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Lesson Plan   


 
    Lesson Information
     
 
    Objectives
    Assessment
     
   
    Resources
    Materials
    Vocabulary
    Procedures
    Day Plans
    Enrichment Options
     
   
    Teacher Reflection
     



Stage 1
Identify Desired Results

Catchy Title: The Price of Beauty: What you don't know might hurt you
 Theme/Topic of Lesson: cosmetics product safety environmental health
 Time Commitment: 3 class periods + brochure assignment(outside of class)
 Subject Area(s):
    Health - Environmental health
    Science - Chemistry
 Grade Level(s): 9,10,11,12
 Standards Alignment:
Class Challenge Question:

Can the use of personal care products be harming our health?  How can we go about uncovering the truth about cosmetic safety?


Overview:

Although the FDA has overall responsibility for ensuring that the cosmetics and personal care items we use on a regular basis are safe, they have very few restrictions or guidelines that insure their safety.  In fact, they don't even have to approve cosmetics before they go to market.

In this lesson, students will learn about cosmetic safety issues and concerns raised mostly by advocacy groups.   Through guided Internet research, they will learn that the products they use regularly may actually contain potentially harmful ingredients. Students will have an opportunity to create a cosmetic safety brochure designed for the average consumer, to create awareness about cosmetic safety concerns.

 

Stage 2
Determine Acceptable Evidence

Learning Objectives:

The Students will:
    • learn the FDA's role in ensuring cosmetic "safety"
    • investigate potentially harmful ingredients found in common cosmetics
    • determine if any personal care products they use on a daily basis might contain harmful ingredients
    • design a consumer health awareness brochure about the potential harmful effects of certain ingredients in chemicals

     


 Assessment

Students will be given a check plus, check or check minus for completion of their research worksheet.

Students will be graded on their cosmetic safety brochure based on the rubric (cosmetic-brochure_rubric.doc)

Stage 3
Plan Learning Experiences

Resources

Internet SitesProduct Safety Testing Glossary

contains glossary of product safety terminology

  http://www.kids4research.org/info_pages/Product%20Safety/product_safety_testing_glossary.htm
Product Safety

Overview of product safety and regulations 

  http://www.kids4research.org/info_pages/Product%20Safety/product_safety.htm
Household Products Database

Searchable database of common household products with toxicity and enviornmental health information specific to products

  http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/index.htm
Chemicals Under Review

List of high priority chemicals currently under review

  http://www.cir-safety.org/priorities.shtml
Campaign for Safe Cosmetics

Site dedicated to cosmetic safety, including links to searchable database

  http://www.safecosmetics.org/
Skin Deep

Searchable database of common cosmetics; ingredients rated low, moderate or high for product safety

  http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep2/index.php
Articles

Links to a variety of articles on cosmetic safety issues

  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cosmetics.html
Online Cosmetics Quiz

An online quiz about cosmetic safety, with detailed information about each question and answer.  Students will take the quiz on paper prior to learning about cosmetic safety, and as a class, will review the answers.

  http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/costf-1.html
Hairdressers at Risk...

article about the correlation between hairdressers and asthma, due to bleaching agents widely used.

  http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10071440/
Materials
Per class
  • The Price of Beauty cosmetics slide show  (View)
  • The Price of Beauty cosmetics lesson standards  (View)
as determined by instructor
  • The Price of Beauty my products worksheet  (View)
  • The Price of Beauty cosmetic student worksheet  (View)
  • The Price of Beauty cosmetic brochure rubric  (View)
Vocabulary
  • cosmetic - articles intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body or any part thereof for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance, and (2) articles intended for use as a component of any such articles; except that such term shall not include soap.
  • toxic - Capable of causing injury or death, especially by chemical means; poisonous
  • toxicity - The degree to which a substance is toxic
  • carcinogenic - A cancer causing substance or agent
Procedures

On the first day of the lesson, students will learn about cosmetic safety issues in general through a combination of lecture, class discussion and a brief quiz to determine their pre-existing knowledge.  The activities of the day will raise awareness of cosmetic safety as well as introduce students to the FDA's role in ensuring that the cosmetics we use are indeed safe.  

Each student will bring in three cosmetic products (and their labels) that they use regularly.  During Days 2 and 3, student pairs will conduct research on the products that they have brought in to determine if there are any ingredients in these products that are considered to be of moderate or high concern.  Finally, as a culminating activity, students will individually create a cosmetic safety health brochure targeted for the average consumer to raise awareness of cosmetic safety issues.

Students should have some familiarity with how to conduct effective searches on the Internet.

Teacher Prerequisites:  Spend some time familiarizing yourself with the Internet resources listed, especially the two searchable databases that the students will be using for their research. 

Optional Lesson Enhancement

This lesson would be greatly enhanced in the chemistry classroom by including chemical testing and/or analysis of specific ingredients. One possibility would be to purchase a chemistry kit so students can analyze certain chemicals found in common household products, including cosmetics.

