The following lesson plans are designed for 60 minutes. However, if more or less time is needed; adjustments can be made by the teacher.
Lesson One: What is Asthma?
(Reading and Language Arts 1-2 class periods)
Introduction to lesson: Direct whole group instruction
Materials: KWL chart, Pencils/Paper
Together with teacher KWL chart is completed with students. Teacher will write down student responses then discuss answers.
Questions:
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1) Do you know what asthma is?
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2) Does anyone you know have asthma?
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3) How many lungs does the human body have?
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4) What types of medications do people with asthma use?
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5) Is our school asthma friendly?
Each question will generate discussion. A list of the answers will be listed on chart paper.
Lesson Two: Organs Organs Everywhere!
Whole group instruction: Procedure-Teacher gives students a worksheet explaining the functions of the lung/heart.
Teacher reads aloud to class information about the lungs/heart.
Group work - students will draw/label/models of the lungs/heart
Small group - students will answer questions together (teacher made).
Materials - worksheets, visual models of lung and heart.
Lesson Three: Breathe Right
Materials - straws, stop watch, journal notebooks
Working in groups of 2
Procedures:
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1) Students will run in place for 60 seconds
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2) Their partner will have the stop watch. Partner gives straw to student when he/she finishes running in place.
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3) Student closes lips tightly around the straw, then he/she pinches their nose close.
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4) He/she breathes in and out of the straw for 20 seconds.
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5) Pinching the straw with one hand allows air to be restricted and the opening becomes narrow.
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6) Breathe in three more breaths of air.
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7) Remove the straw and breathe normally.
The students will give written responses as to how it felt not to be able to breathe freely. Class discussion of each groups findings.
Lesson Four: Math - Graphing Surveys
(2 class periods approximately 2hrs)
Materials - students and teacher will conduct a survey for grades K-6, graph paper, markers, questionnaire survey.
Procedures:
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1) Students in groups of 2 will be given the survey to complete with each class. Twenty students will conduct survey, class size may vary.
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2) This will be done for each grade level and each class (three classes per grade level).
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3) The students will tally up their findings.
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4) Teacher will correlate findings with school nurse.
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5) Teacher/students will create the bar graph.
The survey will consist of (3) questions:
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1) Do you have asthma?
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2) What is the name of your medication?
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3) Do you take your medicine in school?
Lesson Five: Research Project - Delivery Systems
Materials - Use of Library/Library Media Specialist and Computers
Objective 1: Students will learn about the various types of delivery systems for asthma; Students will work in groups of three; four groups will research preventive medications and the remaining groups will research reliever medications.
Objective 2: Students will learn how the heart and lungs are affected by asthma as well as the types of medications taken.
Lesson Six: The Match Game
Objective: Students will be able to match asthma triggers with the asthma type (environmental, exercise-induced, or allergy related).
Materials - Pictures of dust, mold, trees, flowers, smoke, tobacco, animals, food, etc.
Stop watch or timer.
Procedure: Working in groups of two the students will be given labels naming the types of asthma. Each group will be given the same set of 20 pictures. The students will have 10 minutes to match the triggers with the asthma type. The first team to complete the sets is the winners. You can repeat the game as many times as you would like to play adding pictures to the set. Teachers can make pictures, buy pictures or have students draw pictures as they are introduced throughout the lesson.
Lesson Seven: Lungs
Objective: Students will be able to identify the parts of the lung and its function in the body.
Materials - overhead projector, pipe cleaners, tissue paper, glue scissors, pictures of lungs copied onto transparencies, empty paper towel rolls, markers, plastic baggies.
Procedure:
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1) The students will learn the parts of the lung through teacher guided lessons.
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2) The students will build a model of a pair of lungs along with instructions from the art/classroom teacher.