GENETIC DISORDERS PROJECT
OBJECTIVES
Students will do the following:
1. Learn about genetic disorders
2. Create a PowerPoint presentation to teach about a disorder
PROCEDURE
1. Choose one of the following genetic disorders.
 Down syndrome
 Cystic fibrosis
 Diabetes
 Muscular dystrophy
 Tay-Sachs disease
 Hemophilia
 Turner syndrome
 Marfan syndrome
 Huntington's disease
 Canavan disease
2. Research the genetic disorder and gather the information below. In addition,
prepare a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the most important points of your
research. You are encouraged to include sketch pictures, graphs, and charts to
include in your presentation.
 How does this genetic disorder affect the body?
 What are symptoms or effects of the disorder?
 How common is this disorder?
 How is it diagnosed?
 How is this disorder treated?
 Why is this disorder considered a genetic disorder? How is it inherited?
The following Web sites may be helpful:
Your Genes, Your Health
<http://www.yourgenesyourhealth.org>
Chronic Illness: Directory
<http://www.pbs.org/fredfriendly/whocares/awareness/directory.html>
TeensHealth: Diseases and Conditions (see Genetic Conditions)
<http://websrv01.kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/>
KidsHealth: Health Problems (see Birth Defects and Genetic Problems)
<http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/>
Yahoo Genetic Disorders
<http://dir.yahoo.com/Health/Diseases_and_Conditions/Genetic_Disorders/>
Canavan Foundation
<http://www.canavanfoundation.org/canavan.php>
In your report try to address the following questions: What surprised you most
about these diseases? What challenges do some people face? Come up with three
things you can do to help people with genetic disorders, including ways to raise
awareness, increase research funding, and assist someone with the disease.
What to hand in (via email):
1. Word document (Font: Normal, Arial. Size: 12):
a. The report
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b. A list of any additional websites that you found useful (For each
Web site you should note the name, URL, and a list of interesting
facts about it)
c. A list of the medical words with their definitions
d. A list of the academic words with their definitions
2. PowerPoint presentation
Format of your Word Document:
Last name/first name/student number/email: 1. ___________________
2. ____________________
Report: (essay, max 2000 words)
Websites consulted (list of additional websites)
List of Medical words (max 20)
Format:
Example
in
TERM
context
…
catheter
Word class
information
…
hemodialysis
…the victim can
be
saved
by
regular use of a
renal
hemodialysis
machine.
noun
…
…
…
List of Academic words (max 10)
Format:
Example
in Word
class
TERM
context
information
approach
….
…
formula
…Coca-Cola’s
patented
formula.
noun
…
…
….
Dictionary
definition
…
A
treatment
used
to
cleanse
the
blood
of
patients
whose kidneys
are defective
…
Dictionary
definition
…
A list of the
substances
used to make
a medicine
…
Greek
translation
…
αιμοκάθαρση
…
Greek
translation
…
συνταγή,
τύπος
…
EXTENSION
You will get extra credit for submitting articles you have found on the Internet
related to your topic. These should be submitted along with their sources, a fiveto-eight-sentence summary on the article, and a three-to-five-sentence personal
reflection on why you chose the article you did and further presented to the class.
A possible starting point is the Discovery Health Web site <http://health.discove
ry.com/> or the NBC portal at <http://www.msnbc.com/news/HEALTH_Fro
nt.asp?0dm=B---H&ta=y>. These sites offer daily highlights related to health
issues.
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