This resource collection is designed for middle and high school educators who want to cover the Ebola outbreak with their students. Check back for more resources as they become available.

1. KQED Edspace and PBS NewsHour Extra | Do Now: How can we help fight the Ebola outbreak?

 

NewsHour Extra and KQED Edspace asked teachers to bring Twitter into their classrooms to answer the question: How can the international community help combat Ebola? We provided background information for students on the v irus and told them to use the hashtag #DoNowEbola. Using the best responses from students across the country, we put together a rundown on how students understand the disease and their role in the epidemic.

2. PBS NewsHour Extra | Ebola outbreak | Lesson plan

 

Use this mission-based lesson plan to help students learn basic concepts about epidemiology in the context of the current outbreak and apply what they have learned to design a strategy to control the epidemic. An Ebola outbreak: mission instruction and resources – digital student guide has been created to guide students through their mission from start to finish and is filled with engaging cross-curricular videos, texts and other support materials.

3. PBS NewsHour Extra: Ebola in the News collection | Videos, text and handouts

 

Use this collection of Ebola-related news stories from the PBS NewsHour and support materials designed to inform students on the health crisis spreading through parts of Western Africa. The informational text and student handouts are designed for students at the middle and high school level. The collection will be updated as more stories become available.

4. Frontline: Ebola Outbreak | Documentary, interactive map and article

 

Ebola Outbreak is a 27-minute documentary film from Frontline that brings the viewer into the center of the health crisis burning through West Africa. The story follows the lives of the patients, doctors and volunteer workers joined together by the deadly virus Ebola in its worst recorded outbreak in history. For a student worksheet and teacher answer sheet designed to be used with this documentary please click on the corresponding link. Explore the interactive map above, created by Frontline , to watch the spread of the Ebola outbreak or visit Map: How the Ebola Outbreak Spread Through Africa to access the full experience including guided text and deeper context of the outbreak.

MSF on Ebola: “This is the Biggest Outbreak We’ve Ever Known”

In this article, Frontline interviewed Estrella Lasry, a medical specialist from Doctors Without Boarders/Médecins Sans Frontières with previous outbreak experience in Africa, about why this particular outbreak has been so deadly compared to previous ones.

5. PBS NewsHour: Ebola-related articles | Informational texts

 

This is how you get Ebola by Ruth Tam

This article is perfect for more advanced readers who also have a solid foundation in biology. Click here to download a PDF version of the text.

WHO: ‘Many thousands of new cases’ of Ebola expected in Liberia by Larisa Epatko

Use this article to help students contextualize the challenges faced by the affected African country of Liberia and partner health organizations. Appropriate for middle and high school students. Click here for a printable version of this informational text.

6. The Hot Zone by Richard Preston | Excerpt and study guide

 

Use this chilling excerpt from The Hot Zone to get your students engaged. Note: the text describes the symptoms of Ebola in graphic detail. Please read the excerpt and then decide if it is appropriate for your students. For a printable version of the text please click here . For a study guide created by educator Andrew Goldenkranz to accompany the book, please visit Richard Preston's website.

7. Center for Disease Control | Lesson plans and teacher guides on epidemiology

 

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the nation's acclaimed public health institute responsible for leading both research and outreach efforts related to disease. Epidemiology is the branch of science that studies the origin and spread of diseases, like Ebola, and apply what they  learn to create strategies to combat outbreaks that put the public at risk.  The CDC has created a series of six engaging lesson plans on infectious disease epidemiology that can be used together or as stand alone lessons. Please click here to be taken to them. You can also find updates and information on the current Ebola outbreak on their website. Help your students join our conversation on Twitter on how the international community can help the epidemic with the hashtag #DoNowEbola .