Medical Mysteries is a one to two week lesson unit pdf with readings and associated comprehension questions, a web quest, video links, optional writing assignments, and other resources on the impact of diseases on history and people’s efforts to understand and control them. It’s an introduction to the diseases that made scientific research both urgent and difficult, and to the human stories behind medical progress. It includes 3 reading selections followed by comprehension questions: The Impact of Disease on History, Solving the Mystery of Yellow Fever, and Scurvy and Sailing Ships. The first reading selection has a side bar explaining some key disease vocabulary, and a crossword puzzle provides additional practice. There is a web quest with instructions, suggested questions, and two useful links (not including Wikipedia) for each of 11 scientists so student groups can choose one to investigate and then introduce to the rest of the class. The contents and lesson plans also suggest links to excellent short videos on the Black Plague, smallpox, cholera and the London ghost map, the Spanish flu, and pellagra. Recommended for middle school up, as well as home schools and intermediate or advanced ESL students. 26 pgs including 4 answer sheets and a bibliography. If you would prefer a shorter unit and are not interested in a student web quest, see “The Impact of Disease on History” for the two main reading selections from this packet, with their comp questions and all the optional video links, or “The Mystery of Scurvy” for one two-page article, comp questions, and links to videos and information on the difficult search for the causes and treatments of what we now know are deficiency diseases. “Disease Detectives Webquest” has the introductory videos and yellow fever article leading up to the group webquest activity. 26 pages.

a 3(-4, with options) day investigation of the way scientists discovered germ theory and learned to control some of the worst epidemic diseases. The lesson plan for day 1 introduces epidemic diseases and research with 2 short videos and a reading selection. Day 2-3 gives instructions for a webquest: small groups of students each investigate and make a presentation on a specific scientist (starting with two provided links each on 11 suggested scientists.) The lesson finishes with an optional video on the current fight to eradicate polio, and then some suggested discussion questions to help students think critically about what they have learned. 12 pages including cover, 1 answer key, and credits page CCSS.ELA-Literacy R1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.1B and 4, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W7, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.9.a

This packet includes a two-page article about the difficult search for the cause of scurvy, with comprehension questions, answer key, and links to videos on the search for causes and cures of other deficiency diseases. If you would prefer a complete thematic unit on the long battle to understand and control disease, including a web quest and optional student writing or presentation ideas as well as three reading selections (this one and two more), comprehension and discussion questions, and video links, see “Medical Mysteries” in this (EnglishHints) shop.

An introduction to the diseases that changed the course of history and made scientific research both urgent and difficult. This is a shorter version of Medical Mysteries. It includes most of the teacher notes and links, two reading selections on diseases in history and on the search for the cause of yellow fever (both written fairly simply but accurately, and designed to appeal to middle school or high school students). Each reading selection is followed by comprehension questions and answer keys. It also includes a glossary, a crossword puzzle to practice disease vocabulary, and links to excellent videos and resources on several major diseases, as well as a summary discussion activity. If you would like lesson plans for a complete thematic unit on the long battle to understand and control disease, including a cooperative web quest and optional student writing or presentation ideas as well as a reading and comp questions on scurvy (besides the two reading selections and video links in this packet), see “Medical Mysteries.” 18 pages.

This simple explanation of science vocabulary (and of the scientific method) will help your students recognize important academic vocabulary and understand science and psychology news and research. The free packet includes: • Explanations and examples of vocabulary: bias, data, evaluate, factor, valid, and variable (with its variations) • A one-page explanation of the scientific method demonstrating those words and adding more vocabulary in context: conclusion, evidence, hypothesis, implications, interpret, relevant, and reproducible • A five-question multiple choice quiz based on that information • Answer key This packet is designed as a reading activity and discussion starter. Ask students for their experiences doing experiments and solving problems. Did they follow a similar procedure? What did they do differently? What were their results? What steps do they consider the most important? The quiz makes a good short review (or warm-up) for later in the week.

In this short lesson students watch a short TED Ed video about the value of sleep, read a PBS article about sleep and the teenage brain, and answer comprehension questions about what they have learned. (The questions can also be used as an anticipation guide to arouse student interest and find out how accurate their current ideas are.) They also complete a crossword puzzle based on vocabulary from the video and article. The materials were selected to be easy enough that most English language learners can follow what they say.

This free reading (or listening) comprehension worksheet can help students get the most from a very interesting short TED talk on a new approach to cancer research-- by a researcher barely out of her teens.