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How Does Your Baby Grow? - Teacher Page
 
Project Description
 
Though it may look simple on the outside, the process of fetal development is extremely complex.  A human fetus develops in different ways during each segment of the 40-week gestation period.  A mother’s body, too, changes in different ways at different periods of the gestation period. 

 The students will be divided into small groups and each group will be responsible for researching and presenting its findings on one particular segment of the 40 week gestation period that it takes for a human fetus to fully develop.

 
   Project Goals
 
Essential Question:
What does it take for a mother to have a healthy pregnancy and to produce a healthy baby?
 
Specific Questions:
 
  1. Describe the various tests doctors can use to examine the fetus while it is still inside the mother’s womb.   What can these tests determine?  What risks are associated with performing them?
  2. How can planning ahead contribute to a healthy pregnancy and fetal development?
  3. What is the value of prenatal care, nutrition and exercise, and abstinence from alcohol, tobacco and drugs?
  4. Where does a fetus get its unique, inherited physical characteristics?
  5. During the third trimester of pregnancy, what effects does a woman’s growing uterus have on the rest of  her body?
  6. The human gestation period is 40 weeks long.  How many of those weeks does it take for a fetus to develop organs and major body structures?
       Illinois and CPS Learning Standards
 
    

State Goal

 CAS CFS
5 A 1-3
     

 

 

                        Grades 9 - 12

  STATE    STATE GOAL 5:

  USE THE LANGUAGE ARTS FOR INQUIRY AND RESEARCH TO ACQUIRE, ORGANIZE, ANALYZE, EVALUATE  AND  COMMUNICATE INFORMATION.

  CAS A.

  Conduct research on questions and issues using various personal, reference, media, and electronic information sources to prepare comprehensive presentations.

  CFS

  1. Use coherent research methodology to elicit and present evidence to:
  •  support claims and contentions
  •  defend an original thesis statement.

    2.   Use library skills to gather materials for oral presentations.

    3.   Integrate essential elements and processes related to effective formal research methodology to produce oral  and written presentations that:

  • engage the reader by establishing a clear thesis statement that identifies the subject and the writer's approach to it 
  • follow a logical organization pattern with appropriate transitions between and among ideas and sections
  • use evidence and details from a variety of primary and secondary print and non-print sources in the body of the paper to develop and support the thesis
  • credit and cite sources used for both direct and indirect quotations and evidence
  • include a reference or bibliographical list that is correctly formatted and provides complete information for all sources used

   

 

  Unit Prerequisites
 

  • Students will be able to access web sites

  • Students will be able to print pictures or create their own work

  • Students will be able to research library materials
 
  Performance Tasks
 
 
Task:

To help you understand your pregnancy, your job is to find information that is relevant to your trimester. You will be in an assigned trimester group.  Your group is to collect and search materials from the library and Internet to document changes that both the mother and the fetus undergo during the trimester that the group has been assigned.  When your group’s research is complete, you will create a verbal description and a visual presentation showing your group’s findings and detailing the changes that occur in both fetus and mother during your group’s trimester.

 When the work of your group is finished, your findings will be presented to the class in an illustrated time line of  fetal development.

Access:

  • Read the materials provided in the classroom, library, and on the Internet.
  • Listen to the video Intimate Universe:  The Human Body 5 – Pack.
  • Observe pictures of fetal development on the Internet.
  • Read articles about factors that may complicate pregnancy and/or contribute to birth defects.
  • Look-up and understand vocabulary based on fetal development.

Interpret:

  • Compare and identify different stages of fetal development.
  • Analyze, step by step, what occurs during a pregnancy.
  • Critique the development of a baby from fertilization to birth.
  • Infer the effects of prenatal behaviors (e.g., prenatal care, alcohol abuse, poor nutrition, good nutrition) from the data.

Produce:

  • Write a description of the changes that occur in the mother during the group’s gestation period.
  • Create a visual and verbal presentation showing the changes that occur in the fetus during the group’s gestational period.
  • Draft a summary of your findings on the practices, attitudes, and disorders of the reproductive system.
  • Draw/create a picture of the fetus in your group’s trimester.

Communicate:

  • Present your findings about your gestational period to your group.
  • Show your pictures or artwork to the class.
  • Share your display with parents and community members.

            Evaluate:

  • Assess your effectiveness in the cooperative groups.
  • Critique the written passages.
  • Assess the quality of your presentation and display.
  • Judge the effectiveness of your display.
 Performance Assessment Plan
 
   Performance Indicators Assessment Tool
   Language Arts  
   State Goal 5 Rubric on written and oral presentation,

Checklist to determine group progress http://www.teach-nology.com/cgi-bin/teamwork.cgi

 

 
 

Teacher Resources
 

The Multi-dimensional Human Embryo.  Shows three-dimensional images and descriptions of a human embryo from 22 to 56 days old based on magnetic imaging.  http://embryo.soad.umich.edu/

 The Visible Embryo.  Use the spiral to navigate through the 40 weeks of pregnancy and preview the unique changes in each week of human development.  http://www.visembryo.com/baby/index.html

 StorkNet’s Week-by-Week Guide to Your Pregnancy. For each of the 40 weeks of pregnancy, you’ll find information about a baby’s development and what types of changes occur in the mother’s pregnant body. http://www.pregnancyguideonline.com/

 Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs & Pregnancy and Parenthood.  Descriptions of mental, physical, and psychological impairments and problems in infants and children caused by the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.  http://www.health.org/

and problems in infants and children caused by the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.  http://www.health.org/

 

Suggested Reading

 Beginning Life:  The Marvelous Journey from Conception to Birth

Geraldine Lux Flanagan, DK Publishing, 1966.

The story of the remarkable journey that all of us make from conception to birth; this graphic book unravels the mysteries of that inner world in which we are first formed as human beings.  Complete with a stunning sequence of photographic images and clear and sensitive description, this is a truly compelling narrative, one that sharpens your understanding and expands your sense of wonder.

 

Life Before Birth:  Normal Fetal Development

Marjorie A. England.  Year Book Medical Publishing Co., 1966.

This unique, profusely illustrated guide to the development of the normal fetus from conception to birth uses hundreds of color illustrations to graphically depict each stage of fetal development.  It also incorporates imaging illustrations, including CT and MRI scans, to depict what modern science has revealed about the complex process of fetal development.

 

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