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Epidemic!
Goal: Students will understand the desperate and critical nature of the 1955 polio epidemic and the urgent need for an effective vaccine.
Objectives:
1) Students will analyze two documents – one a newspaper article from August 23, 1955, and the other a newspaper article from April 12, 2005.
2) Students will record their observations about the content of the 1955 article in questions 1, 2, 4, and 6.
3) Students will synthesize information in formulating their answers to question 3.
4) Students will write an emotional response to the death of a child who had received the first Salk vaccine shot.
5) Students will synthesize information about the effectiveness of the polio vaccine.
6) Students will participate in a class discussion about the Salk vaccine.
Read the article entitled “County Has Six New Cases for 205 Total” published Tuesday, August 23, 1955 in the Post-Crescent newspaper. Read the article once to get a general impression of the theme and a second time to focus on details.
1) What does the article list as the county total of polio cases? What does it list as the total number of
2) The article states that, “The disease is said to have reached epidemic proportions when there is one case to every 1,000 persons.” What was the rate of incidence (1 case per every _____ people) in
3) Given what you know about polio and how it was thought to be spread, do you think that a new case in the city or in a rural area would cause more concern? Explain your answer.
4) What news is the article reporting about Linda Mae Petasek?
5) If you were reading this article in the midst of a polio epidemic, how would you feel about hearing that a child who had received the Salk vaccine had died?
6) In what way does the
7) If you knew nothing else about the Salk vaccine, but were told that 21 articles are listed in the Post-Crescent index under the heading “poliomyelitis” for the year 1955 and 6 are listed for 1956, what could you infer about the effectiveness of the vaccine?
Now, read the article entitled “Polio Vaccine Hits 50-Year Mark” from the April 12, 2005 Post-Crescent. After reading the article, hold a class discussion about the Salk Vaccine, the eradication of polio in the
Newspaper article "County has six new cases for 205 total," Appleton Post-Crescent, August 23, 1955.
Newspaper article "Polio Vaccine hits 50-Year Mark," Appleton Post-Crescent, April 12, 1955.
