Sherree L. Kassuba
#1
Pretesting
Give the following vocabulary words to the class. See what words they know and do not know. The words will be covered in the unit. Then after this unit is completed, re-test them to see which words they have come to know and understand.
1. birth defect
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8. placenta
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2. March of Dimes
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9. umbilical cord
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3. fetus
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10. prenatal diagnosis
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4. genetics
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11. amniocentesis
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5. zygote
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12. teratogen
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6. embryo
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13. stimulant
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7. environment
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14. depressant
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#2
Thankful Activity
Discuss with student certain birth defects and what these defects prevent children from doing, especially everyday activities that we take for granted. Then take 5-10 minutes for each of the following activities.
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—Have students write their names, address and phone number without the use of their hands.
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—communicate with classmates without talking
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—Choose a student to move around the classroom with a blindfold on.
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—Borrow a wheelchair from the nurse’s office and have one student at a time move around the classroom, and ask if a student wanted to use the chair for the day.
Discussion after all the activities. Some questions that could be asked: How did they get their task done? What were they feeling? Did they need help from others to perform the task?
#3
Awareness of Outside Factors
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A Have the students write down everything that is put into their bodies that would come under an external factor. This could be a day’s assignment or could be a week’s assignment. Discuss in class what people put into their bodies, most of the time without thought.
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B Interview people in school about what they put into their bodies. Some questions that could be asked: How many smoke cigarettes? Do they have friends and/or family that do? How many smoke marijuana? How many drink alcohol? How many have had an x-ray or x-rays this past month, six months, or year? Have you taken a prescribed drug in the past month, six months, or year? What was the drug and for what problem. Discuss if these people were pregnant, what could they be doing to their unborn baby?
#4
What If . . .
This activity has a lot of thought and feelings involved with it. The teacher could make up cards with different birth defects on them. Then choose partners for the activity playing the role of a mother and a father. The people who are the parents of the defective baby then have to decide what will happen to the baby in the future and why? The subject of abortion may creep into the discussion.
# 5
Reports
Someone could always do an extra credit report on any of the following subjects; victims of Hiroshima, rubella babies, Thalidomide babies, and many more.