Interdisciplinary Unit Plan – Social Impacts of Reproductive Rights & Health
Unit Rationale: Our unit plan seeks to educate students on the social impacts of reproductive rights and health. We chose this topic for three main reasons. For one thing, these issues are especially important for young adults, many of whom are in the midst of crafting their sexual identities and require a safe space to learn healthy behaviors and rights. For another, these topics support the BC cross-curricular “Personal and Social Competency,” which aims to promote a “positive personal and cultural identity” while developing “personal awareness and social responsibility.” Finally, sex and contraception are complicated issues and, we believe, require a multidisciplinary approach to be fully explored. Our mini-thematic unit thus seeks to enlighten students on the topic of sex from sociocultural, legal, biological and statistical perspectives, to give them a comprehensive understanding of these issues. Our greatest goal, in essence, is to equip students with the knowledge and skills they will need to responsibly navigate their future romantic relationships. Comment by tmanninglewis@gmail.com: Excellent rationale
Cross-Curricular Competencies: Personal and Social (Positive Personal and Cultural Identity, Personal Awareness and Responsibility and Social Responsibility)—the set of abilities that relate to:
- A student’s identity in the world, both as an individual and as a member of their community and society.
- The abilities a student needs to thrive as an individual, to understand and care about themselves and others, and to find and achieve their purpose in the world.
Big Ideas:
- Physical and Health Education 12 – Healthy choices influence, and are influenced by, our physical, emotional, and mental well-being.
- Physical and Health education 12 – Understanding our strengths, weaknesses, and personal preferences helps us plan and achieve our goals.
- Social Justice 12 – The causes of social injustice are complex and have lasting impacts on society; Social justice initiatives can transform individuals and systems.
Content:
- Develop skills for maintaining healthy relationships and responding to interpersonal conflict.
- Analyze the potential effects of social influences on health.
- Consider healthy sexual decision making.
- Explore and describe factors that shape personal identities, including social and cultural factors.
Learning Outcomes:
- Be able to explain how cultural and social factors influence our ideas about sex and well-being.
- Comprehend the basic mechanisms of human conception and identify the strengths and weaknesses of five contraceptives.
- Recognize the legal implications and responsibilities involved in sexual relationships.
- Fathom the implications of birth control and its influence on population growth, income and standard of living.
Lesson Rationale: To introduce the topic of reproduction and contraception, our group decided to begin with an English lesson that considered the sociocultural factors that influence our perceptions of sexual relationships. Using excerpts from Adele Wiseman’s novel Crackpot, which concerns the topic of teen-pregnancy, we will prompt students to consider how one’s family, friends, and culture guide their views about reproduction and contraception. We believe Wiseman’s novel will provide an engaging introduction to this topic, framing its significance through a relatable and entertaining narrative.
Lesson #1 – “Did you hear about…?” – Sex and culture. |
| Grade: 12 |
| Big Ideas: Healthy choices influence, and are influenced by, our physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Curricular Competencies: Personal and Social (Positive Personal and Cultural Identity, Personal Awareness and Responsibility and Social Responsibility)—the set of abilities that relate to: · A student’s identity in the world, both as an individual and as a member of their community and society. · The abilities a student needs to thrive as an individual, to understand and care about themselves and others, and to find and achieve their purpose in the world. Content: · Develop skills for maintaining healthy relationships and responding to interpersonal conflict. · Analyze the potential effects of social influences on health. · Consider healthy sexual decision making. · Explore and describe factors that shape personal identities, including social and cultural factors. Comment by tmanninglewis@gmail.com: Really excellent outline of the curricular competencies. You paid keen attention to all levels of comprehension and the affective domains |
| Learning Outcomes: By the end of the lesson students will: 1. Be able to explain how culture and social factors influence our ideas about sex and well-being. 2. Analyze their own notions of social well-being and relationships with the opposite sex. 3. Consider the consequences of unprotected sex. |
| Materials Needed: · Excerpts from Adele Wiseman’s novel Crackpot (Chapters 14 and 22). · Large sheets of paper for students to collect their thoughts. · Question box for anonymous questions about sex, health and contraception. |
| Introduction: A brief lecture style introduction of Adele Wiseman’s novel Crackpot and supporting information for the sections we will study. Give a brief description of Hoda’s cultural tradition (Kabal) and set the scene for Manitoba in the 1940s. Prompt students to consider how these cultural and demographic factors influence Hoda’s perception of sexual health. |
| Activity: Read chapter 14 as a class outloud. Students will be prompted to consider the following questions during reading: 1. Does Hoda have any misconceptions about the reproductive process or the social significance of sex? 2. How Hoda’s relationship with her family, friends and schoolmaster influences her interactions with boys? 3. How might Hoda’s cultural background and the time period (1940s) guide her notions of sex? |
