Most students had no idea what measles were before Mrs. Dana Damp presented the project to the class. Measles has seemingly been eradicated in the United States due to the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) immunization that most Americans receive as infants.

However, there have been several recent outbreaks of the disease within the United States.

Due to the recent coverage, biology students researched all aspects of Measles. Forty biology students began a research discussion on measles and vaccinations even exploring the recent claim of falsified research on the topic.

“Earlier this year, there was an outbreak of measles at Disneyland. Fortunately, most of us have never seen anyone with measles as a result of the very successful vaccination program which began in 1963 in the U.S.,” said Mrs. Damp. “I was curious to know more about this disease and wanted to create a worthwhile learning exercise for my students. I asked the students to generate their own questions about measles, and then to find the answers to their questions using the Internet.”

Their findings were posted on the wall outside of her classroom on “The Measles Wall” to share what they learned with the rest of the school community.

The wall contains information on the following areas: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, Vaccination, Outbreaks in the U.S., Statistics, Historical Facts and Who becomes infected. For more information on their findings or the process, please visit Mrs. Damp’s blog: lphsbiology.blogspot.com.