Dr. David Childs, D.D., Ph.D.
Northern Kentucky University
With so much misinformation online and in the media about COVID-19 it can be challenging to know what information is accurate and useful. Teachers can combat this by educating students and the public about the pandemic. Indeed educators can offer reliable information about the coronavirus. For example, they can teach students the science behind the virus, the effectiveness of vaccines and social distancing, and the usefulness of wearing masks. Classroom teachers can combat the conspiracy theories and false information that has inundated social media and the Internet.
(Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock)
There are some online resources and lesson plans that can help teachers provide reliable information about COVID-19. An effective way to stop the spread of the virus is to win the information war, and eradicate the false information that is widespread about the pandemic. K-12 classrooms can be the optimal environment to do this. Check out the creative lesson plans and resources below that can assist in this effort. 
The success of Hong Kong and Singapore in stemming the spread of the coronavirus holds many lessons for how to contain it in the United States.Photograph by Tsuji Keith / Abaca / ZUMA
BrainPOP Coronavirus Lesson Plans
The BrainPOP Coronavirus Lesson Plan is designed for grades 3-8. In describing the lesson and details of the material the website states:
“This lesson plan accompanies the BrainPOP topic, Coronavirus, and can be completed over several class periods. In this lesson students will:
- Activate prior knowledge about viruses, and specifically about the coronavirus.
- Use critical thinking skills to identify and connect facts about the coronavirus.
- Demonstrate understanding through creative projects, such as producing a public service announcement and coding an interview with a doctor.
- Present projects and reflect on new understandings.”
Other Resources and Lesson Plans on COVID-19
American Federation of Teacher- Lesson Plan
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences- Lesson Plan
National Geographic Learning Teaching Materials on COVID-19
Teach Your Students about Covid-19 with Lifeliqe Lessons
Florida Literacy Classroom Lesson – Coronovirus (COVID-19)
Lysol- Prevent the Spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Lesson Plan
Crisis Collaboration: COVID-19 Mini Lesson
Free Coronavirus Science Lesson Plans
NEA News- How Teachers Are Integrating COVID-19 Crisis Into Their Lessons
I found this article very helpful to read since I am going to be a future educator of students that have never had a normal school year since Covid happened. I think it’s very important to teach them accurate information about the pandemic. Especially for younger students who may not have a true understanding of it. I also never thought of using it as science lesson, but I think this would be interesting since it’s a current topic and something the students have sadly all experienced.
I enjoyed this topic because Covid has dramatically affected the school system. Now that students and educators are back in the classroom, I think it is important for the schools to take safety measures and that also includes providing students accurate information about the virus and how we can stop the spread. This is crucial because now a days so many young children have access to the internet and are being feed with false information.
I like that the article mentions teaching the science behind the spread of Covid – 19. I like that the article also mentions the spread of misinformation. I was also unaware that there were lesson plans available. Not only can this information be used to prevent the spread of Covid – 19, it also includes information about basic prevention techniques.
I can’t think of anything more exhausting than being a teacher during this pandemic (other than being a medical professional, of course). You are literally in the middle of culture war, an actual medical crisis, AND you’re responsible for teaching your normal curriculum. It makes me glad I never entered the profession, AND glad I never had kids.
I understand the importance of knowing about the virus. But it seems like information about COVID is always changing daily. If I were a teacher, I would only talk about the importance of wearing a mask, washing your hands, taking vitamins, etc. Because information like that stays the same. I wouldn’t necessarily talk about the virus because it is always changing.
There are many pros and cons to having easy access to the internet. A con is the spread of misinformation. I have seen many people spread information about the coronavirus that doesn’t seem to have credibility to it. Therefore, I think teaching about the coronavirus in classroom would be beneficial since kids learning about and understanding the coronavirus with reliable information from credible sources could fight the misinformation and they potentially could correct some of the misinformation.
“Combating Misinformation by Teaching about the Coronavirus in K-12 Classrooms” by Dr. David Childs offers teachers insights into how to stop the spread of COVID-19 misinformation. An important point Childs makes is that K-12 classrooms are the ideal place to eradicate false information. I completely agree and I think the most effective way for teachers to do this is through a lesson. A lesson plan that stood out to me in this article is the “BrainPOP Coronavirus Lesson Plan.” What I liked most about this lesson plan was that students are made to investigate what the Coronavirus is and how to contain it, and create a project. Not only does this promote critical thinking, but also offers students a chance to be creative and interactive.
The past two years has been filled with news about the pandemic and most of the time it is hard to decipher what is true and what isn’t. Teachers especially have an important job in educating their students on vaccines, global pandemics and everything else with COVID-19. It is also important for teachers to help students make their own decisions when it comes to topics like vaccines. Teachers should be there as a source of information for students and not trying to persuade them one way or another. Schools have been so affected by the pandemic and should be a place where students have a safe place to learn about these hard topics.
Since Covid has been one of the main topics for a while now, it is good to get correct information on it. Teachers have one of the best situations where they can spread their knowledge and inform their students to keep them up to date with correct information so we can beat this pandemic.
Covid has been a talking point for two years now. Covid fatigue is a major problem in the healthcare industry, which is where I have my employment as well. It would be lovely for everyone to learn more about how viruses work as well as how vaccines work. Moreover, it would be wonderful for people to understand that mRNA vaccines are not new and were not suddenly rushed over a year. mRNA vaccines have been in study since 1960. If people would just understand that fact, many anti-vaccine theories lose their footing.