Journal of a Plague Year: Illinois in 2020: Virtual Exhibition & Educational Materials
Welcome to the digital version of Journal of a Plague Year: Illinois In 2020 exhibit for educators.
You will find the entire exhibit, including text and images, and resource materials such as worksheets, websites, and more. These resources are for your use in teaching about Illinoisans' experience in 2020.
The title of this exhibit, inspired by Daniel Defoe’s 1722 book Journal of a Plague Year, was chosen to put the current COVID-19 pandemic in the context of historical pandemics, or "plagues," as well as allude to a common feeling, popularized in the media, that this year's pandemic and its fallout have made 2020 extraordinarily challenging. This dynamic exhibition features highlights from the entries received from our rapid collecting effort and will reflect new submissions as they come into the Museum.
Virtual Exhibit & Tours
COVID-19 Stories - Join Curator Erika Holst as she shares some of the stories and explains the exhibit.
Resources
Explore the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918
Library of Congress historic articles on Flu Pandemic and photographs
Two Chicago Nurses Who Treated COVID0-19 Share Their Journals, Chicago Tribune.
Illinois Digital Archives -Illinois State Museum COVID-19 Submissions
NCSS Navigating the Coronavirus Disease 2019 - COVID-19 helpful resources for teachers.
Elementary Activities
Share Your COVID Story - Have students draw, write, take a picture, or create something that expresses their COVID-19 experience. The Illinois State Museum is asking Illinoisans of all ages to reflect on their experiences during the pandemic. We invite students to Share Their Stories with us so those in the future will understand what it was like to live through this time. This is a great way to help students process what they are going through. We suggest that if students are comfortable, they share with their classmates.
Oral Histories - Have students participate in doing oral histories with family and friends about COVID-19 experiences. Use the teacher page Exploring History Using Oral Histories and Recording Histories as They Happen (MS Word, PDF).
Secondary Activities
Share Your COVID Story - Have students draw, write, take a picture, or create something that expresses their COVID-19 experience. The Illinois State Museum is asking Illinoisans of all ages to reflect on their experiences during the pandemic. We invite students to Share Their Stories with us so those in the future will understand what it was like to live through this time. We suggest that if students are comfortable, they share with their classmates.
Oral History - Have students participate in doing oral histories with family and friends about COVID-19 experiences. Use the teacher page Exploring History Using Oral Histories and Recording Histories as They Happen (MSWord, PDF).
Bats and COVID Video (8 minutes video from Bats Conservation International) - What exactly is the connection between bats and coronavirus? Dr. Winifred Frick, chief scientist of BCl, describes what we know and the importance of bats. Ask students questions about bats and COVID-19. What have they heard about where COVID-19 came from? After watching the video, have students discuss the following: Why are people scared of bats? How is COVID-19 transmitted? What role do humans play in the virus and it's spread?
Explore the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918 - What are some similarities between 1918 and now? How did officials across the world handle the outbreak? How does that compare to the COVID-19 Pandemic? Why the 1918 Flu Pandemic Really Never Ended - Watch the video and read about the pandemic with History Channel. Do you find the thesis they put forward true or false? How does this relate to COVID-19 and our future? Read about the Why the Second Wave of the 1918 Flu Pandemic Was So Deadly . How does this compare to COVID0-19's second wave? Read about the cover-up in As the 1918 Flu Emerged , Cover-Up and Denial Helped It's Spread. Explore and compare mask wear in 1918 and today in When Masks-Wearing Rules in 1918Pandemic Faced Resistance and Mask Resistance During a Pandemic isn't New.