8 Microbiology and infectious disease

By Daniell DiFrancesca

Provided by Kenan Fellows Program.

Students will research the causes of infectious diseases and define their major characteristics. They will use this information to look at the spread and treatment of a viral disease using statistics from North Carolina. This lesson is written using the 5E learning model, which includes five phases: engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate.

Learning outcomes

• Students will compare and contrast bacterial and viral illnesses.
• Students will evaluate North Carolina disease statistics and treatment plans.
• Students will create a plan to monitor and eradicate a disease.
• Students will increase their inquiry skills.

Teacher planning

Time required

Approximately 5 class periods (50 minutes each) are needed.

Materials needed

• access to research materials: books, encyclopedias, internet, text book, etc.
• research questions listed in the Explore section made available on a overhead or a worksheet
• materials to create a data chart
• copies of a North Carolina map and Rabies Cases data (see the Elaborate section)
• graph paper with labeled axis

Student handouts

Technology resources

Computer, Overhead Projector

Activities

Engage

What are germs?

(15 minutes)

1. Begin a class discussion by asking students, “What are germs?” Have them come up with their own definition for germs.
2. Have the students share their definitions.
3. Ask the students to give specific examples of germs and narrow it down to viruses and bacteria.
4. Ask the students what they know about viruses and bacteria.

Explore

Researching viruses and bacteria

(Time: 40 to 50 minutes)

1. Students will be researching the characteristics of viruses and bacteria. They may use the internet, books, or even text books to find the answers to the questions listed below.
2. Students should begin by defining vectors and carriers. They will then be asked to find the following information about viruses and bacteria. Make these questions available either on an overhead or a worksheet.
   • Living or nonliving?
   • Contain DNA or not?
   • Describe the structure.
   • Describe the required environment to live and/or reproduce.
   • Describe the method of transmission (vector, carrier).
   • Prevention?
   • Treatment?
   • How do they affect the body?
   • Provide examples of viruses and bacteria and the illnesses they cause.

Explain

Create a data table

(Time: 50 minutes)

1. Students will need to create a data table to organize the data they researched above.

Elaborate

Rabies, a viral disease

(Time: 50 minutes)

1. Students will discuss rabies and review North Carolina rabies data.
2. Students will need a map of the North Carolina counties and 2007 Rabies data. Printable maps can be found the Waterproof-Paper.com website. Rabies data is available from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services website. Select the option to View Rabies Data by Year to open a PDF document that lists cases by county.
3. Additional information on the disease can be found at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website. If internet access is available, students should research the cause and transmission of rabies. If this is not possible, students can use encyclopedias, articles, or books.
4. Students will color-code the county map based on the number of cases in each county in 2007 or the most current year available.
5. Students then complete the Rabies in North Carolina worksheet and answer questions about the disease, its spread, and treatment options.

Evaluate

How can we eradicate rabies?

(Time: 2 class periods, 50 minutes each)

1. Students will complete an experimental design graphic organizer to describe how they can more accurately monitor rabies in North Carolina.
2. Students will then write a plan to eradicate rabies in North Carolina. They will use their monitoring information from the graphic organizer and the information from their essay and research to create a plan. Students will be asked to think of the best form of the vaccination in order to treat animals such as bats.

Assessment

See the Elaborate and Evaluate portions of the lesson.

Modifications

1. The experimental design graphic organizer can be edited for any motor-skill deficiencies by making it larger, or making it available to be typed on.
2. All basic modifications can be used for these activities.

Supplemental information

This is a list of all the attachments used in this lesson.

Critical vocabulary

• vector
• carrier
• virus
• bacteria
• infectious disease
• transmission
• eradicate

Comments

This lesson is part of the Critical Thinking in Science unit and relies on the inquiry skills and vocabulary practiced in the first two lessons (Introduction to Experimental Design and The Story of Pi). This lesson should be used while teaching Goal 7 of the science curriculum for grade 8 in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, which focuses on microbiology. Students are researching bacteria and viruses and then focusing on rabies, a well-known, viral, infectious disease. Students will be asked to create a plan to eradicate rabies in North Carolina using a monitoring plan and information from the experiment.

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Related topics

• Search LEARN NC for more resources on infectious disease, microbiology, rabies, and science.

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