Humanities and Social Studies Curriculum FOR SECOND & THIRD GRADES
Unit 1 - The 1918 Spanish Flu & COVID-19
COMPLETE UNIT WITH PLANS FOR THREE LESSONS
UNIT OVERVIEW:
Students will learn that America has faced a pandemic before - in 1918. They will compare and contrast the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic with COVID-19 today. Students will learn about the purpose of an archive and record their own experiences with COVID-19 in a time capsule. Students will have the opportunity to submit their time capsule to be preserved in the archive of the Fresno County Historical Society.

UNIT INCLUDES:
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Learning Activity #1: Defining an Archive
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Learning Activity #2: Video Reflection - What did we learn from the Spanish Flu?
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Learning Activity #3: My COVID-19 Time Capsule Project
REQUIRED MATERIALS:
Below are links to download documents, and handouts for this lesson along with links to web resources and additional material that will be helpful in presenting the concepts of this unit to your class.
Web Resources:
What’s an Archive?
https://www.archives.gov/about/info/whats-an-archives.html
Fresno County Historical Society Mission
https://www.valleyhistory.org
National Archives News – The Flue Pandemic of 1918
https://www.archives.gov/news/topics/flu-pandemic-1918
Primary Resources:
Images from the 1918 Flu Pandemic from the National Archives and Pop Laval Foundation. (Hover over image to view caption. Click to view/show full screen)

Fresno, CA Armistice Parade, November 1918. Photo courtesy of the Pop Laval Foundation

Female clerks in New York City wear masks at work. (National Archives Identifier 45499337)

Letter carrier in New York City wearing mask. (National Archives Identifier 45499319)

Fresno, CA Armistice Parade, November 1918. Photo courtesy of the Pop Laval Foundation