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OVERVIEWThis lesson guides students through the Immunizations: Closing the Gap issue of the UNICEF ACT student magazine, Ambassador Edition. In the first part, students read about the great advances in medicine and efforts to vaccinate children around the world that dramatically decreased child mortality rates in the 20th century. Students then delve into the modern challenge of reaching the 20 percent of children globally who are not fully vaccinated. In the second part of the lesson, students learn about promising solutions aimed at closing the immunization gap. Students then discuss obstacles to protecting children in the United States against deadly diseases, comparing these obstacles with those faced globally. The lesson concludes with an examination of the many metaphors in the magazine and an opportunity to construct their own visual metaphors about the efforts to close the gap.

Immunizations: Closing the Gap

UNICEF ACT ImmunIzatIons: ClosInG the Gap

About This Lesson

Time90–120 minutes or two class periods

Grade LevelGrades 6–8

Vocabulary• Cold chain

• Developing countries

• Eradicate

• Herd immunity

• Immunization

• Immunization gap

• Indigenous

• Mobilization

• Smallpox

• Sustainable Development Goals

• Vaccine

• Vulnerability

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ImmunIzatIons: ClosIng the gap

OBJECTIVESStudents will

• Explain how the immunization gap leaves a fifth of the world’s children unvaccinated against preventable diseases.

• Demonstrate empathy for children around the world who are suffering needlessly from vaccine-preventable diseases.

• Describe solutions aimed at closing the immunization gap.

• Compare the global and local situations with regard to vaccination coverage.

• Construct a visual metaphor to convey one aspect of the efforts to increase vaccination coverage.

MATERIALS• UNICEF ACT: Immunizations: Closing the Gap (Ambassador Edition), at

teachunicef.org/unicef-act/immunizations-closing-gap

• Computer and Internet access

• Screen and LCD projector or interactive whiteboard

• Art supplies (paper, colored pencils, etc.)

PREPARATION AND SETUP• Reproduce UNICEF ACT, Immunizations: Closing the Gap (Ambassador

Edition), one copy per student.

• Prepare to show videos, if you so desire (see steps 3b and 3c).

DIRECTIONSPart I: Understanding the Immunization Gap (45–60 min)1. Introduction

Find out what students know about diseases that threatened children’s lives in the early 20th century (e.g., polio, measles, mumps, smallpox, whooping cough, etc.). Discuss why they are no longer the threats that they once were in the United States. Introduce the topic of vaccines and their role in reducing the threat of disease.

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ImmunIzatIons: ClosIng the gap

2. Review of pages 2–4 of UNICEF ACT, Diplomat Edition

a. As a class, read the article “News in brief: Immunizations: The (Nearly) Universal Life Preserver” on page 2. Ask students what the main idea of the article is, and ask them for the key details that support the main idea.

b. Note that the 1980s was a turning point in the fight against vaccine-preventable diseases. As a class, read page 3 of the magazine, noting what the key factor was that contributed to the turning point. Discuss.

c. Mention the enormous decline of measles noted on page 3. In small groups, have students review the graph “Total Deaths of Leading Diseases” and complete the exercise “What’s the bottom Line?”

d. As a class, read the article “The Immunization Gap” on page 4 and ask students to explain the concept in the title. Review the reasons given for the gap. Discuss with students to understand the injustice.

HOMEWORK: Assign students to read pages 5–7 of the magazine. Have them complete the exercise “Think, Write, Discuss” on page 4.

Part II: Using Metaphors to Amplify a Humanitarian Message (45–60 min)

3. Homework review

a. Review the reasons given for the immunization gap; bring in students’ answers for the first “Think, Write, Discuss” question.

b. Review the story “Observer’s Notebook: What I Saw” on page 5. Ask students what the main idea of the article is, and and ask them for the key details that support the main idea. Discuss students’ answers to the second “Think, Write, Discuss” question.

