COVID-19 is the first global pandemic in the age of the internet and the world has collectively documented the virus's spread, offering a unique opportunity to study both the virus and the streams related to COVID-19, on topics from testing access to income to race. They develop their own research question to investigate the relationship between COVID-19 and certain topics. When process of science in real time. Rarely has the scientific process been on such public display. The "Who Is Most Affected By COVID-19?" StoryMap investigation described in this article was implemented in a ninth-grade physics distance-learning class and integrates both current events and student choice for real-time relevancy, builds students' science literacy, and strengthens socio-political consciousness. Using ArcGIS StoryMaps, students are presented with multiple real data students have a personal or situational vested interest that also includes choice, they are motivated and progress in their learning (Doubet and Hockett 2018). Through an interactive final artifact--easily adapted to either face-to-face (FTF) or distance-learning (DL) environments--students present their results. This StoryMap investigation allows students to engage in specific science and engineering practices (SEP) and emphasizes development in asking questions and defining problems; analyzing and interpreting data; and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information (NRC 2012). Whether students choose to pursue a career in science or not, as citizens they will be making decisions related to their health and well-being around scientific policy. Having knowledge about how scientific knowledge develops and discerning valid scientific research from misleading information will allow them to make informed choices.