APPENDIX: Assignment Instructions

COVID-19 Reflection – Winter 2025

NAME_________________________________________________

Instructions: You must write in complete sentences with appropriate grammar and spelling. You must write completely in your own words, no quotations are allowed. Citations are not necessary. You may not use AI to write any part of your response. Use of AI will result in an automatic 0 for this assignment and will be reported to the Office of Academic Integrity. If I suspect you have used AI to write your response it will not be included in the book even if you indicate you wish to be included.

COVID-19 was a major historical event that you each lived through. One day, younger generations will ask you about your personal experiences during this time. In this course, we have explored the importance of diverse sources of information for understanding past pandemics, such as ancient DNA, skeletal remains, artwork, death records, and journals. These types of sources have allowed scholars to study plagues like the Black Death, cholera, and the 1918 flu. Similarly, future scholars will look to study COVID-19 as a significant historical pandemic. This assignment is your opportunity to share your own COVID-19 story and contribute your experiences to the growing body of historical knowledge about this event.

Format: For this assignment, you can be more creative in how you format your response. You can answer each question separately (as with the GRQ) or you may structure your response into a longer, more personal-essay format. You are encouraged to write in the first person (“I” statements). I am genuinely interested in your COVID story. I want to hear about your experiences through your voice. You MUST respond to the 4 questions that are listed as REQUIRED and then you must select at least one other question to discuss in your response. You may pick and choose which additional questions you want to respond to, but your overall response (not including the title) must be between 800-1200 words. Include the completed Covid Reflection Cover Sheet as the first page of your assignment.

Reflections Response Questions

1. Come up with a title for your response. It can be fun or serious. (REQUIRED)
2. Where were you physically in the world during Covid? How old were you? What grade were you in (if any)? (REQUIRED)
3. Briefly describe your Covid experience. That is, did you go into full lockdown? If so, for how long? What other day-to-day changes were made? (REQUIRED)
4. What was your greatest challenge during Covid? What is something good that came out of Covid for you?
5. What was virtual schooling like for you? What do you think the long-term impacts of virtual schooling were on you and others your age?
6. Were there any big life events you feel you missed out on?
7. What cultural changes do you feel occurred due to Covid?
8. How do you think Covid impacted the mental health of you or people your age?
9. What do you think scholars studying Covid 100 years should know about our collective Covid experience?
10. Connect your Covid experience to a course theme (for example: blame, secrecy, stigma, etc.). Clearly state what course theme you are discussing and give a specific example from your life that you remember from your Covid experience. (REQUIRED)