1.Objective: Students will be able compare and contrast the differences between the viral and bacterial pathogens in terms of their physical characteristic and how they cause disease.
Activity: Students will work with partners to compare and contrast a virus and bacteria using available resources to research the pathogens. Students will use a Venn diagram to organize and record information. Students will then use the Venn diagram to write one or more paragraphs comparing the two pathogens. As an option, student may want to pick two different specific pathogens
2. Objective: Students will be able to explain the central functions of the lymphatic system as well as the purpose of each organ in relation to the growth and development of immune cells.
Activity: Students will trace their bodies and then draw and label the lymphatic system including organs and lymph nodes. In addition, students will include captions under each organ, explaining the purpose and function of each as well as how the immune cells develop in each organ.
Demonstration: Wash a dirty playground ball and then pour the water through a coffee filter to simulate the way the lymphatic system washes cells and lymph nodes filters out bacteria and other microorganisms.
3. Objective: Students will learn how immune cells search, recognize, and eliminate pathogens by reading the presenting antigens to find an exact fit.
Activity: This is a game simulates the way immune cells search, recognize, and find invaders by reading presented antigens. Student will make a circle. Everyone will take off one shoe and put it in the middle. One student goes in the middle and picks a shoe from the pile. This student is the immune cell and the shoe symbolizes a specific antigen. When the game starts, the child moves around the circle searching for the perfect match. After the match it found, the student must try to fit the shoe on the student's foot, simulating the connection of immune cell and invader. If it is a perfect fit, the student is a "eliminated" and leaves the circle.
4. Objective: Students will demonstrate their knowledge of this immune sequence as they explain the sequence of events in the battle between a specific disease and the immune response systems. Students will demonstrate their knowledge as they create stories using analogies of community protectors for the functions of the various immune cells.
Activity: Create a story of the immune system through the use of analogies for the different cells corresponding to the protectors in the community. Students will write fictional stories personifying the immune cells with human characteristics that would reflect the job characteristics of the immune cells, ( Patti Pathogen, Tommy T-cell,) Use the technologies of these guardians to create unique fictional super cells in the story. As an alternative, students can write a play and design costumes to show how the immune system works when an invader enters the body.
Activity: As a way of learning about the effects of living with a severe immune disorder, student can research and write a biography of the life of David Vetter, the boy in the bubble.
Activity: Create a First Aid Kit to support your immune system. Write a list of contents and an explanation for how each item will heal and protect your body against pathogens.
Activity: Students will work id groups to become experts of one specific cell in the immune system. As each group assembles their knowledge, it will be displayed on a wall mural illustration the immune process. The collective, collaborative work will build shared knowledge as students learn and display the interconnected relationships between the cells of the immune system.