 3rd Grade and 4th grade Lesson 1: Strength
Summary
In this lesson, students learn about how cancer is treated and how cancer affects a person.
National Academic Standards (DEVELOPED BY THE MID-CONTINENT REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABORATORY-MCREL)
Health
Language Arts
Science
Student Learning Objectives
Students will demonstrate the ability to:
Resources
On the Site:
On Your Own:
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video player
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overhead or slide projector (optional)
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overhead sheet (optional)
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flashlight or laser pointer
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black and red overhead marker
Preparation
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Read the teacher sheet, "Questions and Answers about Cancer". Use the content as background for the lessons and for answering questions from students.
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Download the "Introduction Video with Lance Armstrong" and set it up on a computer or TV for viewing by the students. (If you have trouble downloading the video, make sure you have the latest version of QuickTime.) -
Make a copy of the teacher sheet, "Cancer Treatment" and prepare to share it with students. This teacher sheet can be printed and used as a visual to hold up in front of the class. It can also be prepared as an overhead or as a slide for a projector.
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Download the video, "Dealing with a Diagnosis" and prepare to show it in the classroom.
THE LESSON
- Show students the "Introduction Video with Lance Armstrong" and let students know that you will be talking about cancer for the next 2 days. If they do not know what cancer is, let them know that cancer is a group of many diseases. Tell students that although we don't always know why some people get cancer and some don't, we do know that cancer is not contagious. You can't catch cancer from someone else who has it.
- Tell students that today they will be talking about cancer and cancer survivorship, and specifically about how it is treated and how cancer and cancer treatment affects a person.
- Explain to students that when someone is diagnosed with cancer, their doctor will try to cure them - or to get rid of all of the cancer. Tell the students that next they will talk about three of the most common ways that cancer is treated: chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. Ask students if they have heard of any of these types of treatment.
- Tell students that different types of cancer need different types of treatment, a person may receive just 1 or 2 types of treatment or all 3. Each person is different, so it is important that they work with their doctor to find the treatment that is right for them.
- Show students the first page of the "Cancer Treatment" teacher sheet. You can hold up each of the printed documents for the class to see or use these documents on an overhead projector.
- Explain to students that surgery for cancer is very similar to surgery for other things. A surgeon will remove as much of the cancer from the body as they can.
Color the small part of the lung black where the word "cancer" is written so that they students can see what would be removed. Tell students that with surgery the doctors will remove as much of the cancer as they can.
- Tell students that sometimes surgery is the only type of treatment a person will receive. However, some types of cancer can not be removed with just surgery - for example, if a person had cancer in both lungs, the surgeon could not remove both, because we need our lungs to breathe. Tell students this is why we sometimes need other types of treatment.
- Explain to students that radiation is used to try and kill the cancer. Much like a laser, the radiation therapy targets the cancer and delivers high doses of radiation to kill the cancer.
Shine a flashlight or laser pointer over the word "cancer" in the lung to show how the radiation would target the cancer.
- Tell students that radiation can only be given to small areas of the body or it will cause damage to too many healthy cells, but sometimes it is the only type of treatment someone will need.
- Explain to students that chemotherapy is medicine which is used to try and kill cancer, or to stop it from moving into other parts of the body. Explain that usually chemotherapy is given through the veins and moves through the blood.
Draw a line from the hand (a common entry point for IV chemotherapy) to the lung through the blood system. Tell students that this is how chemotherapy moves through the body - through the blood system.
- Tell students that once chemotherapy drugs are put into the body they travel around and can attack the cancer wherever they find it. Sometimes chemotherapy will attack other healthy parts of the body too which is one reason why people with cancer might experience side effects. If healthy parts of the body are affected, they will usually go back to normal after treatment ends. For example, hair follicles are sometimes attacked, and hair may fall out, but it grows back.
- Ask if students have any questions.
- Explain to students that the doctors who work with people with cancer will help them to decide what the best treatment is for them to help them live and to have as few side effects as possible.
- Tell students that in the rest of the lesson they will be talking about some things that happen when people with cancer get treatment and about what people do when they have to deal with a tough situation.
- Ask a few students to share an experience when they wanted to do something, but were unable to do it because of their health. For example, a student may think of a time when they had a really bad flu or a sprained ankle which prevented them from attending a party or playing in a game. Ask students to talk about how they dealt with missing out.
- Tell students that you are going to show them a video of some people with cancer who were determined to deal with cancer by remaining strong. Emphasize the point that while some of the people in the video are children, it is very rare for children with cancer to be diagnosed with cancer.
- Write the following questions on the board:
What were some of the side effects of treatment that people in the video mentioned?
What were some of the feelings the people in the video expressed?
What were some of the things that they did so that they could still live their lives like they were before their cancer diagnosis?
How did they use hope to deal with their diagnosis?
Do you think the people in the videos showed strength in the way that they dealt with their diagnosis?
- Show the "Dealing with a Diagnosis" video.
- After the video, focus a class discussion on the questions listed above.
- Ask the students how their own experiences in dealing with an illness that they shared earlier might be similar to those of the people in the video. Emphasize the point that while cancer is a disease which can have many challenges, people can and do live after the disease, and it can be "just the beginning."
Check for Understanding
- Ask students to name 3 things a person diagnosed with cancer might be feeling.
- Ask students to name 3 types of treatment commonly used to treat cancer.
Tell students that while we don't always know why some people get cancer and others don't, there are some things we can do to help prevent cancer. In the next lesson we'll be discussing things that people can do to reduce their risk of getting certain types of cancer.
Extension Activities: If you would like to teach more about this lesson, you can implement the extension activity, "Side Effects" to help students better understand some of the effects of cancer and cancer treatment. You can also review the "Get Involved" booklet to learn more about how your students and your school can become advocates for people affected by cancer by participating in LIVESTRONG events in your community, raising funds for cancer research, accessing information about people living with cancer, or increasing cancer awareness.
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