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Author: Amelia Butler
School/Organization:
Lankenau Environmental Science Magnet High School
Year: 2023
Seminar: Children’s Environmental Health
Grade Level: 8-12
Keywords: asthma, asthma attack, asthma triggers, breathing, chronic, environment, environmental, inhaler, irritants, Respiration, symptoms, triggers, wheezing
School Subject(s): ELA
This unit is created to give students insight into the environmental effects on student health with a specific focus on the increasing effects of asthma on today’s youth. Students will learn, research, analyze and create their own content documenting and presenting their findings to inform, teach, and inspire others to learn and make a difference in environmental improvement.
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The objective of this unit it to inform, inspire and motivate students to want to learn more and do more to make a difference in the everyday lives of their peers by collaborating for a cause. Students will learn to express their opinions while having respect for the opinions of others. This will be done through discussion, research and respect. Sharing opinions is not about debating, it is about coming together, sharing different viewpoints, agreeing on some points and agreeing to disagree on others, but to do so intelligently and respectfully. Students will also learn how to formulate ideas and hypotheses and how to present their knowledge in a structured framework of understanding via presentation or written expression (letters to their politicians). There is a positive correlation between research and teaching. Research enhances the student experience and educates students on how they learn best. The ability to research also gives students the tools to improve and expand their learning as they progress through their educational careers. Teaching research skills gives the teacher the opportunity to address any gaps in students’ skills and knowledge. This is done by giving students, as a whole and individually, the know-how in research and the ability to advance their own knowledge and learning. The ability to research empowers student learning. As an educator, it is important for me to assess my students’ learning. Assessing student learning involves not only determining how a student learns but also giving them the tools to be an active participant in their learning. There are so many things in this world that are beyond the control of students, learning should not be one of them. Students being able to take an active role in their learning, thus being able to control how they learn helps to develop not just their research skills, but life skills over all, as the components of research and learning can be applied to all areas of their lives. Additionally, insight gained teaching students how to research will help to inform my teaching practices and style for years to come. Asthma has become one of the most prevalent healthcare issues affecting minorities in metropolitan communities. While there have been advancements in asthma diagnosis and research, the effects of the inner city living in many communities continue to have adverse effects on individuals, specifically children. While no one really knows what causes asthma, and it can vary from person to person, environmental factors have been shown to be important asthma triggers. In recent years it has been found that the management of asthma has been challenged by the increase of and exposure to indoor allergens such as dust mites, dogs, cates, cockroaches and exposure to mice and mouse droppings. Within the inner city of Philadelphia there are many students that live in conditions that could potentially trigger asthma or cause asthma like symptoms. Additionally, within the public schools in the city of Philadelphia, many schools have problems with pests, water intrusion and poor ventilation systems which can also exacerbate asthma and cause asthma like symptoms When exposure in home settings is coupled by exposure in school settings, children are at an alarmingly increased rate of developing asthma. Reason: I have observed, in recent years, the increasing number of students that have health flags on their academic profiles, specifically for asthma. It has become apparent to me that there may be significant issues facing our youth in regard to asthma. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, asthma is a chronic (long-term) condition that affects the airways in the lungs, (2020). Asthma can be hereditary but there have been studies that indicate that asthma can also be attributed to environmental conditions, such as pollution (NHLBI, 2020). Students with asthma can face challenges and limitations in what they are able to do physically and when and where they are able to do it sometimes needing to miss school. Missed school days has a significant impact on learning. With this curriculum unit, I would like to guide students in the research of what the environmental causes of asthma are/could be, with a focus on pollution. In this process students will first learn about asthma, what it is, how it effects the body, who suffers from asthma, the degrees of asthma, and specifically asthma affecting their age group (14-18). Students will research, discuss, analyze, and infer to formulate ideas and hypotheses around teenage asthma. In this process students will determine the possible causes, exclusive of heredity, that could be attributed to the uptake in asthma cases. This unit will culminate in students writing letters to politicians, documenting and presenting their research and findings. The hope is to have an audience and a chance to present a presentation and findings that they will compile, documenting their research and requesting politicians to make a change. (Student voice). Standards: CC.1.4.9–10.J, CC.1.5.9–10.F , CC.1.5.9–10.D, CC.1.5.9–10.C, CC.1.5.9–10.A, CC.1.4.9–10.W Question: Does pollution play a part in the worsening of asthma and asthma symptoms for our youth? Explore: Can asthma be caused by pollution? Does pollution exacerbate asthma or asthma symptoms? What can students do to make a difference?
