Illness
by
Jason Askegreen
Introduction
Illnesses have been around since the beginning of time. Those that we will focus on can be found in severe cold weather areas such as the polar regions.
The Task
In this week-long lesson you will learn more about the illnesses that the explorers had to deal with and the prevention of them. The finished products will be:
- a greater understanding of
- a menu for an expedition
Resources
The primary resource for calculating your diet analysis is a nutrition software program. For your second task, you will be using the Internet to find information on the explorer's diets.
The Process
- Day One: Groups of three- Discuss what you know about how cold weather causes illnesses. Discuss how you think these illnesses occur and what could be done to prevent them. Discuss what you would like to know about these illnesses. Write down your answers.
- Day Two and Three: Class discussion- How to perform a web quest. Groups of three- Find information about a few of the illnesses by looking at the following links. Take notes, for you will need them on Friday.
- Day Four: One day will be set aside as a fitness day. You will be running to the North Pole with your team! Every lap around the track will equal 5 miles. Your team will calculate and keep the total milage.
- Day Five: Groups of three- Devise a plan for what you will do to prepare for an expedition to either the Arctic or Antarctic. Remember, the weather is unforgiving. List items of clothing to keep you warm as well as medical supplies to keep you healthy.
Evaluation
For the class discussion at the beginning of this unit, students will be evaluated simply on their participation and cooperation.
For the second and third days, evaluation will be based again on participation and cooperation. Your web quests are a group project, but each student is responsible for a portion of it, and may not necessarily receive the same grade. Divide the work evenly and write on the back of the finished product each student's name and the portions they worked on. Also, include what grade you and your peers would give each other considering the amount of work each put into it.
The evaluation of the fourth day (which will be performed once each week of the unit) will be based on participation. Each member of the team will record how many laps they ran and the total team mileage.
Day five, devising a plan, will be evaluated based on thoroughness of content, creativity and group cooperation.
Conclusion
Upon completion of this lesson, you will have a greater understanding of the illnesses that plagued the early explorers and which, to this day, discourage explorers. You will have an understanding of how to prepare and prevent these types of illnesses. You also will have successfully used the Internet to find information.
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