Carolyn N. Kinder
Purpose: To help students to recognize how important it is to understand diabetes and what causes it and how it can impact their lives
Objective: Students will be able to
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· Define and explain what is diabetes
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· What causes diabetes
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· Identify symptoms, impact and treatment of different types of diabetes
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· Assess personal lifestyle for risk factors of diabetes
Standards: Scientific Inquiry-CINQ.1 Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigations, CINQ.2 Read, interpret and examine the credibility of scientific claims in difference sources of information.
Procedure: Teacher will discuss diabetes: Students will be divided into small groups with no more than 4 students in each group. They will use the following six steps process to solve problems and make decisions: 1) State the problem; 2) Ask question/Gather information; 3) Compare alternatives; 4) Imagine the consequences/Values; 4) Decide and act; 5) Evaluate the decision
Diabetes is not my Fault
Activity: This card game will help students understand the cause-and-effect relationships of diabetes, that those with type I diabetes are not responsible for having diabetes, and that there is treatment.
Materials
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· 3" x 5" notecards or a pad of removable sticky notes
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· pencils or pens
1. On separate cards, list plausible causes of diabetes, symptoms, and statements for understanding it, and treatments, along with some inaccurate ideas about the causes of diabetes. Use the vocabulary below as a resource for your listings.
Vocabulary
Beta cells the cells in the Islets of Langerhans that make insulin
carbohydrates
any of a group of compounds that share a general biochemical structure containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; includes sugars and starches
Glucose
the sugar derived from the breakdown of carbohydrates and starches that the body uses for fuel
Diabetes mellitus
a disorder characterized by the inadequate production or utilization of insulin
Insulin
a hormone produced by the beta cells of the pancreatic islets that enables sugar in the blood to enter the body cells
Islets of Langerhans
clusters of cells that compose the endocrine portion of the pancreas and secrete insulin
Pancreas
a large elongated gland situated behind the stomach; secretes pancreatic juices, insulin, and glucagon for the regulation of carbohydrate metabolism
Here are some examples:
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· I ate too much sugar.
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· White blood cells didn't attack a germ that got into my body, so the germ was able to attack my pancreas.
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· I didn't behave in class.
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· My stomach stopped making insulin.
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· I am overweight.
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· I caught it from another diabetic.
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· Islets of Langerhans are clusters of cells found in the pancreas that secrete insulin
2. Make enough cards so that there is one for each student. You may duplicate information on more than one card, but do not make more than three cards with any one fact.
Divide the class into four teams. Have each student chose a card and take it back to his or her team. The objective is for each team to gather a set of cards that correctly explains how diabetes comes about, its symptoms, and treatment.
3. Rules: Any member may trade a card with a member of another team. There can be only one member per team on his or her feet at any one time. Set a time limit, or play until one team gets a complete set of cards and wins. The winning team must explain the statements on its set of cards.
Questions
1. Why is it important to realize that type I diabetes is not caused by a person's actions or by "catching it"? What health problems are a direct result of individual behaviors and choices?
2. If you had diabetes, what would you have to do differently? What if you had just taken your shot of insulin and had eaten your dinner, and then you were invited out for pizza? What if you were so tired, you wanted to sleep until noon on Saturdays?
Procedure: Class will be divided into four students in each group. Each group will discuss one scenario per class period. Use the first 25 minutes of the class to response to the scenario and then write a group response to each of the scenarios. Then the whole group will share each group response to the scenarios for the latter part of the class.
Day 1 -Scenario 1: Many people who have any kind of permanent disease or ailment don't like to be labeled with the name of the disease. They may prefer to say, "I have diabetes," rather than, "I am a diabetic." Why is this semantic difference important to consider?
Day 2-Scenario 2: Invite some people who have diabetes into your classroom to talk with the class about diabetes. If possible, your guests might be willing to show how they inject insulin and test for blood-sugar levels. Suggested time is one class period.
Day 3-Scenario 3: List on the board the following famous people who have or had diabetes:
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· Bret Michaels, rock vocalist
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· Jackie Robinson, major-league baseball player
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· Ernest Hemingway, writer
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· Mary Tyler Moore, actress
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· Wade Wilson, professional football player
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Are there more? Are there famous people with other diseases such as: Epilepsy? Arthritis? Learning differences? Does this information matter?
Source: Adapted from: Newton's Apple Resources. Newton's Apple encourages duplication of their materials for educational use, 1-800-588-Newton