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Resource ID#: 72576

Primary Type: Lesson Plan

What the HeLa?

Students will watch a short video introducing what HeLa cells are and why they are worth some attention.
They will:
1. In a group, research specific perspectives (family, society, medical/technology, legal rights).
2. Record reasons they support/refute the ethical use of HeLa cells.
3. Get into different groups with one perspective each to debate and come to a consensus as a whole: "Is the use of HeLa cells ethical?"

General Information

Subject(s): Science, Social Studies

Grade Level(s): 9, 10, 11, 12
Intended Audience: Educators Suggested Technology: Computer for Presenter,
Computers for Students, Internet Connection, LCD
Projector, Speakers/Headphones
Instructional Time: 1 Hour(s) 30 Minute(s)

Resource supports reading in content area: Yes Freely Available: Yes

Keywords: biotechnology, ethics, cells, medicine, cancer, research, cervical cancer, bioethics

Instructional Component Type(s): Lesson Plan, Problem-Solving Task, Project, Text Resource, Formative
Assessment
Resource Collection: FCR-STEMLearn Diversity and Ecology

Attachment

Exit_Ticket.docx
Handout.docx
HeLa_Research_Links.docx
HeLa_Cell_Intro_Instructions_.pptx

Lesson Content
Lesson Plan Template: General Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the ethics and biotechnology behind HeLa cells and how the use of the cells in research has impacted
society, families, legislation, and medicine.
Students will evaluate and debate the ethics of the use of HeLa cells from different/assigned perspectives (society, Henrietta's family, legal, and
medicine/technology).
Students will research the history behind HeLa cells and understand what they are.
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
Students need to know what cells are and that they don't normally replicate outside the body (i.e. in a Petri dish).
Definition of biotechnology and its past, current, and possible future roles in society.
Some background on the behavior of cancer cells would be helpful.

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 Knowledge of segregation in America up until the 1960s would be helpful.
Misconceptions:

HeLa cells will make you immortal.

HeLa cells would allow Henrietta to live forever if she didn't die from cancer (HeLa cells ARE cancer cells).
Ethics can be proven, definitive right and wrong.
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
How would you feel if this was your family? Would you donate yourself to science if you didn't get any kind of compensation/recognition? (Think blood or organ
donors)
Do you think this could happen today?
Do the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few? To what extent?
How can ethics in cultures differ?
What are some of the possible future benefits to society from the use of biotechnology? Are there any possible disadvantages?
Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?
The first day the teacher will pose the question: "What does ethics mean to you?" as a bell ringer. (See attached PowerPoint)

Give the students a few minutes to come up with their definition and then have them quietly share their ideas (comparing and contrasting) with their shoulder partner.
Then, the teacher will open the conversation up to the entire class and have students share out what they discussed and see if they can give any examples of ethical
issues (steer the conversation towards biotechnology: GMOs, dog breeding, DNA manipulation, cloning, etc.).

Display the dictionary definition of ethics and guide a short conversation about ethics.

The teacher will present the concept of HeLa cells through a PowerPoint presentation (attached) and play a video clip (hyperlinked on the PowerPoint "HeLa Cells")
that hooks the students into the topic. The teacher can ask the students what they got from the video, opinions, or summaries. The teacher should provide the
students with a basic foundation of the history behind HeLa cells and what they are, without giving too much information away or presenting a bias.

Suggested points to mention:

HeLa cells were named after HenriettaLacks, taking the first 2 letters of her first and last name.
Henrietta was a poor tobacco farmer and mother of 5.
Henrietta went to Johns Hopkins for treatment, since it was one of the few hospitals that would treat her due to segregation. Her treatment was free.
Henrietta was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cervical cancer.
A sample of her normal cells and cancer cells were extracted from Henrietta without her knowledge or consent.
Scientists developed an "immortal" cell line from her cancer cells.
The HeLa cell line is still reproducing and sold by companies similar to buying a Petri dish or laboratory mice.
Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher guidance?
The teacher will provide guided practice through the research phase of this lesson (instructions in attached ppt). During the first day students will be divided into
groups that represent 4 different perspectives of the HeLa case (family, society, medical/technology, and legal rights). These groups will research their perspective
through the provided links (attached "Research Links") and may further explore other resources through search engines. If students have limited availability to
computers/tablets the teacher could print out these resources and have each student read one of the articles/resources.

