BEST High School

"Keeping Guns Out of Children's Hands"

By JANE E. BRODY NY Times August 19^th, 2004

1. Read "Keeping Guns Out of Children's Hands" at: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20040819thursday.html

Answer the following questions:
a. According to the study published in the journal Pediatrics, how did the rates of fatal and nonfatal gun injuries change in the 1990s?
b. How many children were treated for nonfatal injuries from 1993 to 2000, according to the study?
c. How many children died from gunshot wounds during the same time period?
d. According to a second study, how many children each year are permanently disabled by gun injuries?
e. Where do most children get their hands on loaded guns, according to the article?
f. What are some of the ways that guns should be properly stored, according to the article?
g. What are the basic tenets of the Eddie Eagle GunSafe program cited in the article?
h. According the study in the January issue of Pediatrics, how effective is the Eddie Eagle GunSafe program?
I. What reasons did the study give for the program's level of effectiveness, and what suggestions did they make for improving it?
j. According to the pediatrics academy, what aspects of a child's behavior affect how effective gun safety programs are?
k. According to the study, what percentages of gun-owning parents do not store their guns properly?
l. According to some of the statistics cited in the article, how effective was the "Love Your Kids, Lock Your Guns" program at encouraging parents to lock up their guns?
m. In how many states is improper gun storage a crime?
n. According to the study published in Pediatrics, who is the first line of defense in preventing gun injuries among children?

CHOOSE ONE of the following extension activities and complete:

1	Survey members of your school and community about their attitudes towards guns, gun accidents and gun safety, and summarize the range of attitudes and approaches in your community. What sample size would be necessary to gather statistically significant results to the survey questions you asked?
2	Journalism - Interview an emergency room physician or nurse to learn how gunshots are treated. Write an article that explores the dangers of guns in your community, putting a local spin, and a human face, on the statistics about gun injuries.