Curated OER
Backyard Bacteria
Students demonstrate safe ways to handle bacteria, prepare agar plates, and grow bacterial cultures. They identify different kinds of bacterial colonies, and devise a controlled experiment.
Curated OER
The Spread of Aids
This is an effective simulation of how communicable diseases such as AIDS can be spread throughout a population. Classmates exchange samples from their individual cups of liquid: one of them containing a dilute NaOH solution, and the...
Curated OER
Wherever We Go, There They Are!
The central video for this lesson is not available through the included resource link. However, the activity that simulates the passing of a virus through a population is impacting and the other resource links are invaluable. Use this...
National Academy of Sciences
Infectious Diseases: Bird Flu Today
Understanding how viruses spread has never been more important. A well-designed WebQuest lesson has young scientists research viruses, how they spread, and how they are treated. They also consider the trends in common viruses in the world.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Virus Hunters: Epidemiology of Nipah Virus
Who actually goes looking for a virus? Expose your class to the high-stakes life of an epidemiologist on the trail of the Nipah virus. Pupils engage in a short video, then examine how scientists predict, model, and find the source of...
Curated OER
Raw Seafood ~ On the Half Shell
The topic is fascinating, but there is not much for learners to do here. Food borne illness has always been a problem for humans to face, and here, data from the Center for Disease Control is analyzed. Learners look at the number of...
Curated OER
Changing Planet: Infectious Diseases Classroom Activity
Here is a different approach: emerging epidemiologists first go home to interview family on the topic of infectious disease. Then they come to class and view a video and PowerPoint that explore how climate change may increase the...
Curated OER
Entomologists on Safari: On the Hunt for Mosquitoes
Middle schoolers research about the symptoms of West Nile Virus. In this health lesson, students play the role of scientists investigating mosquito activity in a fictional community. They suggest ways to prevent West Nile virus infection...
Curated OER
Viruses/Infectious Diseases: What's Really Bugging You?
Middle school life science or health classes listen to an audio, visit websites, read different articles, and participate in a class-wide simulation about the spread of viruses. The lesson doesn't get into the mechanics of how viruses...
Baylor College
HIV/AIDS in the United States
In the final of five lessons about HIV/AIDS, groups create presentations to share data about the infection rates in the United States, examining demographic and geographic trends over the past ten years. Depending on how much time you...
Shodor Education Foundation
Spread of Disease
Control the spread of a contagious disease. An applet allows pupils to run a simulation on the spread of a disease. Rules govern how the disease is spread and the length of time it takes to recover. Learners view the spread visually and...
Curated OER
Myth Busters: HIV Transmission
Students discuss the facts and myths about HIV. In this health lesson, students explain how diseases spread from person to another. They create a presentation to share their research findings with the class.
Curated OER
HIV/AIDS
Tenth graders discuss facts and myths about HIV transmission. In this biology lesson plan, 10th graders complete an HIV awareness poster and scavenger hunt. They simulate the transmission of the disease through a class activity.
Curated OER
Introduction to Antibiotics
High schoolers describe the impact of antibiotics on disease. They describe what infections antibiotics are useful for. Students are introduced to the idea of antibiotic resistance as a way to focus on antibiotics and the mechanisms by...
Curated OER
When Germs Attack!
Students explore the hidden world of microbes and how our bodies spring into action in response to diseases. This ten lesson unit presents data on several microbial diseases and the reaction of the body's immune system.
Curated OER
Bloody Suckers
In this blood sucking animals worksheet, students answer 20 questions about leeches, mosquitoes, Chepo bugs, and bats which all suck blood to transmit diseases or get nutrients.
Nuffield Foundation
Monitoring Water Pollution with Invertebrate Indicator Species
Healthy invertebrates mean healthy ponds. An outdoor activity has scholars collect samples of invertebrates from local lakes or ponds. They identify and count different species and use the information to estimate the level of pollution...
Curated OER
Launching a Defense; Understanding the Human Immune System
Students research online to answer and develop questions about immune system, create Powerpoint presentation to share information with classmates, and assimilate information into pictorial and/or graphical description of immune system.
Curated OER
Rodent-borne Diseases: Getting the Facts Out There
Students conduct research of the hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) or lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCMV). They obtain the information and create a public announcement in the form of a brochure, newsletter, poster, radio announcement,...
Curated OER
Exploring Vaccines
Students explain in a written format how vaccination works and how it draws upon the natural immunity. They differentiate between vaccinations and immunizations. Students identify a number of illnesses that can be prevented by the use of...
Curated OER
The Last Great Canal
Pupils read about a cholera outbreak in the 1840's. They read maps, predict how cholera moved throughout the country and participate in a lab activity that demonstrates how disease is spread. They compare cholera through time.
Curated OER
The Hantavirus Haunting: Solving the Case
Students engage in research about the hantavirus. They use a variety of resources to obtain information. Students distinguish the differences between hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, hantavirus transmission, and hantavirus prevention.