1. PBS Curriculum 2013
It's a place that's buzzing with project based assignments, like
programming robots and analyzing DNA samples; and where facts
and figures are turned into ingenuity and inventiveness.
Where the four walls of the classroom open up and lead to real
world challenges and opportunities – from energy and the
environment, to housing and healthcare, to transportation and
technology.

2. 2
COURSE UNITS

3. PBS Course Units Unit 1 – The Mystery Unit 2 – Diabetes
Unit 3 – Sickle Cell Disease
Unit 4 – Heart Disease
Unit 5 – Infectious Disease
Unit 6 – Post Mortem 3

4. ACTIVITIES, PROJECTS, AND PROBLEMS4
ACTIVITIES, PROJECTS, AND PROBLEMS

5. 5
Unit 1: The Mystery

6. Lesson 1.1: Investigating the Scene
Activity A Mysterious Death
Students will be introduced to the mysterious death of Anna Garcia, set up their course organizer, and learn how to use the Inspiration® software.
Activity Examining the Scene
Students will play the role of crime scene investigators to examine the scene for clues.
Activity Careers in the Biomedical Sciences
Students will examine key information gathered from interviews of people of interest as well as explore some of the biomedical science professionals involved so far in the investigation of Anna Garcia’s death.
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”

7. Lesson 1.1: Investigating the Scene
Activity The Evidence
Students will play the role of forensic scientists to analyze each piece of evidence collected from the scene.
Activity Time of Death
Students will learn how to design a controlled experiment while investigating how ambient temperature affects the cooling rate of a simulated body, as well as estimate Anna’s time of death.
Project Blood Spatter Analysis
Students will design an experiment to investigate how height affects bloodstain patterns.
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”

8. Lesson 1.2: DNA Analysis Activity 1.2.1: What is DNA?
Students will investigate the structural composition of DNA by building a three-dimensional model of the molecule
Activity 1.2.2: DNA Extraction
Students will isolate DNA from plant and animal cells
Activity 1.2.3: DNA Analysis
Students will investigate the methods used to analyze DNA and then work as a forensic DNA analyst to compare the DNA found at the crime scene with the DNA obtained from each of the persons of interest.
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”

9. Lesson 1.3: The Findings Activity 1.3.1: The Autopsy
Students will begin to explore the systems of the human body, examine autopsies, and analyze the first piece of Anna Garcia’s autopsy report.
Activity 1.3.2: Confidentiality
Students will investigate the laws that relate to patient confidentiality, read real-world scenarios and determine whether patient confidentiality was protected or HIPAA was violated.
Activity 1.3.3: Was It a Crime?
Students will put together all of the evidence that they have collected and analyzed regarding Anna’s mysterious death and draw conclusions about the manner of death.
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”

10. 1010
Unit 2: Diabetes

11. Lesson 2.1: What is Diabetes?
Activity 2.1.1: Diagnosing Diabetes
Students will complete simulated glucose tolerance testing as well as insulin analysis on three patients and draw conclusions about their disease status based on the findings.
Project 2.2.2: The Insulin Glucose Connection
Students will use a design process to create a 3-D working model demonstrating how insulin works to move glucose into cells.
Activity 2.1.3: Feedback
Students will investigate feedback loops and, diagram the specific steps in the body that function to keep blood sugar in balance.
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”

12. Lesson 2.2: The Science of Food
Project 2.2.1: Food Testing
Students will use chemical indicators to tests for the presence of sugar, starch, protein, and lipids in three common food items as well as in the stomach contents of Anna Garcia.
Activity 2.2.2: Food Labels
Students will define various terms commonly used on food labels and then analyze food labels to determine the nutritional content of the respective food items.
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”

13. Lesson 2.2: The Science of Food
Activity 2.2.3: The Biochemistry of Food
Students will explore macromolecules as they complete a series of puzzles.
Activity 2.2.4: Energy in Food
Students will make a simple calorimeter to measure the amount of energy in a variety of food samples.
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”

14. Lesson 2.3: Life with Diabetes
Activity 2.3.1: A Day in the Life of a Diabetic
Students will help patients like Anna, confronted with a new diagnosis of diabetes, by designing a “What to Expect” guide.
Project 2.3.2: Diabetic Emergency!
Students will use a model of a cell to simulate how the body reacts to varying blood glucose concentrations
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”

15. Lesson 2.3: Life with Diabetes
Activity 2.3.3: Complications of Diabetes
Students will explore the impact that Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes can have on human body systems.
Problem 2.3.4: The Future of Diabetes Management and Treatment
Students will explore giving an effective presentation and brainstorm an innovation that helps diabetics treat, manage, or even cure their disease.
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”

16. Unit 3: Sickle Cell Disease
1616
Unit 3: Sickle Cell Disease

17. Lesson 3.1: The Disease Activity 3.1.1: Blood Detectives
Students will learn about the components and function of blood, examine sickled blood cells with a microscope and complete a simulated hematocrit.
Activity 3.1.2: Sickle Cell Diaries
Students will read Anna Garcia’s diary entries detailing what life was like for her living with sickle cell anemia. They will then write diary entries for an assigned sickle cell patient detailing how they are feeling and a description of the treatment they are receiving, including the risks and benefits.
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”

18. Lesson 3.2: It’s in the Genes
Activity 3.2.1: Protein Synthesis
Students will explore the process of protein synthesis through tutorials and animations.
Activity 3.2.2: The Genetic Code
Students will perform a paper simulation of protein synthesis, investigate mutations, as well as explore the genetic mutation that causes sickle cell disease.
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”

