ND Curriculum Initiative

Subject & Standards

2.Concepts: promotion of health and prevetion of disease: 3. Effect of External Factors on Health:

Needs Assessment/Rational

When looking for the instructional need and rationale for my unit of instruction, I looked through the North Dakota State Assessment Test results for the past 2 years. I noticed that our 8th graders tested low both years for Reading Standard 8.5.1 (Writing for various specific audiences). They also scored low both years on Math Standard 8.3.1 (Collect, read and display data). In 2002, Reading standard 8.5.1 was 60% and math standard 8.3.1 was 60%. In 2003 those numbers were 70%, and 65% respectively.
I also looked at the North Dakota State Standards and found that I could use a unit on the respiratory system to support several science and health standards while also addressing the gaps in the Reading and Language Arts Standards and Math Standards shown on the assessment tests. This unit will support science standards 7.1 Unifying Concepts and 7.4 Life Science. It will also support Health Standards 8.3 Environmental and Community Health, 8.5 Behaviors and Risks, 8.7 Health Advocacy.
Finally, I also looked at the results of an at-risk behavior survey done in Cass, Richland, and Sargent Counties of North Dakota in 1997. In that survey, 9% of 6th graders, 30% of 9th graders, and 45% of 12th graders reported tobacco use in the past 30 days. (http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/sdc/data/misc/well-being/Atriskgraphreport.pdf) I also looked at the results of a regional tobacco and secondhand smoke survey done in 2002 of Clay, Ottertail, and Wilkin Counties in Minnesota and Richland County in North Dakota. In that survey 21% of the 861 households surveyed had a resident who smoked and in 44.1% of those households also had children under the age of 18 in residence. So even if a student decides not to smoke, there is also the dangers of secondhand smoke to consider.

Understandings & Goals

Enduring Understanding:I want my students to understand the major components of their respiratory system and how smoking can affect their health.
Goal(s): 1.Students will explore the respiratory system and understand how smoking affects their health. 2. Students will explore the respiratory system and understand how smoking affects their health.

Questions Answered

Essential questions: 1. How do the major organs of the respiratory system work together to help us breathe? 2. What are some diseases and disorders of the respiratory system? 3. How does smoking affect the respiratory system? 4. Why is secondhand smoke dangerous?
Objectives: 1. Given a diagram of the human body, the student will be able to identify and describe the major organs of the respiratory system with 80% accuracy.  2. Given the opportunity to work cooperatively, the student will formulate questions about factors that influence smoking and conduct a survey to collect data about smoking. 3. Given the data collected from their surveys, the student will create a bar graph, circle graph, and line graph with 80% accuracy. 4. Given internet resources, students will research and be able to list and describe five diseases or disorders of the respiratory system. 5. Given the opportunity to work cooperatively in a group and a specific audience, students will create two different presentations on the effects of smoking on the respiratory system scoring in the A or B area on a rubric that they help create.

Assessment

What quiz and test items (e.g. simple content-focused questions that require a single, best answer) will provide evidence of understanding?
Students will be assessed with a quiz on the terms and some listing and short answer questions about the jobs of the organs of the respiratory system.
What academic prompts (e.g. open-ended questions or problems that require students to think critically and then to prepare a response / product / performance) will provide evidence of understanding?
Students will be asked to think of things that influence people to smoke, create and give a survey, and use the data they collect from that survey to create some different types of graphs.
What performance tasks and projects (e.g. complex challenges that are authentic, mirror the real world and require a performance or product) will you include that will provide evidence of student understanding?
1. Students will create and give a presentation to various groups to show their understanding of the topic. 2. They will be assessed using checklists and rubrics that they help create.
What other evidence (e.g. observations, work samples, dialogues, student self-assessment)of understanding will you collect?
1. Students will write in self-reflection journals about their findings and their presentations. 2. I will also use my observations to assess students.

Instructional Strategies

I will be using both inquiry-based learning and project-based learning with my students. Students will use inquiry-based learning when they create the surveys they will be giving to different groups in the school. I will be guiding the students to try to come up with some factors that would influence a person’s decision to smoke and the students will use their ideas to create a survey to get responses for their ideas. Students will also use project-based learning as they do research and create a presentation for their specific audience.