Chapter 1 A Close-Up View of You
45
Connect with Your
Community
18. Science. Investigate a career related to medical
genetic research and describe the types
of jobs available. What are the educational
requirements and job potential for a job in this
field? Choice: Talk with your family physician
to find out which specialist you would see if you
had health questions related to your genetic
heritage.
19. Research. Interview someone who has
experienced a hereditary disease. Include
questions related to attitudes about the disease,
how the disease affects the other family
members, and fears about the disease affecting
future generations. Consider how the disease
impacts a person’s ability to live alone or hold
a job. Choice: Identify community resources
available to help people with hereditary
diseases. Group option: Work with a partner.
20. Reading, Writing. Read two news articles from
your local newspaper and identify how that
information affects you directly or indirectly. Then
respond to one article by writing a “Letter to the
Editor,” expressing your views on that topic. Be
prepared to share with the class how your views
could impact others in your community.
21. Writing. Write a biography, poem, or song
describing the life of a typical young person
growing up in your community. Include a
description of environmental factors that will
influence the person’s growth and development.
Use Technology
22. Use a computer drawing program to create
a family tree that includes you, your parents,
grandparents, and great-grandparents. Identify
the physical traits you possess that can be
traced to members included in your family tree.
Choice: Determine the average number of
years for a life span in your family.
23. Identify a change that a typical teen might
expect to experience in the next year. Determine
what he or she would need to know about this
change. Identify two or more sources of this
information, including at least one Internet
site; gather information; and identify what
skills could help a teen adjust to this change.
Use the information to prepare a multimedia
presentation and present your findings to the
class. Group option: Work in a small group to
prepare the presentation.
24. Science. Search the Internet to explore
how technology has expanded the research
on human genes and disease traits. Key
search terms include human genome and
biotechnology companies. Prepare a one-
page report on one aspect of such technology.
Present to the class an issue that the use of
such technology could raise in the future.
25. Research. Develop a questionnaire you can
use to survey others’ feelings related to future
life changes. Survey three classmates, three
adults your parents’ age, and three older adults.
Categorize their responses into Changes That
Are Feared and Changes That Are Anticipated.
Using a computer and a graphing program,
design a chart or graph showing each age
group and the number of changes feared or
anticipated. Compare your findings with others
in the class. Group option: Work in a small
group using the total responses of the group.