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Catchy Title: Lead Awareness: What Everyone Needs to Know
Theme/Topic of Lesson: lead poisoning, health
Time Commitment: 1 class period
Subject Area(s):
Health - Environmental health
Health - Body systems and senses
Grade Level(s): 9,10,11,12
Standards Alignment:
Class Challenge Question: What do I need to know about lead poisoning?
Overview:
Childhood lead poisoning is the number one preventable environmental
health problem in Maryland and nationwide. Every year thousands
of children and adults
are accidentally poisoned by lead, and the tragedy is that nearly all
lead poisoning is preventable.
In this introductory lesson, students
will be provided with a general overview of the issues around lead
poisoning in order to become more aware of the dangers and effects it
has on the human body, as well as how to treat and prevent the
disease. They will also learn about basic laws and regulations
established to protect tenants living in properties built prior to
1950. Finally, students will learn what they specifically can do
to help prevent lead poisoning in their own families, as well as where
to go for more information.
This lesson was designed to be completed during National Childhood Lead
Poisoning Prevention Week in October of each year, to raise awareness about lead poisoning, but can be done at
anytime throughout the school year.
In 2006, National Childhood Lead
Poisoning Prevention Week is October 22-28.
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Learning Objectives:
The Students will:
- Students will develop a basic understanding of the issues surrounding lead poisoning. Specifically they will learn:
- who is at risk of lead poisoning
- the health effects of lead poisoning
- primary sources of lead and how it enters the body
- how lead poisoning is treated and prevented
- rights as a tenant of a property built before 1950
Assessment
Students will be assessed on the completion of the following:
- "L" in a K-W-L chart (leadawareness-KWL.doc)
- in-class worksheet that they will fill in throughout the lesson (leadawareness-worksheet.doc)
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Resources
| Other Technology | Teacher Materials and Resources A variety of recommended free materials such as brochures and posters
are available from a number of local and national organizations and
agencies. A comprehensive list is provided in the
leadawareness-teacher-resources.doc
| | Internet Sites | EPA Lead Awareness Program Information about EPA's Lead Awareness Program, including free brochures and other publications.
| | http://www.epa.gov/lead | Toxic Treats Publishes a poster with a list of 112 candies that contain lead.
| | http://www.ocregister.com/investigations/lead | Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning Great background information for teachers; has free publications available.
| | http://www.leadsafe.org | Consumer Product Safety Commission Do a search on "lead" to find out about a variety of products containing that have been recalled.
| | http://www.cpsc.gov. | Maryland Department of the Environment MDE's website on their Lead Poisoning Prevention Program.
| | http://www.mde.state.md.us/lead |
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Materials
Per class- leadawareness-teacher-resources
A list of resources for background reading, as well as a where to order free classroom materials
(View) - lead-awareness- health VSC standards (View)
- leadawareness-teacheranswerkey
AnswerKey for student worksheet.
(View)
- clear container that holds approx. 2 1/2 gallons of water
- clear container that holds approx. one quart
- red food coloring
- PowerPoint presentation to use as a discussion guide; be sure to access
the "Notes" section directly in the presentation to help guide the
discussion.
(View)
Per Student- leadawareness-KWL Chart
(View) - Student Handout - Contains resources for students on where to go for more information
(View) - leadawareness-studentworksheet
to be completed during class discussion while teachers uses PowerPoint presentation to guide discussion
(View)
Vocabulary
- lead-based paint - paint or other surface coatings that contain more than 0.50% (1/2 percent) lead by weight or more than 0.7 milligram per square centimeter as measured by the x-ray flourescence method
- person at risk (for lead poisoning) - child under the age of six years or a pregnant woman; both are particularly vulnerable to lead-based paint hazards.
- lead hazard reduction - reduction or elimination of lead-based paint hazards
- blood lead level - a measure of lead in the blood; > 10 mcg/dl is considered a level of concern by the CDC
Procedures
This lesson serves as a good introduction to lead poisoning, and the
issues surrounding it. Teachers will begin the lesson with a
basic K-W-L chart to establish prior knowledge, interest and
inquiry. Using a PowerPoint presentation as a guide
(leadawareness-health.ppt), teachers will facilitate an interactive
discussion with students, as they complete a worksheet to reinforce
understanding. The lesson will conclude with the question...why does it matter to me, in order to reinforce why the issue of lead poisoning should be of concern to high school students.
Students will be provided with a handout that contains useful resources
on where to go for more information, and they will complete the "L" in
the K-W-L chart.
Teachers should familiarize themselves with the topic prior to
conducting the lesson. A comprehensive list of resources and
readings can be found in leadawareness-teacher-resources.doc
There are no pre-requisites for students.
