Youth Veterinarian Initiative
YVI Book Club & Merit Badge Program - A Shot in the ArmHeader image: Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett – detail of self-portrait
Source: Wikimedia Commons – CC-BY-SA-4.0
A SHOT IN THE ARM
by Don Brown
A Shot in the Arm was the last book that our YVI Book Club scholars read during the 2022-2023 academic year.
Student rankings were quite varied across schools, with older students liking the book more than younger ones.
To earn an “arts” merit badge, students were invited to draw an image of Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, the African-American viral immunologist who lead the team that was responsible for the Moderna vaccine for Covid-19.
(Dr. Corbett was not included in A Shot in the Arm‘s description of the development of the COVID-19 vaccine.)
ETOILE ACADEMY – Houston, TX
Etoile Academy 5th graders rated this book at 1-5 stars, with the majority of ratings being 2.5 to 3 stars. Several students indicated that they liked the images, which shows the importance of visual stimulation when delivering printed information to youth.
Students were encouraged to draw an image of Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, an African-American immunologist who is the lead developer of the Moderna vaccine for Covid-19.
MARION P. THOMAS CHARTER SCHOOL STEAM ACADEMY – Chicago, IL
MPTCS scholars rated A Shot in the Arm at 2-5 stars.
Most of the students liked the amount of information presented, and a couple of them liked learning about the people who developed vaccines.
One student drew an image of Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett.
7TH YVI BOOK CLUB & MERIT BADGE PROGRAM ZOOM CALL – May 27, 2023
Marion P. Thomas students discussed their opinions about A Shot in the Arm and were subsequently invited to talk about their overall experiences with the book club.
Educators Lisa Finn-Bruce from Marion P. Thomas Charter School STEAM Academy (MPTCS) and Danielle Corbin from South Bronx Early College Academy (SBECA) also talked about their experiences leading the book club and observing the students’ responses to it.
Ms. Corbin expressed delight at an unexpected benefit of the program – the increased interaction of teachers and students outside the classroom as they spontaneously discussed several of the assigned readings.
