edHelper.com Illnesses

Cystic Fibrosis

---

Cystic Fibrosis
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 5 to 6
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	7.72

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		ileus, meconium, nebulizers, poops, chloride, chromosome, lubricant, inherit, difficulty, cystic, fecal, fibrosis, continuous, diagnosis, persistent, reproductive
	content words:		United States

---

Print Cystic Fibrosis

Print Cystic Fibrosis  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)

Quickly Print - PDF format

	Quickly Print: PDF (2 columns per page)
	Quickly Print: PDF (full page)

Quickly Print - HTML format

Quickly Print: HTML

Proofreading Activity

Print a proofreading activity

---

Feedback on Cystic Fibrosis

Leave your feedback on Cystic Fibrosis  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

---

Cystic Fibrosis By Jennifer Kenny

---

¹     Have you ever heard of cystic fibrosis? Do you know anyone with this condition? Cystic fibrosis, or CF, affects around 30,000 people in the United States alone. Both males and females can suffer from it. It is an inherited disease, but it is not contagious. There are both mild and severe cases of cystic fibrosis.
 
²     In a person without cystic fibrosis, thin, watery mucus is produced by the epithelial cells. This mucus is meant to help protect the body's tissues. It acts like a lubricant. In a person with cystic fibrosis, though, the problem is that the gene needed to make normal mucus is defective. Instead, thick, sticky mucus is produced. This clogs passages in organs of the body. Mainly, the lungs and pancreas are affected. Thus, a person with cystic fibrosis has breathing and digestive problems.
 
³     What kind of breathing problems does a person with cystic fibrosis experience? Because the thicker mucus has trouble moving out of the lungs, bacteria can stay, and infections result. The thicker mucus can also block the path between the pancreas and intestines. This clog makes it difficult to digest food and get vitamins and nutrients. In some cases, the liver, sweat glands, and reproductive organs are affected.

Paragraphs 4 to 9:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

---

Weekly Reading Books

Create Weekly Reading Books Prepare for an entire week at once!

---

Illnesses

Illnesses

---

Health

Alcohol         Bicycle Safety         Circulatory System         Digestive System         Disabilities         Drugs         Excretory System         Food Pyramid         Health Professionals         Healthy Life         Hygiene         Illnesses

Medical Tools         Miscellaneous Health Topics         Muscular System         Nervous System         Nutrition         Reproductive System         Respiratory System         Skeletal System         Teeth         The Five Senses         The Human Body         Tobacco

---

More Activities, Lesson Plans, and Worksheets

Back to School Graphic Organizers Alphabet Worksheets Sight Words Math Worksheets Mazes 50 States Monthly Themes January February March April May June July August September October November December

Fractions Place Value Time and Calendar Money Earth Day Solar System Analogies Nouns Following Directions Listening Capitalization Cursive Writing Patterns and Sequencing Dinosaurs All About Me Kindergarten First Grade Second Grade Third Grade Fourth Grade Fifth Grade Sixth Grade

Multiplication Division Main Idea Cause and Effect Measurement Decimals Rounding Order of Operations Verbs Community Helpers Adjectives Plants Grammar Addition and Subtraction Contractions Bulletin Board Ideas Word Searches Crossword Puzzles Printable Puzzles Reading Comprehension Reading Skills English Language Arts

Copyright © 2011 edHelper