Peer Reviewed Academic Articles
American Studies and the Politics of Life
Feminist Intersections in Science
Private Reparations
What Learning Outcomes do we want to focus on (What do we want students to walk away with?)
- The importance of education
- The importance of research
- The dangers of ignorance
- Education and Power
- The effect of history on us today
- The overlaying significance of academia
- Individual global impact
Assignment ideas
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- Have students discuss/write about the history of reparations
- Research racial-health disparities
- Have students document family experiences with medical situations (positive or negative)
- Have students create presentations on gender issues/injustices
- Research “your culture” and disparities in medicine and education
- Research a topic that you feel affects the whole world
- Have students write about obstacles they have encountered in pursuit of their education
- Have students present on social justice issues relevant to their own personal struggles
- Have the students play “cast the movie” where they choose modern day film stars to play the “characters” in the book, and have them explain why
- Have students write a 1 page letter in the voice of Henrietta lacks expressing her point of view (as a 30 year old) or now from the grave about what eventually happened to her cells.
- Collaborate with a genetics class of biotech class to submit DNA for analysis?
- Have student create 2 minute you tube videos…
- Field trips to a biotech lab?
- Human cells as art?
- How does the recent scientific advandce about the entire genome of the human fetus deciphered relate to this book? http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/06/06/entire-genome-of-human-fetus-deciphered
- Draw/Visualize/Perform scenes from the text
- Visit a lab (on campus?)–find some HeLa cells?, see cells reproduce; Visit JPL (some cells were spent to space)–Von Karman Museum (tours on Fridays)
- If you were a reporter, what questions would you ask HeLa/family, and why?
- Research recent articles about how her cells are being used today.
- Guest speakers–2 family members in CA
- Annual conference field trip (in Atlanta)
- Poster Session on different themes from book (see issues above)
If this book was a movie…
- a. screenplay–what would you include? how would you portray it?
- b. costume design (research from time period)
- c. billboard design–can’t be like the cover/s
- d. writing: Write a letter as/to a character in the book (format/tone); poem about a character/scene
Math assignments
- growth rate of HeLa’s cells (regenerate every 24 hrs)
- how many cells are out there total?
- populations of ppl who’ve benefitted from the cells
Chapter Divisions
- psychology: 33, 35, 37
- business: 17, 22, 26
- math: 7, 16
- ESL: plot/character development, figurative language, style, collocation, vocabulary, inference, tone, symbolism
- Pretend you’re Henrietta Lacks and write a letter from her viewpoint (from the grave) or from viewpoint of one of her descendants. Or the doctor viewpoint justifying cell harvest.
- Write a poem about immortal cells
- Fieldtrip to biotech lab?
- IRB – human testing, consent, medical testing (Georgia eugenics, Puerto Rican women in PBS video – The Pill)
- Videos from Films on Demand
- Intro book as course text – explore issue of failure/success in reading
- Students create reading guide – strategies for choosing vocabulary/outline of chapter/ discussion questions
- Literature Circles
- Crossword Puzzles with Vocabulary
- Research one aspect of book and present on it
- Explore theme of “ownership” of one’s personal privacy—vs. public good in digital age
- Students do research on civil rights/ segregation /discrimination/fascism/ in health care –Teacher can suggest themes but students make choice
- Create posters /videos/ based on the research they did
- Do in-class presentation on research –posters/videos/
- Audio book
