Physiological Determinants of Global Health

Classroom Activities

Each of the following activities can be adapted to make them differentiated depending on your teaching environment or group of students. Students can work independently or in groups. They can do reading lessons as a listening activity or oral reading activity.

Introduction Activity: Make it “Good” Paragraph

The teacher will read aloud the introductory scenario presented at the beginning of this unit. In small groups of 4-6, the students will create a list of the facts presented in the scenario. What is this scenario about? The students will make inferences and draw conclusions to answer this question. After a brief discussion about what is “bad” about the things happening in the scenario, the students will rewrite the scenario incorporating new details to make it “good”.

Making Connections: Word Study for Cancer

Either through discussion or writing the students will brainstorm all they know about the word cancer. What comes to mind when you hear the word? Is it scary? Are there any positive feelings associated with the word? Do you have any personal experiences with the word? Do you have any questions about the word? The phonetics and syllables of the word will be displayed along with its Old English, Latin and Greek origins.

Classification Game: Carcinogen or Not?

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has devised a list of carcinogens that have been tested. They have created a classification system below. Students will be given a list of substances and will put them into the correct category. They may work with a partner or group and use whatever resources they can to gather information about these substances. After sufficient work time, we will go over the answers and have a discussion about our discoveries from this activity.

(See monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Classification/ for a complete list of potential carcinogens and their classification.)

Group 1: Carcinogenic to humans

Group 2A: Probably carcinogenic to humans

Group 2B: Possibly carcinogenic to humans

Group 3: Unclassifiable as to carcinogenicity in humans

Group 4: Probably not carcinogenic to humans

Formaldehyde (found in shampoos, cosmetics, permanent press fabrics and plywood)

Styrene (styrofoam)

Phenobarbital (epilepsy medicine)

Mitomycin C (prescription drug used to treat some cancers)

Perfluorooctanoic acid (non stick pans and inside of microwave popcorn bag)

Carrageenan (dairy foods)

HC Blue No. 2 (color)

Talc-based body powder (baby powder)

Vitamin K (vegetables, hot spices and olive oil)

Radon (a gas formed from the breakdown of uranium-found in igneous rock and sometimes well water)

Polyurethane foams (packaging foam)

Coal-tar (used in parking lots, dandruff shampoo and psoriasis medicine)

Crude oil (gasoline, nail polish, shoes, umbrellas, soap, deodorant and many others)

Hydrogen Peroxide (disinfectant and whitener)

Plutonium (bombs)

Nickel (metal)

Mercury (lightbulbs, thermometers, batteries, paint)

Lead (candy, toys, medicine)

Citris Red No. 2 (color in soda and other things)

Diazinon (bug and weed killer)

Benzidine (dyes in leather, textile and paper)

Caffeine (coffee)

Bisphenol-A (BPA in canned foods)

Aspartame (sugar free drinks and food, diet sodas)

Graphing: Global Cancer Rates

Students will divide into groups of 4-6. They will research the top five countries across the globe with the highest cancer rates. Using the data collected they will create a graph of their choice to demonstrate the information. A brief group presentation will be required. Following the presentations will be a discussion and drawing conclusions about the possible links for the areas with the highest cancer rates.

Create a Booklet: Cell Structure

Students will create an 8- page booklet to help them learn and review cell structures. The activities in the booklet will include the following:

A cut and paste activity to match the structure and function to the cell name

Label the structures of a plant cell diagram

Label the structures of an animal cell diagram

Review structures and functions by completing a crossword puzzle

Complete a Venn diagram showing differences/similarities of plant and animal cells.

Create a drawing of a cancer cell with unusual features.

Movement: Cell Simulation (Mitosis)

Students will play a game in which they act out each phase of a cell’s life. The students will act out interphase, prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase and cytokinesis. The goal is for students to be able to act out the stages of mitosis with their group members as fast as possible. Split the class into two or three teams equally. Two group members will be picked to be centrioles. Everyone else in the group will be a chromosome. Half of the group will be original chromosomes and the other half will be duplicated. For interphase the original chromosomes will stand in the middle of the play area and copy themselves by bringing in someone that has the role of the copied chromosome. Now there are two chromosomes in the middle. For prophase the two centrioles will come in and stand in the empty space. During metaphase the chromosomes line up down the middle of the area and imaginary spindles are attached to the centrioles. The centrioles will be at opposite ends of the area. In anaphase the centrioles will pull the chromosomes apart and the chromosomes will move toward the closest centriole. The chromosomes will then form a huddle to represent the nucleus that is forming in telophase. Finally, for cytokinesis, the chromosomes start to walk away in their huddle to represent the two daughter cells that have formed.

As an extension to this activity, students will introduce a carcinogen during interphase. The students will have the freedom to discuss, predict, plan and act out what they think will happen when this occurs. Their demonstration of the birth of a cancer cell will show their understanding of the concepts introduced.

Extension Activity: Dirty Dozen

This activity is more of an eye opener than anything else and students also love when they get a chance to eat food in class. The activity will begin with a presentation of strawberries, apples, cherry tomatoes and celery. Each student will get a conventional and an organic piece of fruit or vegetable and we will taste them together and discuss what we thought about the taste differences. Do not tell them which is organic and which is conventional until after they had a chance to predict it themselves. After the short taste test activity present the following information so students can be informed about some of the food choices they make and the possibility of decreasing carcinogen exposure through diet. Eating healthy fresh fruits and vegetables are a vital part of being healthy. It is reported by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, a panel at the U.S. government's Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, that high levels of fruit and vegetable consumption are strongly associated with a decreased risk of many diseases including cancer.²⁷ However, it has been determined that many pesticides in the produce increase cancer risks.

Take a look at this scenario. You are hungry and decide to eat a ripe, crisp apple full of fiber, vitamins and minerals. Eating an apple should put nothing but good into your body. After all, an apple a day keeps the doctor away. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) conducted research to show high levels of chemicals and pesticides in commonly consumed foods, apples being one of them. Through their research they derived a list of "The Dirty Dozen-Contaminated Foods"²⁸

1. beef, pork, poultry (chemicals, antibiotics and hormones)
2. milk, cheese, butter (chemicals, antibiotics and hormones)
3. strawberries, raspberries, cherries
4. apples and pears
5. tomatoes
6. potatoes
7. spinach and other greens
8. coffee
9. peaches and nectarines
10. grapes
11. celery
12. red and green bell peppers

So that delicious and “healthy” apple you just consumed was sprayed with almost as many pesticides as strawberries which are the most heavily dosed crop in America. On average, 300 pounds of pesticide are applied per acre of strawberries as compared to an average of only 25 pounds per acre for other food. Thirty-six different pesticides were detected on apples during FDA testing. Some of these pesticides are against the law to use in the United States but are produced in the United States and exported to other countries who grow food that we import.²⁹ Now that makes a lot of sense (sarcastic tone implied). Also, peeling the apple reduces, but does not eliminate, the danger of ingesting these chemicals. Undoubtedly, there is no question that Americans generally consume hazardous pesticides when eating fruits and vegetables.

Reflection: Connecting Learning

This will serve as assessment for the unit. Students are to complete two parts. During the first part students will write everything they learned about cell organelles, cell division and the introduction of carcinogens and the affects they have on healthy cells. They will also include any information gathered about carcinogens and cancer rates around the world. The second part of the reflection is where the students get the opportunity to take what they have learned and make it meaningful in their own lives. The students are to articulate through writing the things they can do to reduce carcinogen exposure in their lives and their family’s lives. It is hoped that students will make informed decisions that will help them live happier and healthier.