Predictions for Epidemics- Mrs. Casie Jesop

In Algebra students learned to analyze data and create prediction equations for their found data. Students first learned to find the slope of two points in their data. Second they picked one of the data points they used to find the slope and the slope and substituted the values into the point-slope formula. They then solved the point-slope formula for “y”. This gave students a prediction equation that allowed them to test values to predict an amount for a given year. Students also used graphing calculators to enter data and obtain a prediction equation. The prediction equation allows students to predict how many people would be infected by an epidemic if the epidemic continued at the found rate.

Current Cases- Mrs. Natalie Wheeler

In Health class during the month of September, students researched recent cases of rapidly spreading diseases. They were asked to choose a topic that interests them. The students were to locate a news article from the 1900s to the present, read it, and then summarize the most important aspects of the article in their own words.  After the students were done, they shared their information with other students sitting near them. The purpose of the task was to help the younger generation understand that epidemics can and are still breaking out, even with all of the scientific, medical, and technological advancements today.

Below is one example of a student’s article summary.

In Michigan, there was another reported case of bubonic plague. It is one of fourteen cases reported nationwide in 2015. The affected resident was from Marquette County, but didn’t necessarily contract it from Michigan. The resident had been visiting Colorado, which has had two deaths from the plague recently. In recent years, bubonic plague cases have mostly been from New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado. The bubonic plague is still a serious illness, but is no longer a death sentence to the affected. The plague is mostly thought of as a Middle Ages illness, but there have been on average 7 cases per year in the US in recent decades. Today, it is easily treated with modern medicine and antimicrobials.