Printer-friendly versionActivities will help students:
- explore how people who are seriously ill might feel
- identify appropriate ways to treat people with diseases
Objectives
Activities will help students:
- explore how people who are seriously ill might feel
- identify appropriate ways to treat people with diseases
Essential Questions
- How should we treat people who have serious health problems?
Materials
- construction paper
- markers and/or crayons
Activities
- Listen to a description of a girl named Marla. (Note: Read the following paragraph aloud.)
- In what ways is Marla like you? In what ways is she different? (Note: You may wish to record student answers in a T-chart or Venn diagram on the board or on chart paper.)
- How do you think those differences might make Marla feel?
- Think about the way your actions toward Marla can affect the way she feels: Can the way you act toward Marla hurt her feelings? How? Can the way you act toward Marla make her feel better? How? (Note: You may wish to create a T-chart, listing positive behavior under a smiley face and negative behavior under a frowning face.)
- Draw a picture that shows a good way to treat Marla and other people who may have a critical health condition or disease like her. Then share your picture with the class.
Marla is an elementary school student. Like a lot of kids her age, she loves to play with her friends and listen to music. Marla is tall, has big eyes and always wears a smile on her face. Along with pretty clothes, Marla wears a handkerchief on her head to hide the fact that she is bald. You see, Marla has cancer, and the medicine she takes to make her better caused her hair to fall out. Sometimes she misses school because the medicine also makes her stomach feel gross. A few of Marla’s classmates will not play with her at recess because she has cancer.
Extension Activities
Make a card to brighten the day of someone who is seriously ill. With your class, mail the cards to your local hospital.
