9.4.4.2 Personal & Community Health
Explain how the body produces antibodies to fight disease and how vaccines assist this process.
Describe how the immune system sometimes attacks some of the body's own cells and how some allergic reactions are caused by the body's immune responses to usually harmless environmental substances.
Explain how environmental factors and personal decisions, such as water quality, air quality and smoking affect personal and community health.
Recognize that a gene mutation in a cell can result in uncontrolled cell division called cancer, and how exposure of cells to certain chemicals and radiation increases mutations and thus increases the chance of cancer.
Overview
MN Standard in Lay Terms
Personal health and community health or the health of populations is influenced by a variety of factors. These include the physical environment including environmental pollutants, genetically inherited factors and human life choices.
Big Idea
Community health has multiple factors contributing to it. Environmental influences such as chemicals, pollutants, sun exposures and others can contribute to human health. This is influenced by personal choices and genetic predisposition to disease.
MN Standard Benchmarks
9.4.4.2.1 Describe how some diseases can sometimes be predicted by genetic testing and how this affects parental and community decisions.
9.4.4.2.2 Explain how the body produces antibodies to fight disease and how vaccines assist this process.
9.4.4.2.3 Describe how the immune system sometimes attacks some of the body's own cells and how some allergic reactions are caused by the body's immune responses to usually harmless environmental substances.
9.4.4.2.4 Explain how environmental factors and personal decisions, such as water pollution, air quality and smoking affect personal and community health.
9.4.4.2.5 Recognize that a gene mutation in a cell can result in uncontrolled cell division called cancer and how exposure of cells to certain chemicals and radiation increases mutations and thus increases the chance of cancer.
The Essentials
- NSES Standards: pg 197 and 198
- The severity of disease symptoms is dependent on many factors, such as human resistance an the virulence of the disease producing organisms. Many diseases can be prevented, controlled or cured. Some diseases, such as cancer, result from specific body dysfunctions and cannot be transmitted.
- Personal choice concerning fitness and health involved multiple factors. Personal goals, peer an social pressures, ethnic and religious beliefs, and understanding of biological consequences can all influence decision about health practices.
- AAAS Atlas:
- See Benchmarks below
- Benchmarks of Science Literacy
- Faulty genes can cause body parts or systems to work poorly. Some genetic diseases appear only when an individual had inherited a certain faulty gene from both parents.. 6E/2
- Gene mutation in a cell can result in uncontrolled division, called cancer. Exposure of cells to certain chemical and radiation increase mutations and thus the chance of cancer. 5C/6
- The immune system is designed to protect against microscopic organisms and foreign substance that enter from outside the body and against some cancel cells that arise withing. 6C/1
- Some allergic reactions are caused by the body's immune response to usually harmless environmental substances. Sometimes the immune system may attack some of the body's own cells.6E/1
- Some viral disease, such as AIDS, destroy critical cells of the immune system, leaving the body unable to deal with multiple infection agents and cancerous cells. 6E/4.
- New medical techniques, efficient health care delivery systems, improved sanitation, and a fuller understanding of the nature of disease give today's humans a better chance of staying healthy than their forebears had. Conditions now are very different from the conditions in which the species evolved. But some of the differences may not be good for human health. 6E/3.
Common Core Standards
- Common Core Standards (i.e. connections with Math, Social Studies or Language Arts Standards):
- Math S-CP (1-5) Understand independence and conditional probability and use them to interpret data.
- Math SMD-CP 5 Use probability to evaluate outcomes of decisions.
- Language Arts
- Reading: RI 3 Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.
- Writing W-1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
- Writing W-7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
- Reading - Social Studies: RH-6 Evaluate author's differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the authors'claims, reasoning, and evidence.
- Reading - Science and Technical Subjects RST 1 - Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the prcise details of explanations or descriptions.