Introductory Lesson: Opinion Activity Language Arts Goal: Provide a safe environment for students to share opinions about controversial topics and to understand the opinions of others. Objectives: Students will… Time required: 45 minutes Procedure: Homework: Assessment: Lesson 1: What is Asthma? How asthma affects health. Objectives: Preparation: Introduction to Asthma Read to students: The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reports that over 16 million adults and almost 7 million children in the United States suffer from asthma. Asthma is the most common childhood illness. One out of every 13 school age children have asthma. Asthma is more likely to affect adults and children who live in poverty and people with less than a high school education than people with higher incomes and better education. These lessons have been written to help people with asthma, or who have family members with asthma, learn about what asthma is and what you can do to protect yourself and family members from asthma attacks. What is asthma? What is asthma? Read to Students: The symptoms of asthma are easy to learn. There are many ways to protect people from asthma to help them lead a full and active life. In the following three lessons we are going to learn that there are many ways that you can control asthma. Warm-Up Activity Conduct this activity with the class: Below is a warm up activity to engage students in thinking about asthma, what it feels like to have asthma, and how it affects a person’s ability to breathe. Experience: What does it feel like to have asthma? Activity: Breathe through a bent straw. This activity is designed to help students better understand the difficulties that people with asthma have in breathing. Teachers distribute a plastic straw to each student in the class. Ask the students to breathe through the straw. Then ask them to bend the straw in the middle, keep the straw bent and try to breathe through the straw while it is bent. Ask: What happens when you try to breathe through the bent straw? Was it harder to breathe out than it was to breathe in? Explain that difficulty breathing is a symptom of asthma. How does it make you feel? Ask: Do any of you have asthma or do any of you know someone who has asthma? Take a moment to think about your experience with asthma; what it’s like, how it has affected their life or the life of the person they know. (Reflection – students are not sharing out as this may be too personal for them.) Class Activity Provide each student with a copy of the brochure Help Your Child Gain Control Over Asthma Teacher: Read pages 1-2 to introduce the brochure to the class Students: Read pages 3-10 of the brochure. (The rest of the brochure will be used in lesson 2 and 3. Brochure can be read as a whole class exercise ‘Round-Robin or independently). Ask: How does asthma affect health? Name 3 things that you learned about asthma from reading the brochure. (Explain that the information in the brochure is the same for both adults as well as children who have asthma.) What are some of the warning signs that let you know that your child or a family member has asthma? Student Worksheets: Lesson 1 Directions to students: Read “Maria’s Story” all the way through. In the following worksheets you will be asked to answer questions about the story. You can look back through the story to find the answers. Vocabulary: (introduce words and discuss meaning relative to the topic): breathing, wheezing, asthma, symptoms, airways, narrow, asthma attack, exhale, lungs inhale, chronic, recurring. Maria got a telephone call from the nurse at her son’s school. Thomas was having trouble breathing and a wheezing sound was coming from his chest. The nurse asked if he has asthma. She noted that asthma can cause symptoms of coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. Asthma causes the airways in the chest to swell and get narrow or small making it difficult to breathe. She thought Thomas was having an asthma attack because he was having difficulty exhaling air from his lungs and he coughed when he inhaled air into his lungs. Maria told the nurse that both she and her son have asthma, a chronic illness that is recurring and happens again and again over a long period of time. She told the nurse that she gets scared because Thomas has asthma attacks often. He gets them at home and at school. He likes to run around outside with his friends, but his parents want him to stay inside because of his asthma attacks. It makes him unhappy. What leads to asthma attacks? Vocabulary: environment, respiration, asthma triggers, Asthma Action Plan, medicine Maria called the doctor. The doctor thought Thomas was having an asthma attack because of conditions in the environment where he lives, goes to school, or plays that affect his respiration, or ability to breathe. He gave Thomas