video can be used as a starting point for a research project on pandemics throughout history, their effects, and how they were overcome.
Have you ever wondered how diseases get their names? This short animation, suitable for middle school students, discusses the importance of naming a disease properly to avoid discrimination, confusion, and unnecessary fear-mongering. After watching the clip, students can be assigned names and descriptions of diseases and then evaluate whether the name is good or not. Advanced students can then go on to create a name that may be more useful, based on the criteria in the video.
This video discusses the three types of economic shocks: demand, supply, and financial. Because of the reach of Coronavirus, it has triggered all three, which makes economic recovery all the more difficult. This video can be used with older high-school students to discuss what each of the economic shocks is and what triggers them or to debate ideas for repairing the global economy. What are the pros and cons of starting a business now, for example, and what effect could this have later down the line?
Visit boclips.com/teachers to discover more videos like these in the Global Public Health and Coronavirus collections. You can also find worksheets and activities for your students by visiting our Global Public Health resource kit. Because of the fluid nature of the situation, these collections and kits will be updated regularly with new resources for your students. In the meantime, we hope that they provide you with ideas for incorporating accurate information about this vital topic into your lesson plans.