Misconceptions
1. Vaccines cause autism (the data from these studies has recently shown to fabricated). See CNN link.
The following misconceptions are from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website
1. Diseases had already begun to disappear before vaccines were introduced, because of better hygiene and sanitation.
2. The majority of people who get a disease have been vaccinated.
3. There are "hot lots" of vaccine that have been associated with more adverse events and deaths than others.
4. Vaccines cause many harmful side effects, illnesses, and even death.
5. Vaccine-preventable diseases have been virtually eliminated from the United States.
6. Giving a child multiple vaccinations for different diseases at the same time increases the risk of harmful side effects and can overload the immune system.
See this page.
7. If you quit smoking, you will gain weight.
8. Smoking relieves stress in your life.
Vignette
As homework, students filled out a sun safety pretest. They come into class asking each other what they said on the pretest. Using UV beads, students design their own experiment to compare the effectiveness of sunscreens. After the students have completed their experiments, they do more research to develop brochures "Being Safe in the Sun".
Today the students are going to meet Uncle Bill who is coming to talk to the students about emphysema. He enters the room, hobbles over to the chair and wheezes audibly for 5 minutes before he can begin to talk. This is the result of a life of smoking cigarettes. His grandmother lived to 107 but Bill can barely expect another year. The students question him and watch him. With each painful breathe they are again reminded of the consequences of appearing "cool" and puffing away on another cigarette.
Guest speakers who are willing to share their stories have profound effects on the students. Life choices have consequences but when young they seem so very far away as to appear non-existant. Guest speakers such as Bill bring the message home. Another good source for speakers is the Huntington's disease society of America, a support group for people carrying the Huntington's gene. Speakers from local health departments can share local statistics about infectious diseases and their epidemiology.
Resources
Suggested Labs and Activities
9.4.4.2.1 Genetic Testing (also - The Nature of Science and Engineering 9.1.3.4.1 and Standard 9.4.4.1.1)
This is a good opportunity to introduce biotechnology and genetic testing. Several kits can be purchased from companies such as "Carolina Biological Supply" and "Bio-rad". Kits that have been particularly successful include transformation laboratories in which DNA is inserted into a bacteria in the form of a plasmid which changes the phenotype of the bacteria (antibiotic resistance, expression of an enzyme with causes a molecule to glow under UV radiation etc). Another very effective kit involves gel electrophoresis. This can be done as a "murder" mystery or can be used to isolate a disease causing gene such as Huntingtons disease seen as an RFLP (Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism) which indicates inheritance of that gene. It is most cost effective to have a variety of kits and use them with different classes and then share the results. Each student must have an opportunity to experience Biotechnology and engineering. but students can share the results and protocols across classes.
Making Decisions in the Face of Uncertainty - In video segments, students view a family dealing with the question if a woman (the mother, sister, daughter, etc) should be tested for the breast cancer gene. When there is a history of breast cancer in the family. Students can discuss "what would they do in this situation".
See this page.
9.4.4.2.2 Understanding Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases
This National Institutes for Health site provides high school appropriate information and graphics (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK20370/). A curriculum supplement with activities and a CD-ROM with engaging videos and simulations is available from https://science.education.nih.gov/HighSchool/EmergingInfectiousDiseases
A discussion and research on vaccines is very effective. All students in a public school have had vaccinations. A school nurse could visit the class and discuss the vaccinations needed for public school attendance. Students go home to research the vaccinations they have received in their lifetime. What vaccinations do they have, what diseases do they prevent and why are they prevented. Students compare their medical histories and begin to understand why they have been vaccinated and how this relates to the health of society at large.
A follow-up activity attempts to answer the question "under what circumstances and to what extent, should we respect an individual's choice not to be vaccinated (or not to have his or her children vaccinated"
Balancing Individual and Community Claims: Establishing State Vaccination Policies
9.4.4.2.3 Allergies
Allergies are becoming more and more prevalent in society. What then is the cause of an allergy. Students take a class survey to determine who has allergies (nearly everyone does so this isn't such a mystery). They then identify the cause of the allergies and find a class percentage of the allergy victims. Students then look up the actual percentage of victims from such cites as the CDC (Center for disease control). They compare class findings to the center and then they research various theories of allergy causation.