OPTIONAL: Show the U.S. Fund for UNICEF’s video “Journey to a Polio-Free Africa: Nigeria’s Eradication Milestone,” at bit.ly/NigeriaPolioErad (6:34), to illustrate the story “Observer’s Notebook”, as well as the individual impact of the immunization gap.

c. Review the article “Closing the Gap” on page 6, specifically the general methods and efforts to increase vaccination coverage. Have students read the section “Closing the Gap in …” at the bottom of the page and determine how each example connects to one of the categories in the article (e.g., the Laos story is an example of maintaining the cold chain, the Congo story is an example of training health workers).

to break up the long review described here, consider inserting the “test Your Vocab” activity on page 7 when student interest wanes.

NOTE: Due to some footage of the insurgent group Boko haram (4:18-4:21), it is advised that you first preview this segment to determine its suitability for your class.

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Figuratively closing the immunization gap: UNICEF workers cross a makeshift bridge in eastern Ghana to monitor a polio eradication campaign.

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ImmunIzatIons: ClosIng the gap

d. Review the article “Meanwhile at Home” on page 7 and discuss the obstacles to protecting all children in the United States against deadly diseases. Ask students to compare the challenges to attaining high vaccination coverage in the United States with those in the countries in which UNICEF works. As an optional assignment, have students study the issue further as directed in “It’s Up for Debate,” and prepare for a future in-class discussion about the issue.

4. Metaphor construction activity

a. Mention that this magazine contains many examples of figurative language. Ask students to identify the figurative language on the cover (the gap). Note that it’s not an actual gap (i.e., physical space), but helps us understand the idea that 20 percent of the world’s children are not fully vaccinated. Challenge students to find other examples of figurative language, such as the following:

• Text: e.g., life preserver (page 2), cold chain (pages 4, 6), herd immunity (page 7)

• Images: e.g., valley (page 4), bridge (page 6)

Tell students that the words here are metaphors, or language that allows us to understand and experience one kind of thing in terms of another.* Similarly, the images here are visual metaphors. In both cases, they use common concepts (e.g., a gap or a bridge) to help them understand something more complex.

b. Assign students to work in pairs or small groups to construct a visual metaphor to convey one aspect of the efforts to increase vaccination coverage. Emphasize that their metaphor should use both an image and supporting text, as in the valley example. Give students the choice either to create a visual metaphor for any of the text examples above (e.g., draw an iced-over chain to create a visual metaphor of a cold chain), or to come up with a visual metaphor for another concept from the magazine, such as the mobilization of immunization efforts in the 1980s (page 3). Distribute art materials, and have students begin.

c. Have students present and explain their work to the class. Discuss.

HOMEWORK: Assign students to read “Kids Helping Kids” on page 8 of the magazine. Challenge them to identify one action they might take to help raise awareness about the immunization gap or get a vaccine to a child in need. In subsequent classes, work with students to plan and carry out an action. See teachunicef.org/unicef-act/immunizations-closing-gap for take-action strategies that your students might enact.

* G. Lakoff and M. Johnson, Metaphors We Live By (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1980). Note that this is likely a different definition than students had in their English language arts classes, where one thing is said to figuratively be another thing (e.g., “you are my rock”).

Consider showing one or more of the following unICeF videos that depict efforts to close the gap:

• Getting the vaccines: “In Chad, Vaccine takes a long Journey to save a life,” bit.ly/VaccJrnyChad (4:27)

• maintaining the cold chain: “Relinking the Cold Chain, in post-typhoon philippines,” bit.ly/ColdChainphilippines (2:48)

• Confronting resistance: “protecting every Child in pakistan from measles,” bit.ly/pakistanmeasles (1:53)

as a writing assessment, assign the “exercise Your Rights” activity on page 6. By requiring students to introduce their claim clearly and supporting it with reasons and evidence, you are connecting to College and Career Readiness standard 1 for Writing from the Common Core state standards for english language arts and literacy, as well as promoting good writing habits. see bit.ly/aCtImmunsa for full standards alignment.

Refers to Step 3C