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I originally published this post before we realized COVID had hit the US. I’ve since deleted many of the outdated resources and kept many of the resources about historical epidemics and the racist impacts of COVID.
I know I’ve heard concerns from some students who have heard about the Coronavirus in the news, and thought I’d put together a quick list of accessible resources. I’ll be adding to them as new ones become available.
You might also be interested in:
The Best Resources For Learning About The Zika Virus
The Best Resources For Learning About The Ebola Virus
Here’s what I have:
A History Of Quarantines, From Bubonic Plague To Typhoid Mary is from NPR.
Just as ugly as the coronavirus itself is the racism that follows @lisadont @fion_li @ericpfanner https://t.co/2ZHFz9Otat
— Jihye Lee 이지혜 (@TheJihyeLee) January 30, 2020
On Social Media, Racist Responses To Coronavirus Can Have Their Own Contagion is from NPR.
The Pandemic of Xenophobia and Scapegoating is from TIME.
Fears of the coronavirus translate to discrimination, xenophobia https://t.co/bQmZh1Kgrp
— Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo) February 6, 2020
How Our Modern World Creates Outbreaks Like Coronavirus is from TIME.
How novel coronavirus spread across the world – visual explainer is from The Guardian.
How an outbreak came to be https://t.co/CzAUwwK8Uh
— Patrick LaForge (@palafo) February 13, 2020
“Thank you for the kindness. Your tweets give me strength.” How the coronavirus quarantines of 2020 are unlike any other in human history. https://t.co/rxvNODT3HA
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 18, 2020
As the new coronavirus continues to spread, so too do misinformation, racist tropes and xenophobic actions. Educators should understand the historical context and current moment so they can confront these hateful messages. This resource can help.https://t.co/r2czVYFtHI
— Teaching Tolerance (@Tolerance_org) February 14, 2020
“The most important lesson from 1918 is to tell the truth.” This compelling read, written 2+ years ago, is not going to make you feel better. https://t.co/BtsH6BzdIg
— Beth Popp Berman (@epopppp) February 29, 2020
As the world struggles to respond to the new coronavirus, “we risk missing the really big picture,” writes @PeterDaszak. “Pandemics are on the rise, and we need to contain the process that drives them, not just the individual diseases.” https://t.co/OtlOsmPr7P
— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) February 27, 2020
Coronavirus: Multilingual resources for schools | https://t.co/RlwGyc6ylF #ELL #ELLchat @AFTunion @sharemylesson @NewsHourExtra pic.twitter.com/BJ1Z1LGYHy
— Colorín Colorado (@ColorinColorado) February 26, 2020
Xenophobia, racism and persecution can be a symptom of epidemic disease, writes the Harvard historian Hannah Marcus. https://t.co/qrlL1iPLog
— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) March 1, 2020
This. #Coronavirus Is No Excuse for Anti-Asian Racism via @TeenVogue https://t.co/sF1JtEhWe3
— Randi Weingarten (@rweingarten) February 29, 2020
How epidemics have changed the world is from The Washington Post.
Speaking Up Against Racism Around the New Coronavirus is from Teaching Tolerance.
“The coronavirus is serious. It is worth taking protective measures against,” writes Celine Tien. “But in the past few weeks, I’ve learned to be fearful of things possibly more contagious than Covid-19: racism and the silence of those who witness it.” https://t.co/daue7aS6en
— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) March 7, 2020
Why pandemics activate xenophobia https://t.co/MRWNKs38UR
— Vox (@voxdotcom) March 4, 2020
How Pandemics Change History | The New Yorker https://t.co/eAVTsYoBb6
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) March 3, 2020
On a different note, The NY Times Learning Network’s Coronavirus Resources: Teaching, Learning and Thinking Critically is a great source for teaching about the virus.
Humanity’s Long History of Making Epidemics Worse
As Coronavirus Spreads, So Does Xenophobia and Anti-Asian Racism https://t.co/uZXVTKUvdR
— TIME Health (@TIMEHealth) March 6, 2020
Practice Good Hygiene. Don’t Practice Xenophobia. https://t.co/OUakYdNs0C
— COMMON (@common) March 12, 2020
Check out this amazing infographic: History of Pandemics.
History’s deadliest pandemics, from ancient Rome to modern America is an impressive interactive from The Washington Post.
The Front Line: Visualizing the Occupations with the Highest COVID-19 Risk is from Visual Capitalist.
FRANCE 24 English has just unveiled a series of excellent and very accessible short videos about famous pandemics in history.
You can see the entire playlist here.
I’ve embedded an example below.
