Pulitzer Center News Quiz: Childhood Lead Exposure

Build underreported news stories into your classroom routine with the Pulitzer News Quiz. Every other week, we’ll share a recent story that highlights issues and voices often overlooked in the headlines, and an interactive quiz to introduce you and your students to the topic.

This week’s story:

How Leaded Aviation Gasoline Is Poisoning a New Generation of Americans is a project about the harmful impacts of toxic leaded aviation gasoline on children living closest to airports. Impacts including heart disease, cognitive impairment, kidney problems, and liver problems.

Why teach this story?

In observance of World Health Day, students and teachers can explore a public health story that raises awareness about the linkage between airports and lead exposure in children. The quiz encourages participants to engage by exploring a searchable map of the top lead-emitting general aviation airports in the United States, and by reflecting on actions they would like to see taken on this issue.

Teaching ideas:

Project this quiz for students and complete it as a class, or have students answer individually. Consider the following options…

• Use this quiz on its own as a teaching tool.
• Use this quiz as an introduction to pique students’ interest before exploring the full story and/or a lesson on this topic.
• Use this quiz as an exit ticket to evaluate student understanding of the story after exploring it during class.

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