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hen children enter kindergarten,many will already know that cleanliness and healthy habits are important in preventing sickness. They also will know that using certain products and systems help them stay safe and healthy. The K-2 classroom should provide students with the opportunity to learn about habits that promote healthy living, along with the technologies that make it possible.Oral vaccines, shots, and medicines are used to help prevent diseases or slow their progression. Students should have
opportunities to explore how science and technology are used to help promote good health. They may discuss how a germ may cause an illness and then discuss how a product is designed to help prevent the illness or provide a means for a person to get better.
Students are aware of various tools used to examine their bodies when they visit a doctor, dentist, or optometrist. They know that tools, such as a thermometers, scales, dental tools, and optometrist lenses are used to gather information. They should
understand how various technologies are specially developed to provide unobtrusive ways to learn more about their health. For example, they could explore how chewable tablets are designed to reveal plaque build-up by coloring their teeth. They might study a stethoscope by taking it apart and examining how sound is used to provide clues about the health of their hearts and lungs.
In order to select, use, and understand medical technologies, students in Grades K-2 should learn that
A. Vaccinations protect people from getting certain diseases.Vaccinations help build protection to disease and are often administered early in life. Some immunizations are given over a period of several months. Vaccinations and shots have led to improved health and life expectancy.
B. Medicine helps people who are sick to get better.Some medicines require a long period of time before they become effective and require repeated doses. Others work in a short period of time and should to be used only when needed.
C. There are many products designed specifically to help people take care of themselves. Everyday products, such as toothbrushes, hairbrushes,
and soap are used to promote healthy living. Doctors, dentists, optometrists, and other health professionals use many technological tools to gather medical information about people’s health.
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pecialized products and systems canbe used to collect information about many different things that can affect people’s health and safety. Doctorsuse such devices as stethoscopes, x-ray machines, and thermometers to gain clues about why a person may be sick and to help determine what medical attention may be needed.
Students in Grades 3-5 should be aware of these and other products and systems that play an important role in keeping them healthy and safe. News reports in the fall inform people about health issues regarding upcoming flu seasons. With increased scientific and technological knowledge about how germs or bacteria work to cause illnesses, more advanced inoculations are designed and produced. Students should continue to make connections on how science and technology work together to promote and improve health.
People who have, through injury or illness, lost body parts or functions can often be helped through the use of medical
technologies. Hearing aids can compensate for a loss of hearing, for instance, and artificial limbs help people who have lost arms or legs to lead more normal lives. Students should discuss these and other ways that technologies have been used to help those with disabilities or medical conditions. Since more and more people spend time in closed environments, students need to under- stand about the effects of poor indoor air quality and how it can decrease performance and cause illness. Students could visit a hospital or factory or even tour their school in order to learn about the different technological means that have been developed to promote a healthy living and working environment.
In order to select, use, and understand medical technologies, students in Grades 3-5 should learn that
D. Vaccines are designed to prevent diseases from developing and
spreading; medicines are designed to relieve symptoms and stop diseases from developing.Vaccines for such illnesses as polio, tetanus, and mumps are used in the maintenance of good health, while medicines, such as those for the common cold, the flu, or pneumonia are used to help ease an illness and restore good health.
E. Technological advances have made it possible to create new devices, to repair or replace certain parts of the body, and to provide a means for mobility.Products such as artificial limbs, wheelchairs, or crutches change to take advantage of new technologies and to improve upon previous designs.
F. Many tools and devices have been designed to help provide clues about health and to provide a safe environment.Tools, such as ther- mometers, blood pressure machines, and heart monitors help determine if people are well and provide other health clues. For example, a heart monitor measures a person’s heart rate. Many tools have been designed to diagnose what is happening in the human body. Self-testing kits for glucose, sugar, and pH levels, and kits to determine the levels of protein or vitamins in the body are examples of such tools. This
information may help determine if a person’s health is stable, or if he or she is developing an illness.
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V I G N E T T E
This example uses a visit to a local pharmacy to encourage students to develop and put to use their understanding of how the design of a vaccine or medicine relates to the process of design and how vaccines and medicine are related to various technological devices. [This example highlights some elements of Grades 3-5 STL
standards 1, 6, 8, 11, and 14.]
The students in Ms. B’s fifth grade class visited their local drug store to learn more about various medicines in general. They focused particularly on individualized kits designed to help people learn more about their bodies. Ms. A, the local pharmacist, showed the students how people use various kits to check their bodies’ pH and glucose levels, as well as their protein and enzyme levels. The students were particularly interested in the saliva testing kits used to determine sugar levels. In addition, the students noticed all the different devices available for checking their temperature — from the traditional thermometer to the new strips used on the forehead. Ms. A also demonstrated how the electronic ear thermometer worked. When they were shown the numerous drugs kept in a pharmacy, the students were amazed. They asked Ms. A how she was able to keep track of all the information about the many drugs and customers. She explained that thousands of records were kept in large filing cabinets before they had computers. Ms. A further explained that computers not only enable pharmacists to link customer information with doctors’ orders, they also help in delivering advice about how to use medicines safely.
After the students returned to their classroom, Ms. B asked them to investigate more about the development of various medicines and vaccines, in addition to finding out about the tools used in their
development. She asked the students to refer to lessons they had studied on design and to consider what processes of design may have been used in the development of a medicine or vaccine. A few students used the Internet to check information, and others referred to several books about medical technologies. After the students had written down their
information, Ms. B provided them with an opportunity to share their findings. The students reported that in order for many vaccines to work, physicians send things into the body that tell them how the body works. They are then able to determine if a vaccine is functioning properly. Many students commented on how similar the design and use of a vaccine is to the design and use of a product or system.