| Discussion/Conclusion: Students will participate in a Think, Pair, Share exercise to consider these themes in more detail. First, they will reflect on these questions on their own for 2mins, then discuss their answers with a partner for 5mins, and finally pair up into groups of four to collect their ideas on a large piece of white paper for 10mins. The students will appoint one spokesperson to explain their choices, while the other group members will rotate around the room to see what other groups discovered. Comment by tmanninglewis@gmail.com: Really good activity to get students to appreciate different perspectives |
| Assessment: Drawing from the information on the posters, as a class we decide on the best answers to these questions and write these answers up on the board. |
| Adaptations: If the content of Crackpot is too graphic for certain students, an alternative lesson could look at Hailey Crawford’s short story about teen-pregnancy in the anthology Hot Apple Cider. |
| Resources: Adele Wiseman’s Crackpot; Hailey Crawford’s “Conversation’s in Baby Blue” from Hot Apple Cider. |
Lesson Rationale:
Having been introduced to the human importance and gravity of reproductive health in Lesson #1, the next step would be to ground student understanding in biology. This lesson will serve two purposes. First, it will function as a review of human reproductive biology, reminding students of human sexual mechanisms. Second, students will apply this knowledge to understanding the function of five common forms of contraception in terms of their disruption of the reproductive process. This will be framed with a critical lens, focussing on weighing the utility and pitfalls of each method.
Lesson #2 – Beyond Birds & Bees – The Biology of Human Reproduction and Contraception |
| Grade/Class: Anatomy & Physiology 12 |
| Big Ideas: N/A Curricular Competencies: · Demonstrate a sustained intellectual curiosity about a scientific topic or problem of personal, local, or global interest · Construct, analyze, and interpret graphs, models, and/or diagrams · Analyze cause-and-effect relationships · Assess risks in the context of personal safety and social responsibility · Contribute to care for self, others, community, and world through individual or collaborative approaches · Implement multiple strategies to solve problems in real-life, applied, and conceptual situations Content: · organ systems (structure and function, particularly reproductive) · lifestyle differences and their effects on human health |
| Learning Outcomes: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to: 1. Explain the basic conditions and mechanisms of human conception 2. Critically assess the effectiveness and limitations of 5 birth control methods (condoms, birth control pills, IUD Coil, implant and withdrawal). |
| Materials Needed: · projector & computer for displaying video and reproductive diagrams · speaker system connected to computer · envelopes, containing primer information on a method of contraception, x5 · Large poster paper x5 · Markers x10 · Contraceptive Method Worksheets from Activity #2 x [# of students] · Question box |
Introduction (20 minutes): Primer on Biology of Reproduction· Teacher begins with a review/primer on human reproduction · First, video showing animation of reproduction process in humans (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ekRRuSa_UQ) · Then project a schematic diagram of human reproduction with key terms blanked out to review critical aspects of reproduction. Ask students questions in order to fill in key terminology including: egg, sperm, fertilisation, vagina, uterus, ovary, fallopian tube. · Project diagram of menstrual cycle, indicating window of fertility · Ensure that there is a general understanding of the concepts and encourage questions · “Today, you will be applying this knowledge of human reproduction to different methods of contraception (interventions that prevent pregnancy). Whether or not you are sexually active at present or in the future, it is important to know how to minimize the risk of STIs and unintended pregnancy.” |
Activity #1 (25 minutes): Group Work – Assess a Contraceptive Method· Divide class into 5 groups. Each group will receive an envelope with an article or textbook excerpt explaining a particular contraceptive method. · Good resource available through United Nations Population Fund and Advocates for Youth (see Resources) · Could seek out pamphlets/online resources from Health Link BC · Could use resources from Nurse’s Office within school · Give each a piece of poster paper for display during their presentation · “Study the method of contraception in your envelope and prepare a short, 3-minute presentation for the class. You should focus on the following three questions: · 1. Explain the basic mechanism through which your method prevents pregnancy (i.e. at what point does it disrupt reproduction). · 2. How effective is the contraceptive method? · 3. What are the possible side effects or limitations?” · Teacher circulates, helping students to understand the concepts and materials · If students finish with their given info, encourage them to go to resources including the United Nations Population Fund Web Site and Health Link BC to supplement their presentation |
Activity #2 (20 minutes): Share Out & Weigh Benefits and Limitations of Methods· All the groups share their presentations · Students in audience fill in a chart which includes columns for: “Contraceptive Method”, “Mechanism”, “Effectiveness”, “Limitations” and “Questions?” Ex.
