2009-11-01

Remember Hemo the Magnificent? This 1957 animated educational film written and directed by Frank Capra was widely distributed to American elementary schools and made learning about blood fun. Now ASH is working with Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education, and media company, to make hematology interesting for today’s high school students. “Explore the Mystery of Blood” is a dynamic high school science curriculum designed to spark interest in the fields of science and medicine and expose students to exciting career opportunities. This hands-on, interactive learning experience begins with the students watching the hematology documentary “Blood Detectives,” where they get to view real-life hematologists at work in clinical and research settings helping to treat and cure hematology patients with life-threatening blood diseases. Themes from the film and information from www.BloodTheVitalConnection.org serve as the basis for lesson plans in the curriculum that align with national education standards for science, technology, and life skills.

Specifically, this program engages students in learning about blood components and functions, as well as common disorders through the incorporation of colorful imagery and the examination of actual blood smears under a microscope. Students analyze a case study and make observations about blood from an unhealthy patient. The important role of medical research in advancing the field and developing treatments for blood disorders is also highlighted in the material, and the curriculum concludes with a self-evaluation activity in which students determine if they have what it takes to be a hematologist.

In October, a teaching guide, lesson plans, student worksheets, and the “Blood Detectives” DVD were distributed to 50,000 high school science teachers and science club advisors nationwide. Twenty teachers will also be given a unique opportunity to hold a live online chat with a hematologist during one of their class periods. This program will potentially reach and hopefully spark an interest in hematology in more than 4 million students.

To access the teaching guide and other free educational tools, visit www.BloodTheVitalConnection.org/for-students/tools.aspx.

The program was made possible in part by the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation.

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