ABLE Online Lesson
Bird Flu Pandemic
Reading Science, Calculating
Percentage, Online Resources & Including Details in Writing
ê Prepare Your Brain
ê Read an Article
ê Information You Can Use
ê Write About It
ê Wrap Up
ê Resources
Terms to Know
ê pandemic
ê epidemic
ê ominous
ê virus
: Need a word’s
definition? Try www.dictionary.com.
Think About It
According to
the Centers for Disease Control, about 36,000 Americans die on average per year
from the complications of flu. To give
you an idea of how many people that is, in 2002, the population of
Calculate
This
No doubt, 36,000 is a lot of people,
but it is actually a small percentage of the number of people in the
& This section deals with calculating
percentages. If you would like to review
percentages, read Steck-Vaughn’s GED Mathematics
beginning on page 132.
Go to the
U.S. Census Bureau’s Population Clock:
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html
1. What is the current projected
population of the
2. If 36,000 people were to die of flu,
what percentage of the
3. Another way to explain percentage is
to say, “x in every 100 people will
be affected.” Rewrite this statement so x represents the percentage you found in
#2.
Go to the
World Population Clock:
http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/popclockworld.html
3. Write down the projected population
of the world, noting the date and time of the projection.
4. If the same percentage you
calculated for #2 were killed by flu throughout the world (in reality, this
percentage could be higher in countries where flu vaccines are not available or
where medical care is not as advanced), what is the number of people who could
die worldwide from the flu?
ê It’s
important to keep the “big picture” in mind when reading statistics. Big
numbers can seem much smaller when they are translated into the percentage of
the whole they represent.
For
example, it is much scarier to think that flu kills more people than the whole
population of Kent in one year than it is to say it kills x% of the U.S.
population. ê
“Danger of Flu Pandemic is Clear, if Not Present” by Denise
Grady
Grady, D. (2005, October 9).
Danger of flu pandemic is clear, if not present. New York Times. Online.
It’s easiest if you print this
article so you can mark the text.
Thinking About What You’ve Read:
1.
What
does President Bush want to happen so the
2.
“But scientists say that
although the threat from the current avian virus is real, it is probably not
immediate.”
Considering
the above sentence, what does the word “avian” most likely mean?
3.
Currently,
which virus has scientists most worried?
4.
What
traits does this virus have that makes it so worrisome?
5.
Why is information about the 1918 epidemic making officials more
concerned about the bird flu in
6.
According to the article, what causes a pandemic?
7.
What evidence does Dr. Fauci give to support his belief that the
world is “overdue” for a pandemic?
8.
Why do viruses become less deadly the more transmissible they are?
9.
Give some of the conditions that were present in the
Considering the article as a whole…
10.
What is the purpose of this article?
11.
Is this article biased, meaning, does it support only one side of
the issue? Give information to support
your answer.
12.
In your own words, summarize the main idea of this article. It may be useful to discuss the article with
another student or tutor before creating your summary.
The Centers for
Disease Control (CDC) is the
Go to the
CDC’s site:
1. Click around on the CDC site for a
few minutes. What kinds of information
on this site could be useful to you?
2. In your own words, what is the
purpose of the CDC? (This can be found
under “About CDC”)
3. According to the site, what is the
amount of money budgeted to the CDC for 2005? (Hint: Look under “Budget” on the
“About CDC” page.)
Read the
CDC’s article about preventing the flu:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/preventing.htm
4. According to the article, what are
two ways you can prevent yourself from getting the flu?
5. What is the BEST way to prevent the
flu?
Read more
information about the Flu Vaccine:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm
6. According to this article, what are
two “high risk” groups who should get the flu vaccine first?
7. When will vaccines be available to
all people, including ones not in “priority groups”?
8. What are some of the side effects of
flu vaccines?
9. Which people should NOT be
vaccinated?
Go to: www.flucliniclocator.org
10.What is one location where the flu vaccine is available
near you this season?
Using Personal Experience
Think back
to memory you have of your teen years.
What do you remember best? It is
probably the details. Details are what
make stories memorable. Remember what
the shirt your mother made you wear looked like? The way your dog smelled after he met a
skunk? Consider the following sentences:
Sample
#1
Computers have made a
difference in my life in many ways.
Sample
#2
Whether I am sitting at
work or out for an evening with my family, computers have an impact in my
life. This impact can be both positive
and negative.
Notice that
the samples have the same main idea.
Sample #2 gives more details, making it more interesting to read. On the GED test, including details of
personal experiences makes your writing come alive – and it makes your essay
longer! Let’s try it.
Prewriting Activity
By
completing this online lesson, you have had a chance to experience using a
computer in many different ways. Before
you begin your essay, write a journal entry about your experience during this
lesson. What parts of using a computer
have been positive? What parts were
negative? Review your journal and
incorporate these ideas into your finished essay.
Essay Topic
Computers have become a part of our lives.
In a well-written essay, describe the ways computers
have affected our daily lives. You may
wish to deal with the good effects, bad effects, or both.
Some ideas to remember from this lesson:
Math:
ê Percentages are another way to show
part of a whole.
ê Sometimes percentages can help
people see the “big picture” more accurately.
Science:
ê Pandemics have occurred through out
history.
ê Virus can create pandemics when they
develop properties that make them transmittable to humans.
ê There are numerous factors that
contribute to the danger of a virus becoming a pandemic.
History/Government:
ê The Centers for Disease Control is
the
ê The CDC website provides updated information
about various health topics.
Online Resources/Health Information:
ê The best way to prevent influenza is
through flu vaccines.
ê Some groups of people are more at
risk from the flu than others. Some
people should NOT get a flu vaccine.
Writing:
ê Details are what make good stories
and good writing come to life.
ê Including personal experiences can
make your writing more interesting (and your essays longer!)
ê A good way to think about a topic
before creating an essay is to journal.
- World Population Clock http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/popclockworld.html
- “Danger of Flu Pandemic is Clear, if Not Present” by
Denise Grady (NYT, 10/9/2005)
- Centers for Disease Control www.cdc.gov
- Preventing the Flu http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/preventing.htm
- Key Facts about the Flu Vaccine
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm
- Flu Vaccine Clinic Locator www.flucliniclocator.org