#2000-5 Kit, Consumer Chemistry.
This program emphasizes health and safety considerations. Students will examine common products that have become controversial issues, such as soaps and detergents, hard water and water softening, bleaching and stain removal, chemicals in our foods, pesticides in fertilizers and common drugs and cosmetics. In addition to a 50 frame filmstrip and 12 overhead transparency masters, you get all the apparatus and chemicals necessary to perform nine different classroom activities. Study wash day chemistry; the science of fabric color; the kitchen sink; digesting; baking; stomach acid; photography; vitamin C analysis and food additives to retard spoilage.
#2000-5A Kit, Consumer Chemistry, refill
#2000-5B Kit, Consumer Chemistry Workbook (30/set)
http://www.gscscientific.com/kits.html

Contact Info:
gscdavid@earthlink.net
GSC International
Phone: 573-363-5366 - Fax:573-363-5367 


 


 Day 1: Cosmetic Use and Safety
Daily Challenge Question: What are the cosmetics we use on a daily basis and who ensures that they are safe to use?
45 minute class period
Set-up Directions:

You will need a computer connected to the Internet, the cosmetics PowerPoint presentation (cosmetics.ppt) and an LCD projector

Make enough photocopies of the following:

  • student worksheet (cosmetic_student_worksheet.doc) for each student.  Note, you may only want to distribute Day 1 of the worksheet (pages 1 and 2), which includes a test your knowledge "quiz"
  • Hairdressers at Risk, article - http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10071440

 



Teacher Presentation & Motivation:

Ask students:  What are cosmetics?
Some might think the term is limited to makeup primarily used by females.

Define cosmetics:

articles intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body or any part thereof for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance, and (2) articles intended for use as a component of any

Tell students that cosmetics are categorized into 13 main areas. Over the next several days, they will be investigating the safety of common personal care products they use every day and if any contain ingredients that may possibly be harmful to their health.

Read aloud the Hairdresser at Risk article, to give students an example of a commonly use cosmetic product that may potentially be harmful to human health.



Activity 1 - Brainstorm
  • Bring up the cosmetics.ppt slide so that students can see all the different categories of cosmetics
  • Distribute the cosmetics_student_worksheet.doc to each student
  • Give students about 10 minutes to brainstorm the products that they use regularly (at least three times per week).


Activity 2 - Cosmetic Safety

Following the steps outlined in the Viewing Activities discussion below, lead a discussion about the cosmetics that students use reguarly, safety issues and concerns, and the role of FDA.


Focus for Media Interaction
Focus for Media Interaction: The focus for media interaction is a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites or other multimedia elements.

During  the discussion, guided by the PowerPoint presentation and the class review of the online cosmetics quiz, students will gain a solid understanding of the issues surrounding cosmetic safety and the FDA's role in ensuring cosmetic products are safe.


Viewing Activities
What will your students be responsible for while viewing this piece of multi-media or video?
  1. Have a brief class discussion about some of the commonly used personal care products in order to show a variety of products and quantities used on a daily basis.
  2. Segue into discussion about safety.
    • Do students feel as if they products they use are safe?
    • What do they know about cosmetic safety? Maybe some students have had allergic reactions to cosmetics, or have heard about articles that have linked deoderants to breast cancer.   Discuss all these things as a class.
    • What do students know about the FDA?  (Bring up slide #3)
  3. Give students about 5 minutes to take the quiz, which is part of the worksheet (Bring up slide #4)
  4. As a class, review the answers to the quiz online:
    http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/costf-1.html

    Students will take notes in the space below their quiz.
  5. Revisit Question #1 from the cosmetics quiz.  Bring up slide #5, "does the FDA gurantee cosmetic safety?" Click on the link which provides a detailed explanation (http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/costf-1.html)
    Discuss the FDA's role and mention that the agency only oversees the prohibition of a few ingredients. As per the site, explain that the FDA oversees "safety" by requiring a warning label be placed saying the safety of the product has not been determined.

    Also note to students that these ingredients were once included in products, and it wasn't until recently (2002) that they were prohibited. Also mention that there are still many questionable ingredients being used in cosmetics.
  6. Bring up Slide #6 and use to guide discussion.   Explain that although the FDA has overall responsibility for the “safety and labeling” of cosmetics, there is truly very little regulation within the cosmetics industry. Note to teacher: see http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-206.html for some background information explaining this in more detail.
  7. Bring up Slide #7 and discuss why cosmetic companies self-regulating their own product safety may be of consumer concern.  Mention that there are advocacy groups such as Safe Cosmetics (safecosmetics.org) and the Enviornmental Working Group (EWG) who formed and/or are working to help create consumer awareness of cosmetic safety issues.



