Target Audience
This interactive web site has been designed to meet the needs of each student in my 7th grade Life Science classes.  Each of my four classes includes a wide array of ability levels - enrichment students are mixed with general education, classified, LEP, Read 180 and hearing impaired students.  The project assigned is intended primarily for at-home completion, with one class day spent in the media center to get the students started on their research.  The majority of my students have access to a computer at home, most (but not all) with internet hook-up.  All students have time before school and during lunch to utilize the Hackensack Middle School Media Center to complete their work, and of course, the local public library after school and on weekends.

Topic
This activity is intended for implementation within our Human Body Systems unit, with its introduction at the start of the 4 weeks.  Each of the non-communicable diseases provided as choices affect one of the body systems explored by the students in class, with in depth lecture, hands on activities, vocabulary development and both text and non-text reading. 

      1.   Provide a basic description of their selected non-communicable disease.
2.  Summarize the historic milestones of their selected non-communicable
     disease.
3.  Identify the patient most likely to be affected by the disease (age of
     affliction, gender and cultural group most affected).
4.  Identify the cause of the selected disease.
5.  Provide tips for prevention of the selected disease, if any, based on
     identification of what causes the disease.
6.  Identify the symptoms of the selected non-communicable disease.
7.  Explain the effects of the selected disease on the body of the patient
     (including organs and organ systems involved).
8.  List treatments and/or cures for the selected disease.
9.  Relate the health effects of the selected disease to how it may impact a
     patient’s daily life.
10.Identify the number of Americans currently affected by the selected
     disease.
11.Properly cite resources used in research.
12.Communicate scientific findings in a manner understandable to the
      average middle-schooler.
13.Create an effective visual aide to enhance oral presentation.
14.Be an attentive member of the audience as classmates present their
      findings.