Important note for teachers: The PowerPoint presentation
(leadawareness-health.ppt) contains notes and information in the
"notes" section to help guide the discussion. Be sure to access
these.
Day 1: Lead Poisoning: An Overview
Daily Challenge Question: What do I need to know about lead poisoning?
45-60 minute class period
Set-up Directions:
You will need the following materials:
- Computer with Internet access (optional) connected to an LCD projector
- Lead Awareness PowerPoint presentation loaded onto the
computer (leadawareness-presentation.doc); be sure to access the
teacher notes directly in the presentation to help guide the discussion
- Any posters or brochures you have ordered, set up around the room (see list of recommended resources in the Resource section)
- Clear containers: one should hold about 2 1/2 gallons of water; the other should hold about a quart.
- Red food coloring
- Optional: cosmetics, can of paint, toy jewelry, old pipe, hair dye, children's toys, etc.
Make enough copies of the KWL chart (leadwareness-KWL.doc) and student
worksheet (leadawareness-worksheet.doc) and distribute to every student.
Draw a large KWL chart on the board, or have a blank electronic copy projected on the screen.
Teacher Presentation & Motivation:
Begin by having a class discussion about what students know in general about lead. Students can fill in the Know
section of the KWL chart as you guide the discussion and have them fill
in the appropriate category. Show some of the products you have brought
in (if you havve done so) and ask students which ones they think might
contain lead. If they are not sure, direct them to fill in the W-What I Want to Know
portion of their chart. Note, they shouldn?t just fill in what
they want to know about lead sources, but everything they want to know
about lead poisoning.
Continue to move through the various categories, guiding students to talk about what they know and want to know.
Tell students that lead poisoning is very dangerous and unfortunately
common in certain groups of people. Segue into presentation.
Activity 1 - Lead Poisoning: What Everyone Needs to Know
Using the notes provided directly in the PowerPoint presentation
(leadawareness-health.ppt) guide students through the presentation and
faciltiate a
conversation. Make the lesson as interactive as possible,
discussing with students the topics and issues to ensure
understanding. Ask probing questions throughout the presentation,
and direct students to complete the worksheet as the class collectively
discusses the answers.
When showing slide #6 (how lead affects children and adults
differently), and to illustrate what >10mcg/dl means, do the
following with the clear containers:
- Explain that the large clear container represents approximately
the amount of blood in an adult who weighs 160 pounds. Measure 10
mcg/dl of red food coloring and drop it into the water. Note that
the water turns pink
- Next drop the same amount of food coloring into the smaller
container and explain that the quart represents the approximate amount
of blood in a small child (around age 2). Note that the water is
darker, illustrating how the same amount of lead is more harmful to a
young child because they have less blood; the concentration of lead is greater.
Another way to illustrate the idea of how much 10 mcg/dl is:
- tell students to imagine pouring 5000 2-liter soda bottles of
water into a small square swimming pool measuring 3.16 meters on each
side, and 1 meter deep (approx. 10.5 ft x 3 ft deep), filling it to the
brim.
- Dissolve ten 100-milligram aspirin tablets into the water.
The water in the pool now contains 10 mcg/dl of aspirin. The
water represents the blood in the body and the aspirin represents the
lead.
Wrap Up:
Wrap up the lesson by distributing the Lead Awareness student handout (leadawareness-SHmoreinfo.doc)
Tell students that if they live in an older home, especially if
they have younger siblings that they should discuss with their parents
what they learned in class, including visiting some of the websites
listed on their handouts and ordering the free brochures.
Ask students why lead poisoning should be of concern to them
(see second-to-last slide in PowerPoint presentation). Guide a
discussion to get them to give some of the following responses:
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they may have younger siblings or someday have children
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they may currently live in, or eventually rent an apartment or buy a home has lead based paint or old lead pipes
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they have rights as tenants to ensure their safety and the safety of their families
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after graduation, they may have jobs (i.e., construction) where they are exposed to higher amounts of lead
If time, take students through a scenario:
After graduation, you rent your first apartment in an older
building. What do you look for to make sure that you are not in
danger of lead poisoning?
Have students complete the L section of their KWL chart.
Collect the KWL Chart and Student Worksheet.
Enrichment Options
Parent-Home Connection
Order enough posters and/or brochures for every student in the
class so that they can take them home to discuss with their parents.
Field Experiences
Visit a local hospital, health facility or community forum on lead to learn more about lead poisoning.
Cross-Curricular Extensions
Government/Law- have students conduct research into the laws and
regulations established to reduce lead exposure. See related
lesson(The Role of Government in Poisoning Prevention) for detailed information.
Chemistry
- have students learn about the history of lead, it's chemical
properties and characteristics. See related chemistry lesson (name TBD) for details.
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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
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