Allergy Treatments and Cures (See NSE standard 9.1.3.3.2)
This video based investigation combines personalized medicine and allergies. Students must determine patterns in data collected to see if new medications should be marketed.
9.4.4.2.4 Disease detectives
This is a simulation of epidemiologist work tracking down the cause of an infectious disease. Link to the curriculum
Are You Susceptible? This is a survey of fictional characters who students follow their life style through stages of life. In the analysis, students can see how risky behavior (environmental or personal) can effect their chances of getting cancer in later stages of life.
9.4.4.2.5 Cancer Cells
Laboratories on skin cancer causes and effects.
Instructional suggestions/options
An effective method of teaching involves personal experience. When teaching to student's whose lives may have been impacted by disease either personally, a family member or peers the experience can be powerful. These include issues such as STDs, obesity, sucide and the wide variety of health challenges students face. Allowing students to share their experiences works well.
Guest speakers who have experienced first hand a disease or been impacted when loved ones were lost are especially powerful. Schools often have speakers who have had their lives impacted by drunk drivers. Some schools will actually stage an accident and have rescue personnel in to show students what a real life tragedy would look like.
Field trips to medical and/or research facilities where diseases are being treated an/or researched would add greatly to this standard.
Vocabulary/Glossary:
- vaccine - Preparation of weakened or killed pathogens used to produce immunity to a disease.
- antibody - a protein that either attacks antigen directly or induces antigen binding proteins ("eat me" signs).
- antigen - any substance that triggers an immune response.
- immune system - Specific defences to distinguish between self and other that inactivate or kill any foreign substance or cell that enters the body.
- disease - The term disease broadly refers to any condition that impairs normal function. There are four main types of disease: pathogenic disease, deficiency disease, hereditary disease, and physiological disease.
- pathogen - A disease causing organism
- allergy - an over-reaction of the immune system to usually harmless environmental substances.
- Electrophoresis equipment - power sources, gel chambers etc.
- PCR equipment and thermocycler - perhaps for advanced students.
- NIH curriculum :Emerging and Reemerging Diseases
- NIH Human Genetic Variation curriculum
- NIH Bioethics curriculum
- National Institute of Health: Office of Science Education - Lots of free current resources for teachers
- Stem Cells Experts: If you can't bring in a speaker to talk to students about stem cells, consider skyping with the expert (See researchers in your area or contact a local medical education facility for contact information. (Examples include: Mayo Clinic Education, University of Minnesota Medical Center and others. Sometimes a parent who is a medical professional may volunteer to speak to a class or network with students via skype or email). This is free and easy way for students to hear from to and ask questions of stem cell and other medical experts.
Many of these issues are tied to current events and historical perspectives. Many social studies classes discuss the same issues from a slightly different twist. (Example: How has the tobacco industry affected the US economy?)
Additional resources
- Youtube "Immune System"
- Immune System - Natural Killer Cell - The Formulation
- 3D Medical Animation - What is Cancer?
- biodigitalsystems is a series of videos about cancer
Assessment
Assessment of Students
1. 9.4.4.2.3 (Summative) How are allergies and pathogens related? (Compare and Contrast)
Both systems activate the immune system. In the case of allergies the allergen is benign and does not cause disease. In the case of pathogenic material the allergen is disease causing. The activation of the immune system with a pathogen can be life saving. The activation of the immune system with an allergic allergen can be annoying or even life threatening depending on the severity of the reaction.
2. 9.4.4.2.4 (Summative) List 3 human activities that directly cause disease and list the diseases they cause.
Answers may include:
1. Smoking - causes lung cancer
2. Drinking Alcohol in excess - causes cirhosis of the liver
3. Drinking contaminated water - causes diarhea (amoebic dysentery)
3. 9.4.4.2.2. (Summative) How does a vaccine work?