medicine to help him breathe and asked his parents to find out what things in Thomas’s environment are causing him to have an asthma attack. The things in the environment that cause asthma attacks are called asthma triggers. The doctor helped Maria learn about asthma triggers and they filled out an Asthma Action Plan to keep track of Thomas’s asthma triggers, the medicines he needs, and what to do when he has an asthma attack. Directions: Write the definitions (meanings) in your own words, from memory, by looking at the reading about asthma in Maria’s story, or by recalling what was discussed and how the words were used. asthma: wheezing: asthma attack: chronic: asthma triggers: symptoms: Directions: Use the following words to complete the definitions below: respiration Asthma Action Plan airways environment medicine narrow __________________ in the chest allow a person to breathe __________________helps a person keep track of their asthma __________________conditions around us – the air, water, soil, and living things where we live, work, go to school, or play. __________________ the act of breathing -taking air into the lungs and letting air out of the lungs. __________________ happens to the airways when a person has an asthma attack __________________makes a person feel better and helps them get well when they are sick. Directions: Read the fact sheet below to learn five important things you should know about asthma. This information will help you to answer questions in Activity 5. Reading Comprehension. You can look back through the fact sheet to find the answers. 1. You can control your asthma · You don’t need to miss school, sports, or other activities. 2. Asthma is a disease that makes the airways in your lungs inflamed and swollen · During an asthma flare-up (attack), your airways are swollen and sensitive. · You can control the swelling with medicine, and by staying away from things that bother your airways. 3. Things that bother your airways are called “triggers” · “Triggers” cause asthma flare-ups. · Smoke, pollen, dust, cold air, toxic chemicals, pets and pests, and exercise can be triggers. · Every person with asthma has different triggers. · Learn how to avoid your triggers and prevent flare-ups. · Medicine taken as directed by your doctor can help prevent your asthma from flaring up. 4. Work with your doctor to manage your asthma · Know what to do every day to avoid flare-ups. · Know what to do right away if you have a flare-up. 5. If someone you care for or live with has asthma, don’t smoke · Smoke is a common trigger and can cause asthma to flare up. · If you or someone you care for smokes, get help to quit smoking. · You can get free help at 1-800-784-8669. Ask: Are there any words you just read that were unfamiliar? Let’s talk about them together. Directions: Circle the best answer to each of the following questions after reading about asthma. 1. What is asthma? a. A noise a person makes while breathing b. The way a person breathes when they are scared c. An illness that causes the airways to swell and get tight d. Something a person gets from running too much 2. What can trigger an asthma attack? a. Being allergic to your cat b. Being near someone who is smoking. c. Being inside a room that is dusty. d. All of the above. 3. How is asthma treated? a. By eating peanuts. b. By following the advice in an Asthma Action Plan that your doctor gives you. c. By staying inside when the weather is bad. d. By not running too much. 4. What can you do about asthma? a. a. Drink herbal tea. b. b. Buy cough syrup from a store. c. c. See a doctor to get the medicine you need. d. d. Take a warm bath. 5. Which one of the statements about asthma below is FALSE (not true)? a. You can take control of your asthma. b. Asthma makes the airways inflamed and swollen. c. Smoking will not be a problem if you have asthma. d. Things that cause asthma are called “triggers. e. A doctor can help you manage your asthma. List 3 symptoms that appear when a person has asthma: 1) ______________________ 2) ___________________________ 3) _________________________________ Directions: Choose one of the questions below and respond to it. Your response should be comprehensive of what was discussed/learned in the lessons and prior activities. You can include your personal experiences as well. Your response should be 2-3 comprehensive paragraphs. Qustion1: If you had asthma, how would it affect your life? Question 2: If your child had asthma, how would it affect your child and family? Question 3: Do you think asthma is caused by genetics, the environment or a combination of both? Student Take-Home Activity: What is it like to have asthma? Directions: Find a friend or family member who has asthma. Ask them the questions on the worksheet below and write down their answers. If the person does not want to answer a question, just skip to the next question. Bring your worksheet with you to the next class and prepare to report what you learned to the class. 