This Week’s Anton Lesson Plan:
According to a 2012 American Diabetes Association study, 29.1 million Americans or 9.3 percent of the population had diabetes. It remained the seventh leading cause of death in the United States as of 2010. Between this and the high incidence of childhood obesity, it’s important that students have a better understanding of this disease. To that end, diabetes is the focal point for this week’s Healthy Living special section.
With nearly 10 percent of our country’s population afflicted by diabetes, chances are that many students either know a family member or friend with diabetes. One lesson could have a health care professional, be it the school nurse or an actual doctor, come in and lecture the class about this metabolic disorder. Students can conduct research and summarize causes, symptoms and complications that can arise from leaving it untreated. The different types of diabetes people can become afflicted by and treatments available to people who have been diagnosed with it can also be discussed.
Pupils can come up with a diabetes-friendly menu once they have a better understanding of the disease. A a day can be designated where a potluck meal of diabetes-friendly menu can be planned out. This could lead to a better understanding of the tough dietary choices diabetics have to make day in and day out. For students in upper grades, demographics can be brought into the lesson plan, with breakdowns of race and ethnicity, showing which ones may have a greater propensity toward developing diabetes due to genetics, diet or other factors. Many of these exercises can be done by individual students or as part of a group.
