An
Interdisciplinary Approach to Teaching Disease
Project URL: www.teachersnetwork.org/teachnetusa/jkent/project.htm
How
it works:
Students explore the historical aspects of disease and discuss
both fiction and non-fiction accounts of disease, including The
Microbe Hunters, The Hot Zone, The Andromeda
Strain, Tuesdays with Morrie, and A Parcel of Patterns.
They write a series of children's books about microbes and other
disease-causing organisms, the immune system, antibiotics, and
scientists (such as Louis Pasteur and Jonas Salk) who have made
important contributions to the struggle against disease. They
also profile a specific disease and diseases in plants. The students
publish a newspaper, The Immune Tribune, that includes: feature
articles about disease, a "Dear Abby" column, a microbe
"centerfold", obituaries for scientists involved in disease
research, "classified" ads, a crossword puzzle, book
reviews, cartoons, and Interviews with scientists.
Standards addressed:
Through the above-mentioned activities, the program addresses the
following standards for Language Arts and Math, Science, and
Technology: students read and write for critical analysis and
evaluation; understand the relationships and common themes that
connect mathematics, science, and technology; and apply the themes to
these and other areas of learning.
Materials used:
This program requires a computer with Internet access, a
high-quality printer, drawing materials, heavy stock paper, software
for Desktop Publishing (PageMaker or Publisher), and a copying
machine. Also useful but not essential are a binding machine and a
scanner.
The
students:
The students participating in this program are advanced eighth
graders enrolled in the Regents Living Environment course. It can,
however, be used with any group of students in the ninth grade and
above. If the students are not advanced, the teacher should be
prepared to spend more time during class helping them with the
assignments.
Overall value:
In An Interdisciplinary Approach To Teaching Disease,
students are reading and writing in a Living Environment class and
they produce an end product that involves research, artistic
embellishment, and computer technology. They are responsible for
formatting a newspaper using computer technology (PageMaker).
The children's books and the newspaper are distributed throughout the
school, the local library, and Sound Shore Hospital Pediatrics Unit.
Superior projects will be included in the school's literary and art
magazine Reflections.
Tips:
Parts of this program can be implemented if time is a factor. If
the science teacher does not have a language arts teacher to work
with, the books and newspaper can be produced without the literature
connection. Historical aspects of disease can be included if a global
studies teacher is involved.
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About the teachers:
Toby Weber is in her nineteenth year of teaching Language Arts and
has taught all levels from grades 7-12. She was honored this year at
the annual New York State English Council Conference as an Educator of
Excellence. Currently, she is in her third year of team teaching with
Joyce Kent in an English-Biology partnership. This partnership model
was presented in a workshop given at the NYSEC Conference. She has
also given writing workshops on for other school districts in the
area.
Joyce Kent has taught Living Environment/Biology for over 25 years. She has received the Science Teacher of the Year Award from
Westchester STANYS and was honored by the Westchester/Rockland
Supervisor Association for her innovative science teaching. She is the
recipient of grants administered by Reader's Digest, BOCES, Albert
Leonard PTA, and the Teaching Center of New Rochelle. As a NYS biology
mentor, she has given several workshops for teachers in the Hudson
Valley area.
E-mail:
superxy44@aol.com
(Joyce)
Coolgoose111@aol.com(Toby)
Subject
Areas:
Science
English
Technology
Grade
Levels:
8-12
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