Give instructions for what they are expected to do in this lesson:

1. Students will be placed in groups to research various points of view including family, society, medical/technology, and legal rights. (the teacher can do a number
call off or another method to randomly assign research groups and have them assemble at tables). Try to keep the same number of students for each
group.
2. In these groups, instruct the students to access their group's specific research links which are provided. With these links they can read about the topic and will draw
evidence from the articles that support their group's assigned perspective. The teacher should help the students arrive at the correct perspective for their assigned
group (for or against theuseofHeLa cells, if necessary).
1. The family group will be researching articles and extracting information that supports the perspective of Henrietta Lacks' family (Against the use of HeLa
cells). (If students need more guidance the teacher can say: "Imagine this is happening to your family, how would you feel?")
2. The society group will be researching articles and extracting information that supports the perspective of the main population of America and the world (For
the use of HeLa cells). (If students need more guidance the teacher can say: "Imagine that you receive the benefit of the HeLa cell line.")
3. The medical/technology group will be researching articles and extracting information that supports the perspective of health care professionals, hospitals, and
scientists (For the use of HeLa cells). (If students need more guidance the teacher can say: "Imagine you are the scientist that developed the HeLa cell
line.", etc.)
4. The legal rights group will be researching articles and extracting information that supports the perspective of lawyers, patient rights, and legislation (Against
the use of HeLa cells). (If students need more guidance the teacher can say: "Imagine if you were at the doctor's office and they took a sample without your
consent.")
3. With the handout (attached) they will fill out the front side (the one with the perspective listed at the top, large box, and 1-3 supports for evidence). In the large box
they are writing down notes and personal thoughts from the articles that they are reading. Once done reading, they will record specific textual evidence to support
their stance thoughts in the box.
The teacher will provide the students with a handout (half sheet of paper each) that has their assigned perspective on it. They will only be filling out the front side of
the sheet which has their perspective listed at the top. They are using the provided articles to help them find supporting evidence for their stance. These sheets
should be collected before the students leave to assure that they are not lost/misplaced. It is helpful to provide a folder for each perspective at
their tables.

When printing the handout have it double-sided and cut the sheets in half. The front should have the perspective and box on it and the back
should have the "Group Consensus".

When researching, some articles are longer than others. With these articles reassure students that they don't need to read the entire article, but
enough to cover their perspective.

Encourage students to think of counter-arguments to their perspective to strengthen their points, since they will be debating the following day.

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Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce the concepts and skills developed in the
lesson?
At the end of the first day, give the students a written exit slip asking (see attached PowerPoint, in slides): "Do you think the use of HeLa cells is ethical, why or why
not?"

The second day of the lesson, the students will return to their research groups and retrieve their paper from the folder. The teacher will then divide the students into a
second group that has one student from each perspective in it (Jigsaw strategy). Ideally, there should be 4 students in each group to represent each
perspective.

In these groups the students will debate their perspectives and whether or not, based on their research, that the use of HeLa is ethical (everyone should spend about
2 minutes each discussing their stance within the group).

*The students should be encouraged to summarize what they read with their other group members and help each other come up with the 3 points to support their
stance. The students should discuss their ideas first and agree on them before recording anything (this helps prevent one student from dominating the conversation).

Once they come to a conclusion, they will record their consensus and 3 big reasons of support on the back of their sheet. The group will then construct a poster
displaying their results. (Similar to the model in the attached PowerPoint).

Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the lesson?
At the end of the second day, the teacher will give another exit slip (see attached Word doc. "Exit Ticket").

The written exit slip (attached Word doc. "Exit Ticket") will provide the students with closure and independent practice for this lesson. The teacher will post the
question: "Has your personal opinion about the use of HeLa cells changed after the class presentations? Explain why and use specific details."

This exit slip (attached Word doc. "Exit Ticket") will give the students a chance to process what they learned and defend their opinion on the matter. They should be
using evidence from the presentations/debates to support their response.

Summative Assessment
The students will have reached the learning target if they are able to support their stance on the ethics of HeLa cells with textual evidence from their readings and
understand the effects HeLa cells have had on each ethical perspective. The students will demonstrate their understanding by filling out their evidence cards (handout
attached) and then debating with the other ethical perspectives, defending and arguing for their own ethical perspective. The student groups will produce a poster
paper and present their discussion to the rest of the class (poster outline attached). The poster paper will have the group's final decision (whether or not the use of
HeLa cells is ethical) and their top 3 reasons why the use of HeLa cells is ethical or not ethical.

Formative Assessment
The students will have their first formative assessment through a written exit slip (see PowerPoint attached, in slides) answering the question: "Based on what you
learned today, do you believe the use of HeLa cells is ethical, why or why not?" This will ensure they understand the meaning of ethics and can give support based
on the history behind HeLa cells. (1st day)

The second formative assessment will be through another written exit slip (see Word attachment "Exit Ticket") answering the question: "Has your personal opinion
about the use of HeLa cells changed after the class presentations? Explain why and use specific details." (2nd day)

Feedback to Students
First part of the lesson:

(Think, pair, share) The teacher will introduce the topic by asking students to create and write down their own definition of ethics. Then, the teacher will have the
students turn to their shoulder partner to compare and contrast their ideas. The class should be opened up for a discussion of what ethics means to them and some
real-world examples they can relate to as being ethical/unethical.

The teacher should give feedback on the ideas shared out, making sure to clarify that ethics are typically morals defined by society/culture whereas morals are usually
personal beliefs. Most students should come to the conclusion that ethics are beliefs about what is right or wrong in a society.

Steer the conversation to whether or not they think it is ethical to manipulate cells from other organisms? (Think biotechnology with GMOs or dog breeding)

What about humans? (Think designer babies or cloning)

This will give the teacher knowledge of what the students already know or need to know before the lesson in regard to both biotechnology and ethics.The teacher will
then display the dictionary definition of "ethics" and give a brief introduction to HeLa cells before playing the video (YouTube - Immortality: Henrietta Lacks).

Accommodations & Recommendations

Accommodations:
Accommodate students by:

Differentiating which articles the student uses for research by giving students of lower reading levels the shorter or more easily understood articles.
Pairing ELLs together with bilingual students
Grouping students together according to similar levels so one student will not dominate the conversation and everyone will feel safe in contributing their ideas.
For more advanced students, do not provide them with the articles for their given perspectives and have them research on their own.

Extensions:
Have groups list the 3 reasons on their posters for BOTH of the sides (Yes/No).
Hold an actual debate or Socratic Seminar on the topic.
Predict possible future benefits/consequences of the use of HeLa cells.
Discuss the ethics of cloning using biotechnology to create organs.
Suggested Technology: Computer for Presenter, Computers for Students, Internet Connection, LCD Projector, Speakers/Headphones

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 Further Recommendations:
The teacher should become familiar with HeLa cells and the article resources provided in advance of teaching this lesson.

Source and Access Information

Name of Author/Source: Anonymously Submitted

Is this Resource freely Available? Yes
Access Privileges: Public
License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial

Aligned Standards
Name Description
Evaluate the impact of biotechnology on the individual, society and the environment, including medical and ethical
issues.
SC.912.L.16.10: Clarifications:
Annually assessed on Biology EOC.

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