At a Glance:
| Grades: | 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Science |
| Topic: | Managing Diabetes |
| Lesson Length: | 45 minutes - 1 hour |
Standards / Framework:
What will students learn in this activity?
Use this to lesson to introduce students to diabetes and strategies for maintaining good health.
What should students know before this activity?
Given the prevalence of diabetes, this lesson should be implemented with sensitivity.
How can teachers introduce this lesson?
- Ask the whole class the following questions:
- Do you know someone with diabetes?
- What is diabetes?
- How does it affect this person?
- Explain that diabetes is a group of metabolic disorders affecting 34.2 million Americans, including children and adolescents. The condition affects how one’s body processes food into energy.
What will students do?
- Working in groups, have students research different aspects of diabetes including the differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, the characteristics of each type, the risks associated with Type 2 diabetes, symptoms, and things that can be done to maintain good health.
- Ask each group to share their findings with the class.
- Have students create a three-panel comic demonstrating their understanding of the everyday choices they can make to help keep their blood sugar at normal levels.
- How does exercise help them?
- What foods are part of their plan?
- How can they recognize low blood sugar?
How can teachers wrap up the lesson?
- Set up a gallery walk so that students can view and discuss the comics.
- Point out that eating right and regular exercise are important for everyone, but especially for people managing diabetes.
How can teachers differentiate this activity?
- Allow students to use the speech-to-text feature.
- Allow students to use the voiceover feature to read their comics aloud.
- Allow students to create a comic based on a specific aspect of diabetes such as symptoms or the differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
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