Answer: Vaccines are a dead or attenuated antigen (virus) which when injected into the body induces the production of antibodies. When the "real" antigen is encountered the body already has antibodies so can eliminate the antigen from the body before it can cause disease.
4. 9.4.4.2.2 (Formative) What is the difference between an antibody and an antibiotic?
Answer: An antibody is a protein made by a B cell in your immune system. It identifies a pathogen or antigen (an eat me sign) which signals the immune system to destroy it. An antibiotic kills living bacteria directly and is made from an outside source and given to the patient by either pill or injection.
Assessment of Teachers
Questions could be used as self-reflection or in professional development sessions.
1. Allergies have become an increasing problem in our schools. Why do you think this is? Is it because we are becoming more adept at diagnosing them or are more people becoming allergic? Compare and contrast allergies and auto-immune diseases.
Answers may include: Two different theories are possible. The first one is that children are not exposed to as many antigens early in life and therefore their immune system does not recognize normal ones like dust and mold as non-threatening and thus over reacts to them. The second possibility is that we are becoming more adept at identifying medical problems and are therefore finding more of them. Allergies involve a reactive to foreign but harmless antigen. Auto-immune diseases involve a reaction to the bodies own cells (MS, Arthritis)
2. As a teacher how do you approach teaching risks of environmental factors and personal decisions without insulting your population of parents and students?
3. Sometimes after treatment for cancer, a patient will develop a secondary leukemia. What is the cause of the secondary leukemia?
A secondary leukemia occurs when a patient is treated for cancer using radiation. The radiation may kill the primary cancer but in the process causes a second mutation in genes found in the bone marrow and thus causes a second cancer. The bone marrow is particularly susceptible as it constantly undergoes mitosis in the process of making new blood cells.
Differentiation
Struggling and At-Risk
This topic tends to be of particular interest to "at risk" students. Everyone has or knows of a personal story about cancer/infectious diseases. These students often want to share. Experience indicates that many of them come from less than optimal environments. Many are exposed to a larger variety of risks than other students. Discussions involved in this standard are therefore especially important with this group of students. Warning: Try not to be judgemental but rather present the facts and the statistics.
On tests, watch vocabulary and wording so that tests are based on science and not always on English vocabulary. Beware: words like antibody and antibiotic and antigen sound very similar but have very different meanings. Sometimes associating the word with a visual representation will help connect them to their meanings.
The genetics of cancer and the involvement of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes may be particularly interesting to gifted students. Research topics may involve several of these. Students who are involved in mentor programs at major medical facilities may be able to share some of their findings - much of which is related to this topic.
Making Hard Decisions: Students participate in the decision funding only one communicable disease. They must analyze the impact on society, most cost effective, etc.
What are the disease risks in other parts of the world? Are some diets healthier and less prone to disease than others? Is obesity more rampart in some areas than in others? Are vaccinations more likely to be received in some countries? Are there impediments to proper health care due to social limitations? This topic can open the doors to some wonderful discussions about the diseases and variety of diseases encountered by people in different cultures.
Often alternative learning styles such as role playing the part of cells of the immune system can make a concept much clearer for these students. Watch out for medical terminology on tests.
Parents/Admin
Administrators
Students may be comparing family histories of either cancer or allergies and then researching the probably causes of these maladies. In contrast they may be interviewing a guest speaker on their struggle with a medical problem that could have been prevented if only they had know (or listened) to warnings about health risks. Students may be involved in discussions/debates about ethical issues of alternative treatment for cancer and terminal disease. (See NSE standard 9.1.1.1.4 and 9.1.1.1.5)
Sharing information on vaccinations and family health issues can be very useful and educational. as well as vital to the general knowledge of all people. Did the student have all of their vaccinations? What diseases did they have as children? What diseases do their immediate relatives suffer from? Not only is this useful in class, this is also information that is useful for the students to know their entire life.