1. What does it feel like when you have an asthma attack? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Are there things that make your asthma worse? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Are there things that help with your asthma? Things you can do to have asthma attacks less often? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Do you take medicine for your asthma? Yes or No 5. How does having asthma affect your life? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Do you feel as though your asthma is caused or triggered by environmental factors? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Report back to class: What is it like to have asthma, causes & triggers? Directions: students will share out and discuss in groups (think-pair-share) what they have learned and if their thoughts on asthma and it’s causes has changed. Lesson 3: Asthma in MY World – Making a Difference This lesson will provide students with the opportunity to research and understand how asthma affects children in Philadelphia. Students will read provided article(s), and from those articles determine their point of voice. (Point of voice is by definition focus for expression of ideas and thoughts). Students will also discuss viewpoints, support facts, and review data. Materials: Time: Day 1: Classroom Set-Up/Day 1: Student desks should be arranged in a formation that promotes group discussion, i.e., circle, semi-circle. Lesson Structure: ARTICLE: Housing and Asthma Disparities (in Philadelphia) Teacher initiated/guided –/Student-led discussion. Day(s) 2 MINI – LESSON: Structure of the Philadelphia City Government / Knowing MY Politician and Making a Difference This lesson will help students understand the make-up of their city government. Students will learn the branches, number of members for each branch, the responsibility of each branch and who THEIR politician is (Representative). Teacher: Share the resource below with students. Time: 1 to 2 class periods Due to the culminating activity of this lesson, it is import for students to understand the structure and framework of their local city government. Students should also have a general understanding of the three levels of the national government. Students will need to possess a working knowledge of both for the culminating activity of this overall lesson. With this knowledge students will be able to determine to which politician, and at which level, they will address their concerns. How Philly Works: A Guide to City Government Overview of Information: Activity Prep: Day(s) 3 – 3/4 *Consider the following* Day 4/5 Additional informational readings that can be assigned to students: “Dealing With Asthma Triggers” (TeensHealth.org/en/teens/asthma-triggers.html) “Ozone, Air Quality, and Asthma” (TeensHealth.org/en/teens/ozone-asthma.html) “Asthma-Safe Homes” (TeensHealth.org/en/teens/asthma-homes.html) “Can the Weather Affect a Person’s Asthma?” (https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/weather-asthma.html?ref=search)
CCCS: (Common Core Curriculum Standard): CC.1.4.9–10.J, CC.1.5.9–10.F , CC.1.5.9–10.D, CC.1.5.9–10.C, CC.1.5.9–10.A, CC.1.4.9–10.W
Student Activity 1: Maria’s Story – What is Asthma?
Student Activity 2: Vocabulary Practice – Defining Words
Student Activity 3: Matching Definitions
Student Activity 4: Reading about Asthma
Five Important Things You Should Know About Asthma
Student Activity 5: Reading Comprehension
Student Activity 6: Writing About Asthma
Worksheet Questions:
American Journal of Respiratory & Critical Care Medicine (AM J RESPIR CRIT CARE MED), 6/1/2016; 193(11): 1271-1280. (21p) Bryant-Stephens, T. C., Strane, D., Robinson, E. K., Bhambhani, S., & Kenyon, C. C. (2021). Housing and asthma disparities. The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology, 148(5), 1121–1129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2021.09.023 Bryant-Stephens, T. (2009). Asthma disparities in urban environments. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 123(6), 1199-1206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2009.04.030 Help Your Child Gain Control Over Asthma. (2023, June). EPA: United States Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/asthma/help-your-child-gain-control-over-asthma How Philly Works: A Guide to Our City Government. (2023). The Committee of Seventy.https://seventy.org/uploads/attachments/clmt8ss9401fk4wnpfzbicd6q-how-philly-works-101.pdf Keystone Science School. (2013). https://www.keystonescienceschool.org/ National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. (2020, March). What is Asthma? http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov Nemours: Teens Health. (2023). http://www.kidshealth.org