· Thank students for their presentations | ||||||||||
Activity #3 (15 minutes): Responding to Submissions in Question Box· Teacher ends class with the entertaining activity of responding to questions from the question box presented in lesson #1 · Prior to class, teacher will screen the questions in the box to find questions that relate to the biological content of this class (e.g. reproduction, pregnancy, contraception) · FInally, asks students if they have any additional questions. Encourage them to place any new questions into the question box if they feel uncomfortable raising them in the group setting. | ||||||||||
| Assessment: · Teacher will assess the participation of each group based on the following factors: · Level of engagement · Distribution of work and talk time during presentation · Quality of information provided · Professionalism and work ethic | ||||||||||
| Adaptations: · The five methods were selected due to their prominent use among young people. As the landscape of contraception changes and new methods are developed, consider adding in new methods or swapping out more dated ones. · There should be an opportunity for students to opt out if they have ethical or religious issues around contraception. In this case, students would be given a supplementary assignment to read a biology article in the library and answer questions about it. | ||||||||||
| Resources: · Teachers seeking high quality materials on contraceptive methods can find good primer information at: https://www.advocatesforyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/storage//advfy/lesson-plans/lesson-plan-contraception-part-i-and-ii.pdf · Health Link BC, Birth Control page: https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-topics/hw237864 |
Lesson Rationale:The introduction of the birth control pill has had a profound effect on the social, political and demographic realities of humanity. We will in particular observe the significant effect the introduction of this technology has had on world population and the resulting predicted leveling out of world population.
Lesson #3 – Modeling Population Growth |
| Grade: 12 |
| Big Ideas: Statistics plays an integral role in research, decision making, and policy in society; Statistical analysis allows us to explore, describe, model, and explain variation. Curricular Competencies: Explore, analyze, and apply statistical ideas using reason, technology, and other tools; Model with statistics in situational contexts Content: role of statistical thinking in research and the scientific method; use of software and technology to enhance statistical ideas; communication of statistical findings |
| Materials Needed: Worksheet, Laptop or Phone with access to the internet |
| Introduction (25 minutes): Students will explore the impact of exponential population growth on biological systems by working with simple models; this will be followed by a discussion of the Malthusian population disaster |
| Activity (55 minutes): · Using DESMOS students will model simple biological models. They will make predictions and directly confirm or disprove their predictions by direct computation, observation and reflection. The impact of the changing rate of growth due to maternal health will also be recognized along with the importance of maternal health as a means of stabilizing the world population numbers. |
| Discussion/Conclusion (5 minutes): Students will reflect on the importance of maternal health and reproductive rights on stabilizing world population. |
| Assessment: Students will be assessed on understanding by direct observation of correct modeling numbers along with classroom engagement in post activity discussion |
| Resources: Laptop or Cellphone with access to the internet |
Lesson Rationale: Having learned through statistics about some of the health, economic etc implications from the lack of access to reproductive health and rights, we turn in this lesson to examine reproductive rights in Canada/BC. Key questions this lesson delves into it are: What have we got? Where did they come from (key legislation, treaties, people, events)? How have they changed over time? What’s going on with them now?
