Communicable diseases

Introduction

Welcome to this unit on communicable diseases.

Communicable diseases means a disease that you can "catch" from someone or something else.

This is similar to the word contagious, which you may have heard before. There are many common communicable diseases in our society, and some not so. They can be spread to each in a number of different ways. There are also many things we can do to prevent the spread of these diseases. In the research assignment you will learn about this.

Task

There have been 10 communicable diseases reported within our school community in the past few years.

Parents are not always aware of the signs and symptoms of these diseases and as a result don’t seek medical treatment straight away. This leads to the students (you) being sent to school while you may be contagious and not receiving the correct treatment. There are also a number of things we can do to prevent the spread of these diseases.

Our task is to create an information brochure that will be sent home to parents informing them of vital information of the these diseases.

Process

There are five steps in this task

1) - Students will work in pairs.

2) - Select one illness per pair to research. Research websites are listed below.

Pediculosis (head lice)
Measles
Rubella
Influenza (including Swine Flu)
Chicken Pox (varicella)
School sores
Hand foot and mouth disease
Fifth Disease (Slap Cheek)
Ringworm
Whopping cough (pertussis)

3) - Research your illness including the following important information.

How it is contracted - causes
Signs and symptoms
Prevention
Treatment
Exclusion from school (Including brothers and sisters if need be)
Contagious period
Any complications

4) - Create an A4 information sheet using ICT in publisher or word. It can be front and back if need be.

5) - Present your information sheet to the class. This will be an informal talk regarding the information on the poster.

RESEARCH WEBSITES

Pediculosis (head lice)

http://health.vic.gov.au/headlice/

http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/headlice/Pages/treatment.aspx

http://www.healthline.com/health/lice/how-long-do-lice-live#Lice1

Measles

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs286/en/

http://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/health+topics/health+conditions+prevention+and+treatment/infectious+diseases/measles

http://www.health.gov.au/internet/immunise/publishing.nsf/Content/immunise-measles

http://www.dhhs.tas.gov.au/peh/communicable_diseases_prevention_unit/infectious_diseases/measles

Rubella

http://www.health.gov.au/internet/immunise/publishing.nsf/Content/immunise-rubella

http://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/health+topics/health+conditions+prevention+and+treatment/infectious+diseases/rubella

http://www.ncirs.edu.au/immunisation/education/mmr-decision/rubella.php

Influenza (including Swine Flu)

http://www.health.gov.au/internet/immunise/publishing.nsf/Content/immunise-influenza

http://www.ncirs.edu.au/immunisation/fact-sheets/influenza-fact-sheet.pdf

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/swine-flu/basics/symptoms/con-20034916

http://humanswineflu.health.vic.gov.au/

Chicken Pox (varicella)

http://www.health.gov.au/internet/immunise/publishing.nsf/Content/immunise-varicella

http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/skin/chicken_pox.html

http://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/Chickenpox_Varicella/

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chickenpox/basics/symptoms/con-20019025

School sores

http://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/Impetigo_school_sores/

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/impetigo_or_school_sores

http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=114&np=303&id=1441

http://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/health+topics/health+conditions+prevention+and+treatment/infectious+diseases/school+sores

Hand foot and mouth disease

http://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/Hand_foot_and_mouth_disease_coxsackie_virus/

http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/Pages/handfootmouth.aspx

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/hand_foot_and_mouth_disease?open

http://www.dhhs.tas.gov.au/peh/communicable_diseases_prevention_unit/infectious_diseases/hfm_disease

Fifth Disease (Slap Cheek)

http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/skin/fifth.html

http://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/Slapped_cheek_or_Fifth_syndrome/

http://www.dhhs.tas.gov.au/peh/communicable_diseases_prevention_unit/infectious_diseases/parvovirus

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Slapped_cheek_disease

Ringworm

http://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/Ringworm/

http://www.medicinenet.com/ringworm/article.htm

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/ringworm-myths-facts

Whopping cough (pertussis)

http://www.health.gov.au/internet/immunise/publishing.nsf/Content/immunise-pertussis

http://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/Whooping_cough/

http://www.healthdirect.gov.au/whooping-cough

http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/lung/whooping_cough.html

http://www.dhhs.tas.gov.au/peh/communicable_diseases_prevention_unit/infectious_diseases/pertussis

Evaluation

You will be assessed on your information sheet with the following rubric.

	Above Standard expected	At standard expected	Below standard expected
Explanation of disease	Provided a clear and accurate explanation of disease	Provided an accurate description of disease	Attempted an explanation of disease
Description of signs and symptoms	Provided a clear and accurate description of signs and symptoms (6-8) of disease	Provided a clear and accurate description of signs and symptoms (3-6) of disease	Provided a clear and accurate description of signs and symptoms (1-2) of disease
Description of how disease is contracted	Provided a clear and accurate description of how disease is contracted	Provided a description of how disease is contracted	Provided little to no description on how disease is contracted
Information on how disease can be prevented	Provided clear and accurate information on prevention of disease	Provided some information on prevention of disease	Provided little to no information on prevention of disease
Information on how disease can be treated	Provided clear and accurate information on treatment of disease	Provided some information on treatment of disease	Provided little to no information on treatment of disease
Information on exclusion from school details	Provided clear and accurate information on exclusion from school details	Provided some accurate information on exclusion from school details	Provided little to no information on exclusion from school details
Information about contagious periods	Provided clear and accurate information on contagious periods	Provided some accurate information on contagious periods	Provided little to no information on exclusion from school details

Conclusion

You will have learnt a great deal about your communicable disease and others from these brochures.

Hopefully this information will help parents by providing them with useful information that they may not have known about.

Credits

ACARA. (2014). Year 5 & 6 Health and Phsical Education content descriptors. Retreived from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/health-and-physical-education/curriculum/f-10?layout=1#level5-6

ACARA. (2014). Year 5 English content descriptor. Retreived from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/english/curriculum/f-10?layout=1#level5

Teacher Page

Curriculum Links:

Health & Physical Education: Year 5 & 6

Being healthy, safe and active

Investigate community resources and strategies to seek help about health, safety and wellbeing (ACPPS053)

Contributing to healthy and active communities

Investigate the role of preventive health in promoting and maintaining health, safety and wellbeing for individuals and their communities (ACPPS058)

English: Year 5

Creating texts

Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive print and multimodal texts, choosing text structures, language features, images and sound appropriate to purpose and audience (ACELY1704)

Objectives:

1) Students will research a communicable diesease using resources provided through webquest.

2) Students will present findings through an informative text including: how it is contracted, causes, prevention, treatment, signs and symptoms, exclusion from school, contagious period.