VIDEO: “WHY IS CORONAVIRUS HITTING PEOPLE OF COLOR SO HARD?”
The coronavirus left one Chicago neighborhood reeling. Blocks away, residents are living life largely as normal. The difference? Income and race. https://t.co/bA8SgC8wO5
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) May 2, 2020
“A lot of it may come from the fact that African Americans are essential employees in our system. Everything from bus drivers to health care workers and cleaning services, they are on the front line, and therefore are far more likely to be exposed.” https://t.co/UDB3LqZNn6
— Errin Haines isn’t going anywhere! 🧼🧴🙏🏾 (@emarvelous) May 2, 2020
Another reason that lower-income families are more exposed to #COVID19: you can’t join the ranks of people ordering groceries from comfort of home if you rely on food stamps. https://t.co/LR6ickc994
— Alec MacGillis (@AlecMacGillis) May 2, 2020
How humans have reacted to pandemics through history – a visual guide is from The Guardian.
In this lesson, students learn about how three historical pandemics ended. Then they choose one pandemic to research further and draw their own conclusions about its medical and social ending.https://t.co/01Jv7jggzr
— NYT Learning Network (@NYTimesLearning) May 20, 2020
Black and brown Americans are disproportionately impacted by #COVID19 and its economic toll. @ScottGottliebMD explains why that might be → pic.twitter.com/p6rLB4Lqgn
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) May 31, 2020
Research continues to show that the disparate impact of COVID-19 on Black people is attributable not to underlying medical conditions, but to systemic racism. https://t.co/BFvCDpGKdq
— Kimberly Atkins (@KimberlyEAtkins) June 15, 2020
How the Coronavirus Compares With 100 Years of Deadly Events is from The NY Times.
Writing Prompts, Lesson Plans, Graphs and Films: 150 Resources for Teaching About the Coronavirus Pandemic is from The NY Times Learning Network.
How 2020 Remapped Your Worlds is from Bloomberg and is a good lesson idea – have students draw maps of how “their” world looks right now.
How a History Textbook Would Describe 2020 So Far is another good lesson idea – have students write what they think a chapter in a future history textbook about this year, particularly including the pandemic and Black Lives Matter, would look like.
COVID-19’s death and suffering could lead us to rebirth, as the bubonic plague did in Europe is from NBC News.
America’s uniquely bad Covid-19 epidemic, explained in 18 maps and charts is from Vox.
How Do Masks Really Help Us? is a lesson plan and this video from KQED:
Brainpop has published a free movie, Interview with Dr. Fauci.
Racism’s Hidden Toll is from The NY Times.
The United States’ Pre-Existing Conditions is from NPR.
‘This is a crisis’: National Urban League finds persistent racial disparities exacerbated during pandemic is from USA Today.
How The Pandemic Is Widening The Racial Wealth Gap is from NPR.
What if all covid‑19 deaths in the United States had happened in your neighborhood? is an interactive from The Washington Post.
6) How many aerosols linger in the air with or without masks? Look at this video under laser light. pic.twitter.com/v4asAq8nXD
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) September 20, 2020
A room, a bar and a classroom: how the coronavirus is spread through the air is a very useful interactive.
What Coronavirus Job Losses Reveal About Racism in America is an interactive from ProPublica.
UNDERSTANDING COVID-19 is from Reuters.
The COVID-19 Risk Level For Group Gatherings In Each US County, Visualized. Here’s a direct link to the map.
The CDC, breaking from its recommendations on the use of masks so far, said this week that masks benefit wearers, not just those around them.
Our animation shows how masks work and how effective a swath of fabric can be at fighting the pandemic. https://t.co/dRRyrPsURx
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 14, 2020
It’s time for Black folks to have a conversation between us, about us.
NEW TED-ED VIDEO & LESSON: “HOW THE COVID-19 VACCINES WERE CREATED SO QUICKLY”
How COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines Work – Vaccine Makers Project from Vaccine Makers Project on Vimeo.
I’ve placed the COVID-19 multilingual test instructions as well as the udpated visual multilingual guide to COVID-19 symptoms on this website, along with some other goodies. Please feel free to make a copy of anything you can use with your students. https://t.co/EdhIrUgS5X #OntEd
— Kimiko Shibata 🇨🇦 (@ESL_fairy) January 2, 2022
Google recently unveiled a new feature called A Brief History Of Vaccination. It has tons of images, interactives and videos.
I’m adding this new TED-Ed lesson and video to this list – not because I believe that’s where the coronavirus came from, but because that controversy is why there’s interest in this topic:
An illustrated history of the world’s deadliest epidemics is an impressive interactive from The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.
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