19. Lesson 3.2: It’s in the Genes
Activity 3.2.3: Does Changing One Nucleotide Make a Big Difference?
Students will use computer simulations to visualize the interactions between amino acids and how these relate to protein structure. They will then visualize how changes in the b-globin protein are due to the mutation associated with sickle cell disease.
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”

20. Lesson 3.3: Chromosomes
Activity 3.3.1: How is DNA Passed Through the Generations?
Students will investigate the role that chromosomes play in mitosis and meiosis and explore how inherited diseases are passed through the generations via our chromosomes.
Activity 3.3.2: Chromosomes – A Closer Look (Optional)
Students will use a human tumor cell line grown in a laboratory to prepare a chromosome spread.
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”

21. Lesson 3.3: Chromosomes Activity 3.3.3: The Immortal Cells (Optional)
Students will explore the history behind the HeLa cell line grown in the laboratory. Students will then discuss the ethics surrounding Henrietta’s case and debate the commodification of human body parts.
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”

22. Lesson 3.4: Inheritance Activity 3.4.1: Family Inheritance
Students will analyze the gel electrophoresis results obtained from the RFLPs of Anna Garcia’s family members and use the results to create a pedigree depicting the occurrence of sickle cell anemia within her family.
Activity 3.4.2: What’s the Probability?
Students will compare experimental probabilities to the probability determined with Punnett squares, as well as examine pedigrees and calculate the probability of an individual having or being a carrier for sickle cell disease.
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”

23. Lesson 3.4: Inheritance
Activity 3.4.3: World Distribution of Sickle Cell Disease (Optional)
Students will simulate the effects of a high frequency of malaria on the allele frequencies of a population.
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”

24. 2424
Unit 4: Heart Disease

25. Lesson 4.1: Heart Structure
Activity 4.1.1: Path of Blood in the Heart
Students will investigate the basic structure of the heart as well as identify the major blood vessels that bring blood in and out of the heart’s main chambers. Students will then create a graphic organizer to show the basic traffic pattern of blood flow to and from the heart and lungs.
Activity 4.1.2: Anatomy of the Heart
Students will dissect a sheep’s heart and will use a microscope to observe the structure of arteries and veins.
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”

26. Lesson 4.2: The Heart at Work
Project 4.2.1: Heart Rate
Students will design and conduct an experiment demonstrating the effect of stress, exercise, or position of the body on heart rate using data acquisition software.
Project 4.2.2: Blood Pressure
Students will design and conduct an experiment to investigate a factor that might influence blood pressure and write a formal laboratory report for this experiment or the experiment they designed in Project
Activity 4.2.3: EKG
Students will use the EKG sensor to make a graphical recording of the heart’s electrical activity as well as investigate Anna’s EKG.
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”

27. Lesson 4.3: Heart Dysfunction
Project 4.3.1: What is Cholesterol?
Students will design and create a brochure, poster, newsletter, or webpage that accurately informs high school and college students about cholesterol, LDL, and HDL.
Activity 4.3.2: Hypercholesterolemia
Students will use DNA electrophoresis to separate and analyze DNA fragments and use the results to determine if Anna and members of her family have familial hypercholesterolemia.
Problem 4.3.3: The Heart as a Pump
Students will design and build a simple pump to simulate the heart and will design an experiment to simulate the effects of cholesterol plaques on blood flow rate.
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”

28. Lesson 4.4: Heart Intervention
Project 4.4.1: Unblocking the Vessels
Students will investigate medical procedures used to treat blocked blood vessels and build a model to demonstrate one technique.
Project 4.4.2: Heart Disease Intervention
Students will use an online risk calculator to explore factors that increase or decrease the risk of heart attack or associated coronary disease and will design a heart disease intervention plan for an assigned patient.
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”

29. Unit 5: Infectious Disease
2929
Unit 5: Infectious Disease

30. Lesson 5.1: Infection Activity 5.1.1: Contagious
Students will demonstrate the transmission of an unknown infectious agent from person to person as well as use deductive reasoning to determine “patient zero.”
Activity 5.1.2: Infectious Disease Agents
Students will investigate a variety of diseases caused by infectious agents.
Activity 5.1.3: Isolating Bacteria
Students will use aseptic technique to isolate bacterial colonies from four bacterial samples and then complete a gross examination of the colonies.
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”

31. Lesson 5.1: Infection Activity 5.1.4: Gram Staining
Students you will create bacterial smears on microscope slides and perform a Gram stain on three types of bacteria, including the bacteria isolated from Anna’s sample.
Activity 5.1.5: Bacterial Identification
Students will use biochemical tests to identify the type of bacteria isolated from Anna’s sample.
Project 5.1.6: Lines of Defense
Students will design a board game or a children’s book that showcases how the immune system works to fight infection.
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”

32. 3232
Unit 6: Post Mortem

33. Lesson 6.1: Analyzing Anna
Project 6.1.1: How Do the Parts Make a Whole?
Students will investigate the different body systems that make up the human body and explore all of the ways Anna’s various illnesses affected each body system, potentially resulting in her premature death.
Activity 6.1.2: How Did She Die?
Students will receive the final autopsy report and put together all you know to determine Anna’s cause of death.
Hillary Clinton called PLTW “[A] promising program that is both changing
the lives of middle and high school students nationwide and helping to
build a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st century.”