While Watching the Drama…
Tune in to Vocabulary
Write the following vocabulary words on the board and ask students
to listen for them while watching the video. Have them raise their
hands the first time they hear each word and then listen for definitions.
You might wish to pause and replay segments of the tape that do
a particularly good job of describing a word so that students
can jot down the definitions. Refer to the glossary
for brief definitions of each term.
- Allergens
- Asthma
- Dust mites
- Humidity
- Microscopic particles
- Mold
- Pesticides
- Pollution
- Stachybotrys Mold
This House is Old (and Sick!)
Video Pause Point 16:45 (right after the
"This House is Old" segment with Bob Cacciatore.)
Ask students why they think Kee is so interested in what the
host of the show is saying. Have they ever heard of a house
being sick? Has Kee uncovered a clue to solving the mystery?
Dara = Wet Bathroom
Video Pause Point 22:53 (right before
documentary #2 begins).
Kee is deep in her research and writes DARA=WET BATHROOM in
her notebook. She even studies blueprints of the reality house
and circles the bathroom on the drawing. What do you think Kee
means by these notes? Is this another clue to the mystery? Write
your students' theories on the board and have them listen for
more clues as the drama unfolds.
Who Ya Gonna Call? Dust Busters!
Video Pause Point 25:24 (After Kee abruptly
leaves the dinner table to inform the TV show of her mold theories
and Dara snidely asks, "Who is she going to go call, the
EPA?")
Have your students research answers to the following questions:
- What is the EPA?
- What role does the organization play in protecting the air
we breathe?
- Name a few of the science and health career opportunities
at the EPA.
Refer students to the following EPA Web pages to help answer
these questions.
http://www.epa.gov/epahome/aboutepa.htm
Then have students role-play a career as an Air Quality Control Specialist
in the Dust Busters to the Rescue
Lesson Plan.
