Investigating Diseases!

Hello Everyone!

We have been talking together about germs and pathogens, and what we can do to keep the body healthy!

To further explore this area, with a partner of their choice, students will do some research on a disease of their choice. Here are the guidelines for choosing and researching a disease:

  • It needs to be a communicable or non-communicable disease, not a condition/disorder.
  • Your choice needs to be approved by Ms. D before starting research.
  • The disease needs to be one that you would be more likely to get due to personal choices (nutrition, hygiene, exercise, etc.) so you can talk about how not to get the disease.
  • Please look on the Articles of Interest on the blog for website suggestions, or use legitimate websites per our discussion in class.
  • If you can’t understand an online article, and it has too many vocabulary words you can’t understand on your own, then maybe use a different online source that is at your reading level.
  • If you have questions about whether a website is safe or legitimate, please ask Ms. D.
  • Keep notes in your journal using our note taking chart method.
  • No formal bibliography is needed for this presentation, but I would like you to record where you found your notes in your journal, such as the website name, book title, or article title and author.

What do you need to find out about the disease? Each of these things can be one slide in your PowerPoint presentation, for 10 slides total:

  • Introduction: Name of the Disease, and your name as author
  • What is it? Does it have more than one name?
  • How long have we known about this disease? Who discovered it?
  • What causes it? Is there a specific virus, bacteria, or pathogen that is involved? What does the pathogen look like under the microscope if one is involved?
  • What are the symptoms of the disease? How would I know I have it? What tests would have to be done to find out?
  • Who usually has the disease?
  • What treatments or cure are there for this disease?
  • How can I prevent getting this disease? What specific lifestyle or personal choices will help?
  • Summary Slide, 5 key points or takeaways you want everyone to remember.
  • Concluding Slide, “Are there any questions?”

We will use PowerPoint to do this project: For many grade fours, this is a new presentation method. For grade fives who were with me last year, the focus this year is to make your slideshows more aesthetic and effective. We will focus on how to use fonts, colours, pictures, and organization to make them more effective! We will then present our PowerPoints to the class using a script. Here are the criteria for this assignment:

  • Please do 10 slides for your presentation as described above.
  • Share the responsibility with your partner. Each of you can do either the intro or the last slide, and then split up the other 8 slides. Have one person create the PowerPoint and then share between you using One Drive.
  • Don’t edit any slide that isn’t your own to do. If you have input on your partner’s slides, make sure you talk to them first.
  • Use the rules of collaboration to work together!
  • Use one of the set themes in PowerPoint for your slides.
  • Each slide can have a title in size 14/16 font, and then information in size 12 font. Use Arial or a similar clear writing for your font. Ask Ms. D if you aren’t sure.
  • Use bullets and shortened phrases to present information, not paragraphs. Do not use too much text. People will be listening to you present information. So, use illustrations and short phrases of key information only.
  • Put a picture on each slide. Pictures need to be related to what you are talking about, not silly pictures, smiley faces, or cartoons. Do not use pictures that have copyright marks on them. If you don’t know how to tell, you can ask Ms. D.
  • Do not use emojis. At all.
  • Avoid using really bright colours such as red, yellow, or bright blue for text. Keep text in dark, easy to read colours.
  • Don’t use a black, red, or orange background, as this can be hard to look at.
  • Don’t have a last slide that says, “Bye!” or “Thank you for watching!” It can say “Are there any questions?” and have a picture related to your presentation.
  • Make a script for your PowerPoint with what you would like to say for each slide. Don’t just repeat your bullet points. Add information here.
  • Limit your whole presentation to 5 minutes or less. Share it with your partner. Practice in front of someone. It does not need to be memorized, but it does need to be well practiced.

We will decide a definitive deadline together later this week, but our target date is Nov. 1st.