Teaching Tools for the Classroom

STI Risks and Youth(1): Write a Report

Prepared By: Mary Shannon & Doug McCall
Sponsored By: www.sexualityandu.ca

Number of People for this WQ

• This WebQuest can be done by an individual student, or with two or three students working together. All students should visit all assigned websites and complete all of the activities individually in this WebQuest.

Outcomes for this WQ

• know more about STIs and how you can protect yourself
• test your own knowledge and personal risk of STI
• recognize that getting an STI is a risk that everyone faces, including you
• learn how to present health data in a graph

Special Materials for this WQ:

• None

Documents for This WQ

• There are no documents prepared specifically for this WebQuest.

Student Tools for this WQ

• Personal Health Journal

Evaluation Criteria/Procedure

• Notes on assigned articles using Section 3.1 of Personal Health Journal
• Evaluation Criteria for Summary Reports

Introduction

Have you been told about STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections)? You probably have. But, have you ever wondered how real that risk of infection is for you? For your friends? Guess which age group is at second highest risk of STI. You probably guessed it - youth!

Task

In this WebQuest you are asked to write a Summary Report answering the question Why should young people in Canada be concerned about sexually transmitted infections?

You will begin this WebQuest by going through a “Virtual Scenario” about sexually transmitted infections (STIs). You will then test your knowledge about STIs using an online quiz. Then you will read several selected readings and prepare a Summary Report.

Process and Steps

Don't forget to take notes on your activities in this WebQuest. Use Section 3.2 of your Personal Health Journal.

• Begin with the Virtual Scenario entitled Chlamydia in your Corner. Go through that scenario and see what you think.
• Test your own knowledge: Try to answer the questions in this quiz on knowledge of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). It's the third quiz (NOT THE FIRST) on that page. Did you find any surprises about your knowledge about STIs? Note them in your journal.

Read about STIs: Now, go to these pages on the www.sexualityandu.ca website and learn or review some of the basic facts about STIs. Read about what they are and how you can protect yourself, how people get infected and how condoms can reduce the risk. Also read this fact sheet from the Canadian Health Network.

• Calculate Rates of STI/STD Infections for Young People in Canada: Go to the Health Canada website and print the data tables for STD rates for Chlamydia, Appendix 1.1 and Appendix 1.2. From those tables, determine the two age groups within the Canadian population that are most at risk of STI infections. What are they?

Next, prepare two line or bar graphs, with accompanying data tables, for the rate (number of people per 100,000) of chlamydia infection for 15-19 year-olds for the years 1991 to 2000 for Canada. Are those rates going up or down?

Next, calculate the number of students who, according to the 2000 Canadian rate of infection (714.4 per 100,000 of 15-19 year-olds), would be infected in a high school of 1000 students. Did that number surprise you? Using this ratio, calculate how may students are likely to be infected in your own high school.

• So, according to these statistics, in a typical high school of 1000 students, about 7 students would have an STI. Think you're safe? You might want to think again after reading this article on the sexual networks within high schools. Based on that article, what is unique about youth patterns of forming relationships?

Multiple partners and unprotected sexual intercourse are the two ways to increase the risk of getting an STI. Are these behaviours present among youth? Go to the Health Canada website and read their newsletter/report on the sexual risk behaviours of Canadians. Then, read the recent Statistics Canada report on youth sexual behaviours and a similar 2002 study published by the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (You will need to scroll down to page 74 in the PDF version of that report to find the statistics on sexual behaviours of youth.)

• Do you think that youth in Canada are aware of the risks of STI being transmitted by other young people? Before you answer that question, check out how much young people know about STIs and HIV in that same 2002 report from the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada. You will need to scroll to page 58 of that report to read about youth knowledge of HIV and STI facts. Include one of these facts in your report.
• Write a Report

Prepare a one-page Summary/Commentary Report on how STIs affect young Canadians. Discuss whether there is a significant risk of STI to young people in Canada. Include all of your findings from this WebQuest, including if there were any gaps in your group's knowledge of STI and STI risk, Canadian data and analysis of STI risk and the other facts you gathered from visiting the assigned websites.

In the Private Section 4.3 of your Personal Health Journal, write down a few notes about STI risk and what you intend to do to avoid the risk of infection. You will not be required to submit this, nor to show your thoughts to anyone.

How Your Work will be Evaluated

Prepare a log of the web pages that you have read so far on this WebQuest and submit that log to your teacher. Use Section 3.1 of your Personal Health Journal to do so.

Your summary report for this WebQuest will be assessed using the Evaluation Criteria for Summary/Commentary Reports.

Conclusions and Extensions

To reflect on this WebQuest and to learn more about the risks associated with STIs, take this quiz on assessing your STI risk. (It is the first quiz on that page.)

Want to talk with someone about these issues? Why not call the Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868 or visit their website. Also read these tips on how to use Hotline Information.