This module focuses on four major health crises in this country since 1900: the 1918 influenza pandemic; polio in the 1950s; HIV-AIDS since 1980; and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Students will examine: (1) the extent to which some groups of Americans, particularly communities of color and low-income people, have been affected more severely than others; (2) medical, economic, social, and historical factors that affect health and healthcare, including access to good nutrition, good education, good neighborhoods, and a healthy environment; and (3) the possible effects of inequities and discrimination long embedded in United States’ society, such as legacies for African Americans from enslavement and Jim Crow segregation; conditions of Native Americans on reservations; experience of LatinX immigrants and migrant farmworkers; and conditions of low-income whites across the country, especially in Appalachia and rural areas.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic required every American to consider their health and the ways that American society and government contribute to our good health or bad health. This  explores Americans’ experiences in health crises since 1900 and  differences in outcomes, including death rates, among diverse groups in American society, especially underserved poor people and communities of color. It considers the nature, causes, and effects of inequities in healthcare. The goal is to understand what  affects your own health and health in your community, both now and in the future.

I use this Jeopardy!-style game to test, reinforce, and enhance students' understanding of Social Security Law. Playing the game and discussing the answers takes about one hour. I use a free online multiplayer buzzer system that requires students to respond to questions by typing their answers into a text entry field (www.cosmobuzz.net). I give students plenty of time to answer each question and award points for all correct answers. At the end of the game, I award a prize to the winning student (e.g. a Starbucks gift card). I haven't uploaded the answer key here because I don't want students to see the correct answers online; feel free to email me at david.moss@wayne.edu for a copy of the answer key.

This game is designed to test, reinforce, and enhance students' understanding of Social Security Law. I've used it in several different ways: as a game that students play in class, with a prize for the winning student or team (playing the game and discussing the correct answers takes about one hour of class time); as a closed-book quiz that students take in class, followed by discussion of the correct answers (again, about one hour of class time); and as an open-book assignment that students complete before class, followed by discussion of the correct answers in class (about 30 minutes of class time).