1. A Shot in the Thigh
A shot in the arm may not be the best technique for immunizing people against some ailments. The thigh may be better. Most children get a routine inoculation against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough in the arm. A few have a bad reaction — more than just the typical redness or swelling. A new study, published in the journal Pediatrics, concluded that children given shots in the thigh are half as likely to get a local reaction as those inoculated in the upper arm. Why this is so is not known, but one theory is that since the thigh muscle is so much larger than the arm muscle, any inflammation has more room to diffuse. With the newspaper or Internet, find a story about the health of children, pre-teens or teens. Use what you find to design a poster highlighting the most important points of the story. Share your poster with the class and discuss.
Common Core/National Standards:Using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points; citing textual evidence to support analysis of what a text says explicitly, as well as inferences drawn from the text; engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions.
2. Black History Month
February is Black History Month. In honor of the month-long celebration, look through today's newspaper and other resources to find examples of African Americans who excel in the following fields: Business, Science, Arts, Sports, Entertainment, Politics, Activism, Education. Now pick one of the achievers and write a brief biography of him or her. Share your biography with the class in a power point presentation.
Common Core/National Standards: Using technology to produce and publish works and presenting the relationships between information and ideas efficiently; acquiring information from books, maps, newspapers, data sets and other sources; organizing and presenting the information; interpreting the meaning and significance of the information.
3. Blood in the Kitchen
Recent innovations in kitchen equipment have revolutionized cooking — and added to hospital emergency room visits. New gadgets like the immersion blender or food processors can be dangerous if you rush things in the kitchen or don’t handle them properly. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that cuts from slicers and choppers accounted for an estimated 21,699 visits to American emergency rooms in 2011, almost double the number only 10 years earlier. Knife injuries are not as difficult to deal with as those incurred from misuse of the immersion blender, “because of the whipping movement of the blade,” a New York physician has explained. “Watch out for the mandoline slicer,” warns a TV cooking show producer. “It’s got to be one of the most dangerous home tools.” Home safety is important to every family. In the newspaper or online, find stories about the Consumer Product Safety Commission and warnings it has issued. Write a summary of one warning.
Common Core/National Standard: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience; citing textual evidence to support analysis of what a text says explicitly, as well as inferences drawn from the text.
4. Mercury Control
After four years of intense negotiations, the first legally binding international treaty aimed at reducing mercury emissions has been adopted in Geneva, Switzerland by 140 nations. It must be signed later this year and ratified by 50 nations, and should go into effect in three or four years. The treaty crafted by the United Nations will limit emissions of mercury, which is used in chemical production and mining, and will control some products, processes and industries in which the highly toxic metal is used, released or emitted. Among the products affected are some light bulbs and medical equipment. The treaty aims to “help us protect human health and the environment,” a Swiss environmentalist declared. In the newspaper or online, find a story about the mercury treaty or another effort to protect health or the environment. Write a summary of your story, highlighting the goals of the effort and how easy they will be to achieve.
Common Core/National Standard: Citing textual evidence to support analysis of what a text says explicitly, as well as inferences drawn from the text; producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.
5. Shake, Rattle — Gotcha!
Even though it rattles when shaken, that oxycodone bottle on the shelf may not contain any oxycodone at all. It may be a decoy pill bottle mixed in with the genuine ones. If so, it contains a tracking device that will enable police to locate a robber, if a pharmacy is burglarized. There has been a deadly increase in such crimes, and one of the items most sought by addicts is oxycodone, a powerful narcotic painkiller. To reduce the illegal trafficking of oxycodone, the New York Police Department is now stocking pharmacy shelves with the decoys, which have been developed by an ocycodone manufacturer. Some are already in use in other American pharmacies. Illegal drug use is a concern in every community. In the newspaper or online, find a story about illegal drug use, drug trafficking or other crimes connected to drugs. Write a paragraph expressing your views about the decoy program involving oxycodone.
Common Core/National Standard: Citing textual evidence to support analysis of what a text says explicitly, as well as inferences drawn from the text; producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.