 


Post Viewing Activities
How will students utilize the information they gathered while viewing the multi-media or video?

Students will have gained an awareness and basic understanding of cosmetic safety.  This knowledge will help them move into the next day's activity.



Wrap Up:

Bring up the final slide (Slide #8).

Wrap up the day's lesson by telling students that they should bring in at least three different cosmetic products from three different categories.  The products they bring in must contain the labels and ingredients. 

Tell students that there are several ingredients currently being used in cosmetic products that are of high concern but still have not been prohibited from being used.  Students will take the next few days to conduct research to find out if any products they use contain these "high priority" or "high concern" ingredients and the reasons for an ingredient being high concern (i.e., potential health hazard).


Days 2-3: Are my products safe?
Daily Challenge Question: Are there any ingredients in the products that I use regularly that are of moderate-to-high concern? What are the potential health effects of these "high concern" ingredients or products?
2 45-minute classes
Set-up Directions:

Establish student pairs ahead of time. Ideally, pair students of different genders so that their cosmetic products offer a good mix of different types of products.

Arrange for access to a computer lab for student research.

Distribute Days 2-3 of the worksheet previously copied if you haven't already done so.

Distribute the How Safe are Our Products? Worksheet (myproducts-worksheet.doc)

On Day 3, make sure each student receives a copy of the health brochure rubric (cosmetic_brochure_rubric.doc)

Optional: find a cosmetic product that contains a moderate or high concern rating or is a "high priority for review"



Teacher Presentation & Motivation:

Announce the student pairs and tell students that today they will be conducting research to determine if any products that they use on a daily basis contain ingredients that are considered to be of moderate to high concern.

Optional:  Depending upon your students' skill level with conducting Internet searches, you may want to give a quick overview of the two searchable databases as a class, to make sure students know how to use the sites efficiently.

http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/index.htm and http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep2/index.php

Use the product you find (from the optional suggestion in the setup directions) as an example.



Activity 1 - Student Research

Students will follow the steps outlined on their student worksheet, using the websites provided, to conduct research on specific products they use, as well as ingredients in those products. 

The number of products and ingredients that students investigate will depend upon how quickly the become acclimated to the research databases.  For two days worth of reserach, students should be able to look up a minimum of 20 ingredients.


Focus for Media Interaction
Focus for Media Interaction: The focus for media interaction is a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites or other multimedia elements.

Students will determine if any of the cosmetic products they use regularly are of moderate to high concern or contain potentially harmful ingredients.


Viewing Activities
What will your students be responsible for while viewing this piece of multi-media or video?

Students will fill in their worksheet as they conduct research on products they use.

 


Post Viewing Activities
How will students utilize the information they gathered while viewing the multi-media or video?

Students will have gained a greater awareness of both the products they use as well as any potential health effects associated with those products.



Wrap Up:

On the second day of research, have students wrap up about 15 minutes before the class ends.

Ask student pairs to report on any products they use that may contain ingredients of moderate to high concern and the potential health effects are of these ingredients.

Explain to students that they don't necessarily need to stop using all cosmetic products.  Using a product that might contain a potentially harmful ingredient most likely will have no impact on their health; that is, unless they use multiple products with the same ingredients.  If that's the case, tell students they may want to do further research on dosage and quantity amounts to be certain they're not exposed to too much of a potentially harmful substance.

For homework (give students about a week), have students create a health brochure about cosmetic safety.  Instructions and guidelines are included on Part III of their worksheet.  Distribute the rubric as well (cosmetic_brochure_rubric.doc)

See extension: Tell students if they are truly concerned about the health issues associated with cosmetic use, that can write to the FDA, urging them to better regulate the cosmetics industry.
Enrichment Options
Community Connection

Have students write a letter to the FDA encouraging them to more fully regulate the cosmetics industry.

Hold a cosmetics safety fair at a local community center, or for the school to raise awareness.



Parent-Home Connection

Have students share their brochures with their parents and discuss with them use of personal care products.



 Field Experiences

Visit a local cosmetics manufacturing plant (if there's one in your area) and learn how cosmetics are made.



 Cross-Curricular Extensions
Bring in more of a language arts component and engage students in an ethical debate about the use of animals for product safety and testing.

Chemistry: Purchase a cosmetic chemistry kit and have students make their own perfume or cosmetics.

Have students examine the structure of tryglycerides – commonly known as fat molecules – and how when they are mixed with a base, sodium is produced that makes water more powerful. See http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/ntti/resources/lessons/bubbles/




Stage 4
Teacher Reflection

As a reflective practitioner, note how this lesson could be adjusted after its initial implementation. How successful were the students in demonstrating their knowledge about the subject matter? What did the assessment demonstrate about the students' learning? What skills do the students need to revisit? What instructional strategies worked and what made them successful? What will you change the next time you use this lesson? Why?

 



 Author: Donna Schnupp