Lesson #4 –Reproductive Rights in Canada/BC (Social Studies) |
| Grade: 12 |
| Big Ideas: · Social Justice 12 – The causes of social injustice are complex and have lasting impacts on society; Social justice initiatives can transform individuals and systems. Curricular Competencies: · Human Geography 12 – Identify and assess how human and environmental factors and events influence each other (interactions and associations) · Social Justice 12 – Compare and contrast continuities and changes for different groups and individuals at different times and places (continuity and change) Content: · Political Studies 12 – issues in local, regional, national, and international politics · Social Justice 12 – social justice issues; social injustices in Canada and the world affecting; governmental and non-governmental organizations in issues of social justice and injustice |
| Materials Needed: · Photocopies of Appendix A, Appendix B, Appendix C, Appendix E, and articles from Activity #4 · Chromebooks for Activity 3 and 4 |
Activity #1 (15 min)- Introduction, what it means to them and their people over time:· Class brainstorm: · What if you did not have access to contraception? What if you/your girlfriend/sister/mom/grandma got pregnant? What would your life be like? What would be the risks? · Using the diagram in Appendix A which is from current international recommended definition when it comes to what access to Sexual health and reproductive rights we should have as humans, take a few minutes to quickly write on the sheet whether · You think you have access to the things on the wheel? And when/how you learned about this? · Mark a P, G, or GG if you think your Parent, Grandparent or Great-grandparent had access to it · Class discussion -we can answer the question of who we think would have had access by using the timeline of reproductive rights on the board (Appendix B) (hand it out, and post on overhead) |
Activity #2 (15 min): Closer look – What are your legal rights when it comes to abortion in BC?· Working in groups of 4 (as assigned by the random team generator – https://www.randomlists.com/team-generator) · Using the scenario (see Appendix C) and websites provided, answer the questions · Debrief as a class what we think |
Activity #3 (30 min): Things to Know – what and why – what makes these things/events/people important in relation to reproductive rights in BC· You will each be assigned a topic from the below list · Using the sources given (or others), your job is to make bulleted notes (3-7) on the topic that identifies, in relation to reproductive rights, what makes these things/people/events important? · Review as a class – 1 minute each to tell why your topic was important · Please add your bullets in to this Google doc (see Appendix D) a. Roe v Wade: · https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/roe-v-wade b. Leilani Muir: · https://eugenicsarchive.ca/discover/our-stories/leilani c. Margaret Sanger · https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/margaret-sanger d. Henry Morgentaler · https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/henry-morgentaler e. Charter of Rights and Freedoms · f. Canada Health Act · g. BC Human Rights Code · https://www.justiceeducation.ca/legal-help/rights/human-rights/human-rights h. Access to Abortion Services Act (BC) and “Bubble zones” · http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96001_01 i. UN Sustainable Development Goals · https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/envision2030.html j. Universal Human Rights Declaration · k. 6 Major International Treaties: · 1. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Civil and Political Rights Covenant) · 2. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights Covenant) · 3. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Convention) · 4. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (Children’s Rights Convention) · 5. The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Convention against Racial Discrimination) Comment by tmanninglewis@gmail.com: Really engaging activities · 6. The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Convention against Torture) · http://www.youthcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/SRR_Guide_-FINAL_VERSION.pdf |
Activity #4 (20 min): So, we’re good…Right? Reproductive rights in the news…· In groups of 3 or 4 (as assigned by the random team generator – : · Read, discuss the article and record observations using paper provided (Appendix E) · Are reproductive rights being respected? Are they being circumvented? Or blocked? How? Are reproductive rights being disputed? How? · Class discussion – debrief – what did you discover Article #1 – June 10, 2019 – The illusion of choice: Canadian women stonewalled when it comes to reproductive rights, by Kayla Butler, Kenny Mason- https://toronto.citynews.ca/2019/06/10/the-illusion-of-choice-canadian-women-stonewalled-when-it-comes-to-reproductive-rights/ Article #2 – October 11, 2019 – A Fredericton abortion clinic’s plan to close becomes federal election issue Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon, Elizabeth Fraser – Article #3 – June 6, 2019 – Anti-abortion meeting at Coquitlam library draws protests : Activitists worry U.S. anti-abortion sentiments are coming to Canada, by Gary McKenna – https://www.tricitynews.com/news/anti-abortion-meeting-at-coquitlam-library-draws-protest-1.23846149 Article #4 – October 7, 2019 – Outrage after anti-abortion ‘goodie bags’ distributed to children in Chilliwack, by Simon Little – https://globalnews.ca/news/6002641/outrage-anti-abortion-materials-children-parade-chilliwack/ Article #5 – May 15, 2019 – How Trump Became an Abortion Hard-liner, by Philip Bump https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/05/15/how-trump-became-an-abortion-hard-liner/ Article #6 – May 21, 2019 – Still barriers to abortion access on Vancouver Island, by Shalu Mehta https://www.vicnews.com/news/still-barriers-to-abortion-access-on-vancouver-island/ |
Conclusion (5 min): Where to from here?· Watch – what rapper Chika thinks about the reopening of this issue in Alabama: https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/8512859/chika-debuts-richey-v-alabama-jimmy-kimmel-live-watch · Exit slips: · One action you would like to take OR · One direction you would like to see these rights taken |
| Assessment: · Participation in the activities · Contributed to collective notes exercise · Exit slip |
| Additional Resources: https://www.arcc-cdac.ca/ontheissues.html http://www.nafcanada.org/about-abortion.html https://bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/Public/SocialJustice/Issues/SW/ReproductiveRights.pdf https://www.actioncanadashr.org/about https://www.jogc.com/article/S1701-2163(19)30365-2/fulltext https://www.amnesty.ca/our-work/issues/womens-human-rights/sexual-and-reproductive-rights |
Appendix A:
A Comprehensive definition of sexual and reproductive health and rights
From: Background document for the Nairobi summit on ICPD25 (Nov 12-14, 2019) https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/SRHR_an_essential_element_of_UHC_SupplementAndUniversalAccess_27-online.pdf
Get involved next time? – http://www.nairobisummiticpd.org/content/youth-corner
Appendix B –
Reproductive rights timeline (Canadian emphasis)
https://bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/Public/SocialJustice/Issues/SW/ReproductiveRights.pdf)
Appendix C – Scenario
Damien and Belinda are both 16 and live in BC. Belinda gets pregnant, decides she is too young to be a parent, and doesn’t want to carry a pregnancy to term if she’s not going to parent the baby. She doesn’t want to place the baby for adoption because she doesn’t think she’d be able to deal with knowing that her baby was out there if she isn’t going to raise it. Damien is really against abortion and tells her he’d raise the baby if she didn’t want to; she refuses.
