Download
Individual "Lesson Sets" of the Curricula. |
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PEER Integrative Curriculum |
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These middle
school curricular materials offer an innovative approach of integrating
environmental health science into science and non-science classes such
as math, English language arts, and social studies. These integrative
materials follow a written story (adventure narrative) in which the
characters (young middle-school aged students) travel to different parts
of the world and are faced with various health problems which they are
required to solve. |
In conjunction with
the
adventure narrative, TEKS-based, problem-solving activities have been developed in the form
of PowerPoint presentations
which enable students
 to
work through various science, math, English, and social
studies topics. These
activities aid students in developing a solution to the
environmental health problem associated
with the narrative.
Being in a PowerPoint format,
teachers can easily change, modify, add web links, etc. to these discovery-based slides in
order to tailor them to student’s needs. This approach allows teachers to tailor the
learning material and take ownership of this integrative learning experience.
These integrative materials will be made available
to rural schools over the Web, via CD, or via traditional hard copy.
 This
Integrative Curriculum will consist of six modules for each of 3 years (6-8 grades) and is
based on standards (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) needed for each grade in social
studies, English, math, and science.
Each adventure narrative takes approximately 20 minutes to
read. The discovery-based slides contain links to various learning resources containing
information on skills needed in each subject. Examples of these include links on how to
calculate percentage in math, how to establish latitude and longitude of a location in social
studies, how to write a satire in English, or what types of bacteria or parasites can cause
diarrhea.
The first twelve units have been completed
and are being used in the professional development workshops. |
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Tut’s Revenge is about water contamination during construction of King Tut’s tomb in ancient Egypt. |
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The Jade Dragon is about
air contamination and smoking in China that the adventurers encounter as
they visit the Three Rivers Dam which is being constructed. |
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Hard River
Escape focuses on industrial waste that induces abnormalities in
wildlife of the Ukraine.
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The Kiss of the Assassin focuses on pathogens and bacterial
infectious diseases (Chagas disease in this case) that can be obtained
from insects, like the “kissing bug,” that harbor the bacteria and serve
as vectors for the disease. |
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Congo Cry features viral infections (Ebola and AIDS)
including both animal and human in Africa. |
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Midnight at the
Marble Tomb focuses on the health consequences of raw sewage in
streets, acupuncture, tattoos, body piercing (of the nose, ears, lips,
eyebrows, and belly button), blood transfusions, and organ donations in
India. |
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Texas: 1867 deals with the
yellow fever epidemic in Texas after the end of the Civil War. |
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March Madness focuses
on the influenza epidemic surrounding World War I. |
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Raccoons, Robbers and Radios
examines the causes and symptoms of rabies and is set in Depression-era Texas. |
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Connections focuses
on air pollution and asthma in the Houston area. |
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Three Rivers, Three Nations
takes a look at bioterrorism, focusing on the use of smallpox during the
French and Indian War in the 18th Century. |
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The Waterfall Ghost
deals with the 19th-century textile industry and the byssinosis (brown lung) that many workers contracted.
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Dark Poison
concerns a cholera epidemic in New York in the 1830s. |
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The
Candlestick Treasure
deals with the dangers of lead poisoning in the setting of south Texas
and Mexico. |
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| Register
online
to attend a free Science and Health Science Curriculum Workshop this summer!! |
|
Download
Individual "Lesson Sets" of the Curricula. |
