change for next semester NO LATE WORK Data: Covid-19 -

Overview: For this week's homework, you will look at the data on Covid 19 in Sonoma county You will answer some questions, write a personal response, and come up with 2 discussion questions. Note - you should complete the Writing Discussion Questions Quiz before beginning this assignment.

Goal: In the past, we  have focused on reading articles, but for this week, you will look at data and practice reading and interpreting graphs.  This also is an important college skills that can improve over time. The goal is to learn more about Covid in our county. 

Instructions:

Go to the Sonoma County  Covid-19 Data and Statistics Links to an external site.webpage and answer the following questions.

1. • Questions: 

• • • Click on the ''Wastewater Testing'' Button: Why is this a good way to track Covid-19 or other diseases? What are the limits of this type of tracking?
    • Click on the ''Variants'' button: In 2021 what was the most common variant of Covid-19? In 2023? 
    • Click on the "Vaccinations" Button: What percentage of Sonoma County residents are up-to-date on their vaccines?
    • Click on the ''Hospitalizations and Deaths ' Button: When were the most people hospitalized? When were the largest portion of the ICU beds occupied by Covid patients? How many people have died in Sonoma County from Covid (total)?  ( You won't see daily hospitalization reports, but can still see the weekly reports). If this won't open for you, here is a PDF of the information from that page.  Download PDF of the information from that page. 

3. Personal Response to Both Articles : Write a 150-200 word personal response to this reading. You may respond in any way you choose, but your response must be rooted in the content provided in the article itself. Vague disconnected comments like "this was really interesting" or "I learned a lot" will earn no points. Instead, make specific references to what was interesting or what you learned. Some suggestions for your personal response include:

• • • Which graphs were hard to understand? What information could be added to help?
    • What questions would you like to ask the people who gathered the data?
    • Does the data raise any questions about the disease?
    • Looking at the graphs, do you remember what was happening you to you around one of the peak periods of infection or death?
    • What was new or particularly interesting?

4. Discussion Question: Write one question that could be used in our class discussion of this resource. Submit with this assignment and bring this to class - we will use it for our discussion and you will turn it in with your name on it!

Pointers:

1. Make sure your questions are aimed at your fellow students. Don't write discussion questions that are for an expert (ie -Why do more elderly people die from Covid than young adults?)

2. To make your questions elicit more discussion, write follow up questions. (ie- What did you think when they first closed the schools? What did your teachers say to you?etc)

3. Ask questions to help make the topic more personal. (ie: Have any of you had Covid and how sick did you get?)