General Chemistry_Unit 1: COVID-19

The Get Real! Science Collective is a group of educators, medical professionals, and community members who in response to the COVID-19 pandemic co-designed a science unit that aims to be responsive to the needs of the community during and after the pandemic. We are a group committed to culturally sustaining, anti-racist, and ambitious science teaching & learning in order to best serve the needs of students, teachers, and community members. We hope to address how science is cultural and intersects The main question driving this unit is “Why do different communities experience COVID-19 differently?”. We explore how our identity and context informs how we have experienced the pandemic. We aim to use youth voice to understand the different challenges that urban, suburban, and rural communities face in regards to the pandemic, and what we share in common across our region. By the end of the unit, students are asked to construct an explanation and design a solution to a challenge facing our community related to COVID-19. Lastly, this unit serves as an improved Scientific Methods Unit by having students employ the Next Generation Science Standards Science (NGSS) / New York State Science Learning Standards (NYSSLS) Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs) as tools for them to respond to our rapidly changing world.