Unit Summary
Students role-playing as health officers representing WHO, study the grim situation of AIDS in Tamilnadu. They collect information, analyse and submit an action plan to arrest the fast spread of AIDS in Tamilnadu, South India, to the State Health Minister and WHO. They transfer their learning to the local community through street plays creating awareness about the stigma attached to the disease and provide suggestion to mitigate AIDS spread.
Curriculum-Framing Questions
- Essential Question
How do the choices we make now affect us later?
- Unit Questions
How AIDS affects you indirectly even when you are not an AIDS patient?
What are the impact of AIDS on economic and development front of our country?
- Content Questions
What is HIV and how leads to AIDS?
What are the symptoms of HIV and AIDS?
Assessment Processes
View how a variety of student-centered assessments are used in the Unit Plan. These assessments help students and teachers set goals; monitor student progress; provide feedback; assess thinking, processes, performances, and products; and reflect on learning throughout the learning cycle.
Instructional Procedures
Before introducing the lesson, have your students engage with essential question: How do the choices we make now affect us later? This discussion will unfold further questions like:
- What is the impact of AIDS – the killer disease – on the economic and development front of our country?
- How AIDS affects you indirectly even when you are not an AIDS patient?
Provide K_W_L chart (DOC 113KB) to understand the knowledge level of students on HIV/AIDS. Encourage students to take online quiz http://avert.org/hivquiz.htm*. Let resource students take easy and medium quiz - http://avert.org/hiv-aids-quiz.php* and gifted students take hard quiz http://avert.org/hiv-aids-quiz.php* and record their score. Based on their level of understanding on the topic, design the instructional strategies further and feel free to change according to the needs of the children.
Distribute data sheet on AIDS world scenario (DOC 63.5KB) and record the reactions of the children and elicit response from the children. Provide data sheet on AIDS in Tamilnadu (DOC 79KB) and record the reactions of the children and elicit response from the children.
Help students to understand that HIV/AIDS is very sensitive issue that they need to work as a team and collaborate with Doctors and Patients to collect primary data and with the Hospital staff for secondary data. Share collaborative rubric (DOC 5.70MB) with children to understand the importance of the collaborative skill. As AIDS is a sensitive issue and dreaded disease to deal with, the general consensus of students on their work is vital.
Prior to the field visit have students get permission from the parents and if necessary organise parents meeting to brief parents on the field trip. Inform the head of the Institution about the project and get the support. Brief the computer lab in charge and rope in his support. Block computer lab time for the students to do net research. Share timeline and responsibilities (DOC 44KB) of the each student to complete the project. Share the final expectation on the project and share the presentation rubric (DOC 49KB) with students.
Support students to frame a common questionnaire and have a mock interview in the class and help students to correct the style and tone, if necessary.
Field trip
Share the sample permission letter (DOC 25KB) with the students so that they modify the letter according to the situational demand. Have each team to send a permission letter to the Dean of the hospital clearly mentioning purpose of the visit, date and time and for any other support required from the hospital. Each team has to work on the cost and transportation details and get approval from the class teacher.
The class is divided into four groups and each group has to visit a hospital to meet AIDS patients, collect data and interact with AIDS patients and doctors to gather first-hand information. Have students visit the following hospitals
- The Government General Hospital – Park Town Chennai -3.
- The Stanley Government Hospital – Stanley Chennai -79.
- Tambaram Government Hospital – Tambaram, Chennai.
- YRG Hospital outpatient care.
Students role-play as a health officers from WHO and approach the problem. Each group has to interview a minimum of 25 AIDS patients and administer the common questionnaire (DOC 25KB) designed collectively in the classroom.
After collecting information from the AIDS patients, have students interact with health care experts in their respective hospitals and understand the present trend of AIDS in the city. Encourage students to log in their findings and new insights about the fast spread of AIDS.
Encourage students to do Internet research and collate information, statistics, popular and successful practices that prevent young and old from the killer disease AIDS across the globe. This would enable the students to chalk-out an “action plan” by keeping in mind the globally successful practices for the local audience.
Encourage students to review their work so far (see under time line). Each team has to meet the teacher and explains the progress they have made. Have students log book check during the review.
Work review is followed by group discussion, analysing data, drawing inferences, and chalk-out a plan of action to arrest the fast spread of AIDS. Have students to discuss and deliberate on the data and express their understanding. Assess the students when interpreting data. Have students prepare electronic presentation (DOC 3.00MB) and present it to the class.
Each team has to prepare an action plan and present it to the class. At the end of the electronic presentation, best strategies from each team will be collated and incorporated into one presentation. This final presentation will be screened for Health Minister.
Transferring learning beyond classroom
On the social responsibly front, have students organise
- Street theater for local slum population
- Slogan competition for school children
- Quiz competition for students
For street theater, have students seek the support of Art and Drama teacher. In consultation with Drama teacher, street play will be written highlighting the dangers of AIDS and how to prevent oneself from it. The target audience will be slum population. Share guidelines to organise street theater (DOC 24.5KB) document with students so as to understand and refine behavior on the street.