Influenza Lesson Plans

The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918/1919 produced a large global demographic footprint. Using the geographic inquiry process, students will research the casualty statistics of theSpanish flu from countries around the world and synthesize them into a map to communicate the pattern of the pandemic.

Past to present, demography – students will compare the past to present demographic patterns of Canada, and use Spanish flu casualty statistics to project the demographic impact of this event today.

This lesson will explore the impact of the Spanish flu pandemic on the development of a public health system integrated across all three levels of government in Canada through a civics-based inquiry model, with a particular focus on the concepts of political thinking: political significance, objectives and results, stability and change, and political perspective.

This lesson will explore the impact of the Spanish flu pandemic on marginalized groups in Canada through the examination of statistical data.

Using the knowledge and skills developed regarding the spread of viruses, development and use of vaccines to prevent the spread of disease, and the role of public health, develop a social media campaign that could be used by public health in the lead-up to the next flu season.

Using a comparative approach, examine the role that public health plays in our daily life today when it comes to disease outbreak and control.

Using data published by FluWatch, the Public Health Agency’s weekly reporting on the state of influenza in Canada, students will analyze and interpret the data, looking for trends and influences on the spread of influenza in Canada. Students will also use critical thinking skills to consider the value and use in public health compiling and releasing data like this to the public.

Students research diseases, epidemics and pandemics (epidemics that occur over a large geographic area) and connect these to types of diseases, causes, and impact. It concludes with a prediction of how First Nations and Inuit might be affected by contact with Europeans and their diseases and hypothesizes reasons for such effects which can lead to a specific lesson in Indigenous history.

Students do a clipping thesis in which they analyze how the media reports on diseases. To get used to generating their own questions rather than using the suggestions, you can use the Snowball task (see Appendix). The Clipping Thesis can serve as an opening for a deeper inquiry into the role of diseases in history (see lesson that explores this), the Spanish flu, or within a study of the Spanish flu when looking at media reportage.