NIE Special Report
In celebration of Black History Month, we complied a selection of videos from NBC Learn's 'Finishing the Dream' to use as an aid to teach the struggles and celebrate the triumphs of the Civil Rights movement over the span of 60 years. 'Finishing the Dream' is a project by NBC Learn, the educational arm of NBC News, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Complete Sixth Grade
Sustainability Curriculum
Publix Super Markets, Inc. has joined efforts with FPES (Florida Press Educational Services) to bring this program to sixth grade students. This FREE NIE Program will show your sixth grade students how to become responsible members of the planet, and to respect all of the resources that it has to offer.
Downloads:
►Flip Chart for Interactive White Boards
Note: Only classrooms with white boards will be able to run this file.
Lesson plans for use with the e-Edition on Interactive White Boards
Included are basic lessons for an Elementary, Middle and Secondary classroom that can be utilized to introduce Language Arts and Social Studies activities.
►Middle School Social Studies Lesson Plan
►Middle and High School Language Arts Lesson Plan
►High School Social Studies Lesson Plan
►Elementary Social Studies Lesson Plan
►Elementary and Middle School Language Arts Lesson Plan
USA Weekend Teacher Guides
New Teacher's Guides are available every Monday, complete with monthly themes highlighted in a weekly lesson and a monthly activity sheet.
►Click here to download guides from USA Weekend
About this report
Developed by the Center for Chemistry Education at Miami University, Ohio, with funding by a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) grant from the National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health.
Distributed by NIEonline.com
Downloads
►Download this report as a PDF
►Download an activity worksheet to help you remember that each type of vaccine protects against a specific kind of bacteria or virus
Additional resources
Flu information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
►2009 H1N1 Flu
►2009 H1N1 Flu in Humans
►Prevention & Treatment
►Contamination & Cleaning
►Exposures Not Thought to Spread 2009 H1N1 Flu
What are vaccines and how do they work?
Vaccines are given to protect you from infections by bacteria or viruses. In other words, vaccines give you immunity to diseases. Vaccines work by exposing you to a harmless form of bacteria or virus so that your body's immune system is ready to fight the real thing in the future.
What is the flu?
Colorized electron micrograph image of H1N1 virus.
-- CDC
"Flu" is short for influenza. It's an infection from a virus and mostly affects the nose, throat, and lungs. You might hear people say they have the "flu" when they are a little sick with a cold or an upset stomach, but the real flu usually makes you a lot sicker.
Slightly different types, or strains, of flu virus appear every year. Because people mostly get sick from these viruses in the fall and winter seasons, they are called seasonal flu.
Sometimes, a new strain of flu virus shows up that's very different from seasonal flu, like the H1N1 virus (also called swine flu) that's around now.
If I've already had vaccines, why do I need vaccines for H1N1 and seasonal flu?
You have probably been given a bunch of different vaccines--for measles, mumps, polio, and tetanus...to name a few. Each vaccine contains antigens--generally, weakened forms or small pieces of bacteria or viruses that cause certain diseases. Each vaccine protects you against just the diseases it contains antigens for. That's why you get so many different shots.
To your body, the different strains of flu virus that appear each season are like different diseases, so each year you need a new seasonal flu vaccine that contains antigens for the "new" disease. This year, people also need a vaccine that contains antigens for the 2009 H1N1 strain.
Kids under 10 will need two vaccinations for seasonal flu and two vaccinations for H1N1 flu because young immune systems need a little more exposure to the antigens to form protective amounts of antibody.
What do cows and chickens have to do with it?
Jenner
We can thank cows for one of the first vaccines.
The British doctor Edward Jenner (1749-1823) protected people from a deadly disease called smallpox by injecting them with cowpox, a weaker but similar disease found in cows. He invented the word vaccine based on the Latin word vaccinus, which means "from cows." We can thank chickens for providing the eggs in which flu viruses are grown for use in today's flu vaccine.
What else can I do to prevent flu?
Flu is passed from person to person by the tiny droplets that come out of your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough. A very important way to prevent the spread of flu is to cough or sneeze into a tissue or your sleeve.
Don't forget to also wash your hands frequently and keep your hands away from your eyes, nose, and mouth. Plus, you can support your immune system by getting plenty of fruits and vegetables, exercise, and sleep.
For more tips, see www.flu.gov.
Visit www.terrificscience.org/flu.html for a fun paper and pencil activity called "Vaccinate Me!" to go with this reading.
Developed by the Center for Chemistry Education at Miami University, Ohio, with funding by a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) grant from the National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health.
Visit http://www.terrificscience.org/healthrich/activities.html for free activities on hand hygiene and other timely health topics.
