Federal Quarantine for TB Traveler

By Ben Amato | Newfield High School

Creative Writing - All Four ELA Standards

Air travel has connected the world and brought the entire planet into easy reach. It also has helped spread some of the most deadly diseases known to man. Today's lesson looks at how one man might have infected hundreds with a dangerous form of tuberculosis.

TV Component
The NBC Nightly News had the story of an Atlanta man who against doctors' orders, traveled to Europe and back with a rare and deadly for of TB. View the video clip twice and then answer the Multiple-Choice Quiz.

Newspaper Component
Today's Newsday contains the article, "Federal Quarantine for TB Traveler." Have students read the story and then using the facts and details within, instruct the students complete the Comprehension Crossword Puzzle.

Language Arts Component
A newspaper article can tell you what happened but a short story can tell you how it felt. A faction is a fact-based piece of fictional writing, using news stories as the basis for thematic creative works.

Task
Have students write a first-person narrative about the man who defied CDC orders and may have spread a drug resistant form of TB to Europe and back. They must use the point of view of one of the people involved with this story. They can be the infected man, or his newlywed wife, or the CDC doctors or even passengers who shared the flights with him. Besides conveying all of the relevant details about the event, they must also use "sensory" and "emotional" details to make their readers "feel" like they were there.

INTRODUCTION
Begin the story by establishing WHO YOU ARE and WHERE the story is taking place. The SETTING and CAST will offer your readers a clear perspective and a better understanding of the nature of your story. Add a few sentences describing the TOPIC and CONFLICT of the story so your readers will understand WHAT the story is going to be about. End this section with a few words that establish the TONE of your story. Imagine what it must have been like to be exposed to this deadly disease; or to be the doctors who are trying to find and isolate this man; or even the man who wanted to celebrate his marriage even though he knew he was contagious.

BODY
Select actual events and facts from the newspaper article and video to re-create the experience of being exposed to this danger. The PLOT should follow a CHRONOLOGICAL PATTERN, so this section begins in Atlanta. Then go through the events that led to Europe, Canada, New York and back to Atlanta. The goal of a good story is to reach into the reader's mind and heart to make a story come alive.

This section may be longer than just one paragraph depending on how many facts and details you gather from the article and television news story. Use the Comprehension Crossword Puzzle and the answers to the Multiple-Choice Quiz as a RUBRIC so you can see if all the important facts have been included and described.

CONCLUSION
The final section of a short story should contain the THEME -- some message you feel this story illustrates about the spread of deadly diseases and the role of the government in stopping the danger. Make the last section contain the final PLOT STEP -- the CLIMAX of the story. The way you end your story will INFLUENCE the readers and get them to understand YOUR VIEWS on personal responsibility, government control and way air travel has connected our world but opened it to new dangers.

Copyright 2007 Newsday Inc.