Genetic Disorder Brochure Project
(modified from a project found on the Robbinsdale School District website)

Overview

Create a tri-fold brochure for a doctor’s office waiting room. The brochure should provide patients with information about one of the genetic disorders listed below. Assume that most of the patients of your audience are adults with a typical high school science background.

The brochure should be creative as well as informative. You want people to pick it up and read through it. Be sure to include accurate, up-to-date information and graphics that illustrate important ideas. You should reference at least four sources of information on a separate “works cited” page to hand in along with your brochure.  (Google DOES NOT count).

If you need a hard copy of the assignment, click here.

Procedure

You will research the genetic disorder of your choice and use the following questions. as a guide, to the type of information you will need for your brochure.

  • What other names are there for this disorder? (Any common names?)
  • What causes the disorder? (mutation, nondisjunction)
  • What gene or chromosome is affected by this disorder? (X, Y, #21)
  • Are there prenatal tests for this disorder?
  • What are the symptoms?
  • What population is affected?  Can anyone be a candidate for the disorder?
  • How is it inherited?  (Is it sex-linked, recessive, and/or dominant?)
  • What kind of medical assistance will the affected child need?  Will further assistance be needed, as the child grows older? What is the long-term outlook for the child?
  • Are there any treatments or cures?
  • Could this disorder have been prevented?
  • Can this individual have children in the future?  Will those children be affected?
  • What is the current status of research on this disorder?  Is there a cure coming soon?

Brochure

After researching the disorder, make an informational pamphlet that could be given to patients.  The pamphlet must be no larger than 8.5 x 11 unfolded.  This brochure should be of professional quality. It must fully inform the reader of all issues pertaining to the genetic disorder. Again, use the questions provided to guide your research. Your brochure will be graded based on accuracy, completeness, and creativity. Visual representations (pictures, graphs, etc.) should be incorporated into the brochure.  Give credit for graphics you did not make.

Works Cited Page

You will need to prepare, on a separate sheet, a works cited page that identifies all sources used to make the brochure. At least four sources are required for this project. More than four is acceptable, and encouraged! (Be sure to use proper format; do not just list websites, list author, title, date, etc.)

Here is an example of how you record your reference:

  • Huntington’s Disease Society of America website, Living with Huntington’s, article by Pat Pillis.

Possible Internet Resources (use google.com to find other sites)

 

List of Genetic Diseases

*Prader – Willi Syndrome                    *Marfan Syndrome          *Angleman Syndrome

*Cat Eye Syndrome                             *Cystic Fibrosis              *Hemophilia A

*Huntington’s Disease                         *Fragile X                       *Tay Sachs

*Sickle Cell Anemia                            *Neurofibromatosis I or Von Recklinghausen Disease

*Cri-du-chat or Cat’s Cry Syndrome    *Wolf Hirschhorn Syndrome

*Monosomy 9p or Alfi’s Syndrome       *Jacobson Syndrome       *Smith- Magenis Syndrome

*Patau Syndrome or Trisomy 13           * Edwards Syndrome

*DiGeorge Syndrome                          *PKU                               *Rentinitis pigmentosa

*Burkitt’s Lymphoma                          *Albinism, ocular, x-linked, type 1

*Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy           *Fabry Disease               *Hemophilia B

*Adrenoleukodystrophy                       *Myotonic Dystrophy or Steinert Disease

*Neurofibromatosis                           *Rett Syndrome                       

*Von Hippel-Lindau Syndrome              *Albinism, oculocutaneous, type 1

*Dyslexic Specific-1 or Primary, word blindness, Congenital reading disability

*Alzheimer disease, familial, type 5    *Down Syndrome or Trisomy 21

 

Genetics Brochure Rubric

Category

4

3

2

1

Content - Accuracy

All facts in the brochure are accurate.

99-90% of the facts in the brochure are accurate.

89-80% of the facts in the brochure are accurate.

Fewer than 80% of the facts in the brochure are accurate.

Knowledge Gained

Student has demonstrated the ability to accurately answer all questions related to facts in the brochure and to technical processes used to create the brochure.

Student has demonstrated the ability to accurately answer most questions related to facts in the brochure and to technical processes used to create the brochure.

Student has demonstrated the ability to accurately answer less than half of the questions related to facts in the brochure and to technical processes used to create the brochure.

Several students in the group appear to have little knowledge about the facts or technical processes used in the brochure.

Attractiveness & Organization

The brochure has exceptionally attractive formatting and well-organized information. The reader can easily find and understand information.

The brochure has attractive formatting and well-organized information. The reader can find and understand information.

The brochure has well-organized information. The reader has a hard time finding and understanding information.

The brochure's formatting and organization of material are confusing to the reader. The reader cannot find nor understand information.

Sources

Careful and accurate records are kept to document the source of 100% of the facts and graphics in the brochure.

Careful and accurate records are kept to document the source of 95% of the facts and graphics in the brochure.

Careful and accurate records are kept to document the source of 90% of the facts and graphics in the brochure.

Less than 90% of sources are not documented accurately or are not kept on many facts and graphics.