Title: Sickle Cell Disease: Relating Community

This article ties a community health issue into a discussion on the role of heredity in some illnesses. The authors present a number of potential problems with dealing with illnesses of this... See More

This article ties a community health issue into a discussion on the role of heredity in some illnesses. The authors present a number of potential problems with dealing with illnesses of this sort and thoughtful ways to address them so that students look at them objectively even if they have personal experiences with this illness. They use a case-study lesson style to help students to "discover" the type of illness in the patient, find out the consequences and ways that the illness is treated and along the way probe students for misconceptions so that they can be addressed. Well developed lesson design that could be adapted to look at different illnesses as well in a middle level or higher classroom.

What is sickle cel disease?

This is a very informative article. The modules that discuss and investigate sickle cell disease in this article address the NGSS standard: MS-LS3: Heredity: Inheritance and variation of tra... See More

This is a very informative article. The modules that discuss and investigate sickle cell disease in this article address the NGSS standard: MS-LS3: Heredity: Inheritance and variation of traits. In an on-line resource, a set of "Student Material", includes a Pre-Survey, a Diagnostic sheet to collect data presented in the article, information sheets about Asthma, Diabetes, and Sickle Cell Disease, a Fact/Myth sheet, a Punnett Square Activity, and a Quiz. Also on-line, is a Teachers Guide. Within the article, the authors describe the scope and sequence of the unit clearly, addressing areas of concern that a teacher may encounter when using this article to teach with. I feel this article addresses two areas; it addresses the NGSS standards about genetic inheritance and provides important community-health information. I recommend this article both to develop a unit based upon Heredity and also as an informational article that would be considered relevant to students concerned about community health.