11-13 yrs old
14-18 yrs old
18+ yrs old
Animals
Climate & Environment
Science
In this lesson plan, students will learn some of the basics of epidemiology, one health, and controlling vector-borne diseases
July 2, 2020
Mosquito World File
Download the associated world file for the Mosquito-borne diseases lesson
Lesson plan handouts and worksheets
In this pdf, you will find all the color charts, worksheets, and other lesson plan information.
Teacher Cheat Sheet and Notes
This pdf contains specific site information, such as, which disease is present, ways to determine disease at the site, and examples of control methods
1. Students should understand the multiple components of mosquito-borne diseases that
are common in the United States. Prepare the students by watching one or both of the
following videos:
• “One Mosquito Bite Can Change a Life Forever”
https://www.mosquito.org/page/imone?&hhsearchterms=%22am+and+one%
22
• “Mosquito Control and Why It Is Important”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw4JvqSrbCc
2. From the videos, the students should be able to understand that mosquitoes are still
the number one most dangerous animal on the planet, and all it takes is just one
mosquito bite to change a life forever.
3. Before starting the Minecraft activities, discuss the importance of mosquitoes and
mosquito-borne diseases in the United States. Use the following questions to help
guide the discussion:
• Why are mosquitoes important?
• What mosquito-borne diseases can you think of?
• How important are mosquito-borne diseases in your own area?
• Do you know where you can find information on mosquitoes and mosquitoborne
diseases in your area?
• In what ways are mosquito-borne diseases reduced?
• How would you go about making sure that there wasn’t an increased risk of
mosquito-borne diseases (West Nile virus, EEE) in your area?
• How many of your students are aware of the fact that the only way for your
pets to get heartworm is through the bite of a mosquito?
• What are some reasons why Zika virus was such a concern?
1. DESCRIBE MATERIAL IN THE COLOR CHARTS
a. What is epidemiology? (Prepare by reading “Part 1: Epidemiology”)
b. Describe the concept of an epidemiological triangle/pyramid
c. What are the different parts of the pyramid
• Red Chart = mosquito vectors
• Blue Chart = Disease agents
• Yellow/Orange Chart = Hosts and reservoirs
• Green Chart = Environment
d. How do the pieces in the different charts fit together?
• Purple Chart = Components of each disease
e. How are each of the pieces important in mosquito-borne diseases?
2. DISCUSS WAYS IN WHICH DISEASES CAN BE CONTROLLED
a. In what ways can you target some of these components for controlling or preventing
the spread of disease?
• Prepare by reading “Part 2: Disease control”
• Use the charts to begin discussion
• Black Charts = Different Control Strategies
• Are there other strategies that were not in the charts?
3. IDENTIFY THE DISEASE ECOLOGY AT 6 SITES IN THE MINECRAFT WORLD
a. Have the students tour through the Minecraft world. At each site (6 total), there will
be a character that will help students teleport to different sites.
b. Have students tour all 6 different sites (stations)
c. Have the students fill out CHART 1 as they visit each site
• Which disease is represented, How do they know which disease?
• How might they control disease in this area?
4. DIVIDE STUDENTS INTO 6 GROUPS
a. Prior to opening Minecraft, have students fill out CHART 2, describing ways in which
they will control the disease in the Minecraft World.
b. Within the Minecraft world, have students do the following:
• Have the students create their own epidemiological pyramid
• Have students modify their Minecraft site location to control disease
• Take before and after screen shots of the sites
c. When complete, have students report their findings, and explain the benefits and
the potential negative impacts of any of the control strategies used.
• Students should be able to discuss the components of their disease, and develop a
strategy to reduce risk to humans/animals.
• Students should fill out the part 1 chart, to show they understand the components of
each of the 6 mosquito-borne diseases
• Students should use the chart in part 2 as a starting point on how to plan out their
disease control strategy
• Students should present their findings in a report or presentation. Use the following
format as a guideline:
o Introduction: Have students/groups describe their mosquito-borne disease.
Why is it important? What are the different components (agent, vector, host,
environment). Have them include a screen shot of their epidemiological
pyramid created in Minecraft.
o Methods: Have them describe the control strategies they decided to
implement. Provide any interesting details on HOW these strategies were
conducted.
o Results: Have them show their screenshots of their site before and after they
implemented their changes.
o Discussion: Have them describe in what ways their modifications can help
reduce the risk of these mosquito-borne diseases. Have them also discuss
other ways to help further reduce risk. Have them describe the advantages and
disadvantages to each strategy.
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