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Lesson 2-4: Glucose in balance

Page history last edited by mariaelizabethbunn@... 8 years, 6 months ago

Lesson 

Time

Engaging the Student (Entry Task) 

Developing the Ideas--Lesson

Checking for Understanding (exit ticket)

Student Handout 
Teacher/Lesson Notes
Materials

90 minutes 

 (5 minutes)

 

  1. If the concept of homeostasis is new for students, begin the class with a discussion about balance.
  2.  Have a student volunteer stand up and stand on one leg. Ask students to make observations about the student. What does it take to stay in balance?
  3.   Throw the student a tennis ball. Ask students to think about all of the different cells, organs and body systems working to keep the student upright.
  4.  Tell students that all living things have feedback mechanisms that allow them to cope with changing environmental conditions. Homeostasis is the ability of an organism to adjust its internal environment to maintain stability, or balance, even as the external environment changes.

 

View the full lesson plan here:

 

Overview

Students model blood glucose homeostasis using a game board and pasta pieces to simulate how blood glucose levels are regulated by the hormones insulin and glucagon, and how the liver, fat cells, muscle and brain play a role in blood glucose homeostasis. Using their models, students first explore how blood glucose levels in healthy individuals are affected by eating and fasting. They then model how insulin resistance leads to elevated blood glucose levels, and predict the effects of β cell damage, exercise, and medication on blood glucose levels. Students also discuss the limitations of using a model to show relationships and connections within complex systems.

 

Enduring understanding

 Blood glucose levels need to be maintained within specific ranges, and body systems work together to maintain this range through the process of homeostasis. Type 2 diabetes can develop over time if the mechanisms that maintain blood glucose levels are challenged and eventually fail.

 

Essential question

  • How do our body systems work together to maintain balanced glucose levels, and how does type 2 diabetes develop when this balance is upset?

 

Learning objectives

Students will be able to:

    • Model the mechanism for maintaining glucose balance.
    • Predict how insulin resistance, exercise, medication and β cell damage may affect type 2 diabetes.

 

Prerequisite Knowledge

Students should have an understanding of the following terms: cell, tissue, organ, glucose, fat, protein, hormone.

 

This lesson provided by:  Type 2 Diabetes: A complex disease of gene and environment interactions. Copyright 2014 by University of Washington. This curriculum was created by Genome Sciences Education Outreach (GSEO) and is supported by a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) from the Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP) of the National Institutes of Health through Grant Number R25OD010966. Permission is granted to download, reproduce through printing or photocopying, and distribute copies of Type 2 Diabetes: A complex disease of gene and environment interactions for non-commercial, educational purposes only, provided that credit for the source (GSEO and copyright (© 2014 University of Washington) is given.

  • Computer and projector OR 1 computer per student pair
  • Lesson 2-4 Powerpoint
  • Model Set (1/group):
    • 1 Manila folder
    • 1 2-page photocopy of model board (Copy Masters & instructions found in full lesson plan)
    • 1 brad
    • 1 balance made from red card stock, ~7.5" x 1" and pointed at one end. (diagram on 3rd page of full lesson plan) Teachers may wish to write the word "Homeostasis" on the balance to underscore the concept)
    • 20 pieces of wheel shaped (rotelle) pasta to represent glucose
    • 20 pieces of l-shaped (penne) pasta to represent insulin
    • 10 pieces of curvy shaped (macaroni) pasta to represent glucagon
    • 1 small sticky note cut into 4 strips, each with a sticky end
  • Optional Materials (for a helpful and surprising visual lesson!):
    • Containers to hold 5 L of liquid, preferably red, representing the approximate amount of blood in the body
    • 1 baggie with 4 g sugar in it, representing the amount of blood glucose a healthy adult would have when waking in the morning 
    • 1 baggie of 16 g sugar, representing very high blood glucose levels of a person with diabetes
    • 1 baggie with 65 g sugar in it, representing the amount of sugar in one 20 oz. Coca-Cola 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ask students:

 

  • Can you identify any limitations to the model that you used today?

 

 

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