Name ______Block ______

American Experience: Influenza 1918

*Link to film is on my wiki under unit 6!

In the spring of 1918, as the nation mobilized for war, Private Albert Gitchell reported to an army hospital in Kansas. He was diagnosed with the flu, a disease doctors knew little about. Before the year was out, America would be ravaged by a flu epidemic that killed 675,000 -- more than in all the wars of this century combined -- before disappearing as mysteriously as it began.

Before watching the film:

1. You are going to see a film about a public health crisis. Make a list of what factors you think might have contributed to the spread of disease in 1918. What specific activities do you think could contribute to the rapid spread of the disease?

2. What do you think local and national officials did in 1918 to slow the spread of disease when they occurred?

While/ After watching the film:

3. Complete the chart providing evidence from the film.

Factors contributing to flu spread / Actions of public health officials

4. Looking back at the flu epidemic, what do you think should have been done to try to control the disease's spread? Why do you think these actions were not taken?

Have you completed this worksheet?

Play the pandemic game: www.pandemic2.org