HOPE—Semester B (H)

Sample Lesson - Introduction

Lesson 5.13: Pregnancy Part 1

There's a lot your body has to do before you end up with an adorable lil' baby.

And we're not just talking about sexual intercourse (though we'll get to that, don't worry). We're talking about:

• the dizzying against-the-odds journey of a sperm fertilizing an egg
• that egg-sperm couple successfully developing and growing in the uterus
• a woman realizing she's pregnant
• carrying a fetus inside a uterus for nine whole months

There's so much drama, so much complexity going on in pregnancy, that it's sort of like an action movie.

(Although with less violence, and, let's be honest—probably less sex.)

She's clearly not letting her baby bump affect her eye-of-the-tiger focus.
(Source)

Pregnancy is such a miracle of evolution and science we're going to dedicate the next five lessons to how babies grow and how they're delivered.

After that, even though we love children, we're going to get into how to prevent people from having one. It's time for some serious education about the birthing period and activities that examine all the options and rights that you and a community member can have.

No offense, babies. We think you're awesome, really. It's just that it takes a very prepared, well-adjusted human being to handle this.

Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 5.5.13a: Biology of Pregnancy

After a woman becomes pregnant through insemination, she begins the ornate roller coaster ride of carrying the child inside of her.

There are three basic trimesters, or periods of pregnancy:

• Trimester 1, months 1-3: rapid growth and development of the baby's basic organs
  
• Trimester 2, months 4-6: the baby grows more and more recognizable features
  
• Trimester 3, months 7-9: the most physically taxing for the mother, as the baby is kicking, moving, and basically becoming a total human

Take a dip into the whirlpool of trimesters with these basic readings on Trimesters 1-3 and common pregnancy problems on the Mayo Clinic website.

We outlined the trimesters above; really note the differences between them in both a baby's development and the physical effects on the mother as you read the site.

Simple reading, right? Almost too simple.

Supplement that information with Women's Health Connecticut's detailed breakdown. Click through each month to get the details about how the woman's body changes and how the baby is developing.

As you read, be sure to take notes on one or two main ideas per section using the handy dandy notetaking worksheet we hit you up with at the beginning of the unit. These things can get specific. 

Imagine you're explaining to a friend one thing she has to know about the first months of pregnancy, for example. Judge which facts you read about best summarize the reading topic—those should be the main ideas you copy.

Now that you're pregnant with information (get it?), let's move on to some visuals and then give birth to some answers to Shmoop's comprehension questions.

Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 5.5.13b: Biology of Pregnancy... On Film!

The 1980s was an amazing time for new wave music, sweatbands, and PBS documentaries. For some vintage but still-used-worldwide visuals about the process of pregnancy, watch The Miracle of Life on YouTube.

Reading about pregnancy is good and all, but it sometimes takes seeing a blurry pink fetus in its many unsettling phases to really understand that development. While watching, think about:

• What did you see in this video that you wouldn't have understood through reading?
  
• Which terms and trimesters of pregnancy seem to have the most rapid development?

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 5.13a: Comprehension Questions

So you think you're a baby professional, do you? Prove it. Refer to your notes from the Mayo Clinic website and Women's Health Connecticut's site to help you answer.

And again: proof is best served in complete sentences.

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 5.13b: PSA

You know what? It's time to put on a show to let the world know about pregnancy.

To be clear: when we say "put on a show," we don't mean a musical or a soap opera. We're talking about a public service announcement (or "PSA" for short). It's the most tried-and-true way to let a large audience know about a medical situation, plus it's a pretty efficient way to advocate by making information available to a wide television audience.

While PSA's are most often used to convince you of one opinion or another (check out this example, which gets into the topic of our next lesson), we want you to make a straightforward, fact-driven PSA. In your PSA, make sure you cover the basics about how someone gets pregnant, and review the features of three trimesters of pregnancy.

As you write your script and then film your three-to-four-minute video, keep the following classic film-making techniques in mind:

• Characters: Who will you be pretending to be in your PSA when you deliver the information? Expectant parents? Regular teens having a chat? Scientists? Doctors? Beyoncé and Jay-Z? The choice is yours.
  
• Dialogue: Are you going to deliver the facts and information to the viewer by just reading stats to the camera? Or will you present the information through a scene, or people having a conversation?
  
• Setting: Where will your video take place? (And what props and costumes can you bring in to have wherever in your school you film your PSA look like that place?
  
• Point of view: How can you deliver your dialogue and content to make the ideas of "insemination" and "trimesters" as factual and unbiased as possible?

We at Shmoop love a list, so since this project is fun but a bit complex in its epicness, let's breakdown your sequence:

Step One:

Write your script. Proofread it to make sure it includes characters having a conversation in a clear setting. That conversation should cover how someone gets pregnant and what to expect in each of the three trimesters. Depending on what kind of screenwriter you are, edit your script to make that conversation about pregnancy as funny or as to-the-point as you want.

Step Two:

Rehearse! Not only will you make sure your performances are perfect for the video, but you'll probably catch any dialogue that sounds unnatural, or any mistakes or errors.

Step Three:

Prep for filming through bringing in costumes (doctor?), props (mugs if your PSA includes two friends gabbing over catch-up coffee), and secure a setting to film in.

Step Four:

Film it. If you're editing-room-gifted, you can cut any errors through computer editing software afterwards (as well as add some flashy title cards and closing credits). But if you don't have those tools on your computer, you need to film take after take until you get a perfect film straight through. Cell phone video equipment should work fine for this.

Step Five:

Upload below. Because that's what movie magic is all about.