Reading

 BEFORE READING: 

• What do you already know about diabetes? 

• What do you already know about blood sugar and insulin?

Before you read the story, write true or false next to each statement based on what you think right now. 

	Before reading i think	After reading I think
Diabetes is caused by eating too much sugar.	TRUE	true
There is only one type of diabetes.	FALSE	true
People with diabetes can live normal lives if they manage their insulin levels everyday.	FALSE	false
Children with diabetes aren’t allowed to play sports.	TRUE	true
ALL diabetics inject themselves with needles everyday.	TRUE	true
Insulin is made in the pancreas.	FALSE	false
Adults are more likely to get Type 1 diabetes (rather than type 2).	TRUE	true
There is no way to know how much glucose is in the blood.	FALSE	false
There is no cure for diabetes.	FALSE	false

Read this text

DURING/AFTER READING

Write your own summary of page 2 using these words: 

Sarah, camping, afraid of needles, water, diagnosed with diabetes, nurse.

Fill in the blanks - highlight the word you put in in a bright colour. (Look at page 3 for help)

The pancreas is an organ that makes  insulin . Insulin  moves around the body in the blood and its job is to move Glucose into cells so that we have energy to move around. Glucose comes from the food we eat. After we eat, our glucose levels go up. Our glucose levels go down when we exercise because we are burning energy. diabetes is when the human body can’t control the amount of insulin in their blood. 

Explain 3 key differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in your own words.

Type 1 is the children and type 2 is most found as adults. Type 1 is an autoimmune disease and type2 is not. Type 2 is linked to being overweight and type 2 is not overweight. 

Explain what mmol/L means, why people with Type 1 diabetes need to check this number and what they might do to raise or lower the number if they need to.

Millimoles is how you measure how much sugar you have.

A range of 7 to 12 mmol/l.

Use the text you have read, and Google if you need to, to respond to the following prompts.

Feeling tired, feeling sick, finding it hard to concentrate, going to the toilet alot.

What are common symptoms of diabetes? 

Feeling dizzy, feeling sick, feeling tired

How is diabetes managed?

It's managed by getting sick.

When and how did scientists discover that insulin is needed to treat type 1 diabetes? 

Imagine you are like Sarah and have Type 1 diabetes. What would your day be like? What things would be challenging or difficult for you? What things in your school day might be challenging for you and how might you overcome these challenges? What might the class teacher need to do in order to make sure you are safe? (100 words minimum).

What things would Sarah and her teacher need to take with them when going on school camp? Try to use the proper names for the items (

If you were diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, what information do you think other people might need to know so they can help keep you safe? Create a poster with all the information a teacher or friend might need to know so they could help you. 

Watch this Youtube clip. 

Select 3 of the things you shouldn’t say to someone with type 1 diabetes Explain why people MIGHT say that AND think of 2 things you could say instead. 

1.  Did you get diabetes from eating to much sugar

2.  Do you carry needles around in your bag?

3.   Should you be eating that?

Go back to the top of these pages and complete the other half of the true/false statements. Look at the ones where you changed your answer since reading this story. Reflect on what you have read and write 5 sentences below stating specific information you learnt.