Using the following websites, please answer the questions listed below:
https://www.legalrightsforyouth.ca/medical-rights/abortion
https://www.islandsexualhealth.org/pregnancy/abortion/
https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-topics/tw1040
Questions:
1) Can Belinda get an abortion in BC?
2) How soon does Belinda have to decide whether or not to have an abortion?
3) Can Damien stop Belinda from having an abortion?
4) Is it likely that Belinda has access to abortion services where she lives in BC?
Appendix D – Google Doc for Notes
| Topic | Source | What makes this topic important? |
Appendix E
Name of article:
Date of article:
Source of article:
Brief summary of the article:
What does the article reveal about reproductive rights?
Lesson Rationale: As a final lesson and exercise in synthesis, students will be organized into groups of 4 and tasked with producing a pamphlet or an infographic on reproductive health and rights. In the spirit of interdisciplinary study, each group must integrate materials from at least two of the prior lessons (e.g. content from the Biology and Math lesson) in their pamphlet. Once the pamphlet or infographic is complete and the info is vetted by the teacher, they will be ‘published.’ To do so, the pamphlets will be duplicated and displayed in a rack outside the class for other students in the school to access and take.
| Lesson #5 – Designing a Pamphlet or Infographic |
| Grade: 12 |
| Big Ideas: Healthy choices influence, and are influenced by, our physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Curricular Competencies: Personal and Social (Positive Personal and Cultural Identity, Personal Awareness and Responsibility and Social Responsibility)—the set of abilities that relate to: o A student’s identity in the world, both as an individual and as a member of their community and society. o The abilities a student needs to thrive as an individual, to understand and care about themselves and others, and to find and achieve their purpose in the world. Content: · Consider healthy sexual decision making. · Explore and describe factors that shape personal identities, including social and cultural factors. · Source of health information. · Influences of physical, emotional, and social changes on identities and relationships. |
| Materials Needed: · Supplies: Paper, pens, pencils, scissors, glue. · Notes/materials from lessons. · Access to computers with word-processing or image-editing software. · Printer. |
| Introduction (25 minutes): · Collective review of lessons in a class group · Teacher will use 4 separate whiteboards to create a collective mind-map. On each board will be the theme from one of the lessons (e.g. A Social Perspetive On Reproductive Rights from Lesson #4). Students will circulate from board to board populating the mind-maps with things that they recall. · Once all the students have circulated, teacher will lead a group discussion reviewing the clusters in the mind map. |
| Activity (55 minutes): · Each student receives an assignment summary, explaining the task and assessment. Furthermore, the summary will suggest that students delegate different roles within the group: project manager, writer, illustrator and designer. · Groups will meet and decide which information/content they wish to highlight in their work · Groups will work collectively to produce a pamphlet or infographic using the materials at hand · Teacher circulates, monitoring progress, fielding questions and ensuring that students are producing quality work | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discussion/Conclusion (5 minutes): · At end of class, all groups submit their pamphlet. Explain that the teacher will vet all the info, ensuring that it is accurate. Once the products have been cleared, they will be duplicated and placed outside the class for students in the school to access. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Assessment: Teacher will evaluate student learning based on the information displayed on their pamphlets or infographics. Based on the following general criteria:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Resources: How to make a Brochure in Microsoft Word: https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Brochures-on-Microsoft-Word Tips & Tricks for Infographic Design: https://venngage.com/blog/infographic-design/ How to Make Graphics in Powerpoint: Yes You Can! |