School toolkit: for teenagers (12 to 16 year old)
Lesson Plan: Let’s explain rare diseases and the difference in the world
Our lesson plan is a resource created and written by Yannick Tanguy, as part of a joint project between the national alliance Child and Youth Care Zimbabwe, Fondation Ipsen and EURORDIS.
Yannick Tanguy, PhD in Neuroscience, has worked in various fields including gene therapy or neurodegenerative diseases. Today, he works as a scientific communicator and develops various media (podcasts, publications, public lectures), thus sharing his passion and curiosity for science.
Child and Youth Care (CYC) sets to defend, champion and advance the interests of children with rare diseases and difficult conditions so as to improve their quality life and their families in Zimbabwe. They reviewed and tested this activity and lesson plan with teachers and students.
These lesson plan and activities provide a course for teachers and student teachers preparing them to teach about rare diseases.
Thanks to these activities, teachers should help teenagers to understand that:
- rare diseases exist and they affect less than one person in 2000
- there are more than 6000 different rare diseases that can affect the heart, brain, lungs, muscles, etc.
- there are more than 300 million people in the world living with a rare disease
- an error in the DNA is at the origin of 80% of rare diseases
- this error can affect the functioning of a protein, which will trigger the disease
- the importance of inclusion for a person living with a rare disease or a handicap
Download the activity PDF in the following languages:
English, French, Spanish, Ukrainian
Download the lesson plan PDF in the following languages:
English, French, Spanish, Ukrainian
We would love your comments about this activity and lesson plan. Please share any feedback with us at [email protected] and let us know if you want to help us with a translation in your language! We are committed to raising awareness for people living with a rare disease and providing all of the necessary tools you might need to spread the word!