Attack the pathogen from within. Learners delve deeper into the immune system and find out about the adaptive immune system such as T and B cells. Groups create graphical models of the adaptive immune system along with a multimedia...

Stop the spread. Pupils work through two activities to gain an understanding of vaccines and immunity. Learners research different types of vaccines and how they are made and explore the advantages and disadvantages of them. Using a...

It all becomes a matter of timing. Groups use a variety of resources to research the history of vaccines by first creating a timeline of vaccine research using leading scientists' work. Learners read articles to develop a story of the...

Introduce infectious diseases and the epidemiologic triangle. A helpful resource describes the agent, host, and environment from the three vertices as well as the time factor, which is in the middle. Scholars complete a simple...

Class members use an applet on the Internet to simulate the spread of a disease. The simulation allows individuals to determine two nodes to vaccinate to limit the number of nodes infected. By running several simulations, scholars...

How did the Ebola virus first infect humans? Young virologists examine genetic sequences from the 2014 Sierra Leone outbreak to find similarities during a riveting activity. Following similar methods used by MIT and Harvard, partners...

Enter the debate on vaccines. Small groups research topics related to vaccine safety in the last lesson in a unit of five. In the process of the research, team members learn how to determine the validity and credibility of a website. The...

Animals save lives. In small groups pupils research the role of animals in the development of vaccines. Each team investigates one disease to find out how the vaccine was developed and how animals played a role n the research. Groups...

Is all research on animals bad? Learners use a video to understand how animal research benefits humans. Pupils read about a drug modification turned deadly and the result of the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Scholars use a...

Flu fighters unite! To get the word out about the importance of getting vaccinated against the flu, groups create posters that persuade teens to get immunized. Also, scholars read articles about how to cope with colds, then create...

Wouldn't it be lovely if people were immune from colds and flu? Alas, such is not the case; however, there are things we can do to avoid getting or spreading these pesky health hazards. Middle schoolers read articles that provide them...

Be on the right side of history. Scholars first learn about polio and the meetings of the 1954 Salk polio vaccine study. In groups, they select roles, such as parents, government officials, and statisticians, and decide on the best...