LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Read about the real-life experience of teens who participated in clinical trials for the Covid-19 vaccine; identify common myths associated with the Covid vaccine; evaluate the importance of representation in clinical trials.

HEALTH ED STANDARDS

NHES 3: Access valid information, products, and services to enhance health.

CASEL: Social awareness

KEY VOCAB

demographics

misconceptions

fatigue

eligible

Lesson Plan: We Tested the Covid-19 Vaccine

Read about five teens who helped test the vaccine—and test your understanding of vaccines.

Table of Contents:

1. Preparing to Read

2. Reading and Discussing

3. Building Comprehension and Vocabulary

4. Expanding SEL Opportunities

1. Preparing to Read

Before you read the article “We Tested the Covid-19 Vaccine,” ask your students the following pre-reading question:

What are clinical trials, and how has teen participation affected clinical trials for the Covid-19 vaccine?

2. Reading and Discussing

  • Have your students read the article “We Tested the Covid-19 Vaccine” independently; read the article out loud to them; or have students partner-read the article out loud.
  • After they’ve read the article, revisit the pre-reading question. Have their answers changed?
  • Next, have your students answer the Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking questions, either working in small groups or independently.


Close-Reading Questions
The following questions can be shared in printable or interactive form from the Resources tab. 

  1. Why do clinical trials need human volunteers?
  2. Why is representation so important in clinical trials?


Critical-Thinking Questions

  1. Would you be interested in participating in a clinical trial for a potentially life-saving medicine? Why or why not? 
  2. In your opinion, why is it so important to use placebos in vaccine trials? Explain.

3. Building Comprehension and Vocab

Check students’ comprehension of and engagement with the story with the following assessment tools:

  • Quiz

  • Vocab Builder

4. Expanding SEL Opportunities

Continue the learning journey with the following extension activity:

In THE HISTORY OF VACCINES, put students in pairs or small groups to research the history of vaccines. In this activity, they’ll use Powerpoint, Prezi, or the interactive presentation style of their choice to create a timeline presentation of five to seven of the most important moments in vaccine history. After they present their work to one or two other groups, have them reflect on what they learned from one another.

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