BACTERIA, MICROBEAST AND DISEASE
Grades 6-8

This lesson could be used as an introduction to bacteria or to review materials already covered. The students should gain an understanding of how disease is spread and how to prevent disease. The student will be able to calculate the rate at which bacteria multiply and identify helpful and harmful bacteria. After the video the students have a basic understanding of how a vaccine works. The investigation will enable the student to learn how to do a chemical test for the presence of carbon dioxide. Plus allow the students to test dairy products to determine if they contain bacteria.

Scientific Eye I #9: Micro beast and Disease

Students will be able to:

• Describe how bacteria is spread
• Calculate the rate at which bacteria multiply
• Have a basic understanding of how vaccines work
• Brainstorm disease prevention
• Identify helpful and harmful bacteria
• Learn how to do a chemical test for the presence of carbon dioxide
• Test dairy products to determine if they contain bacteria

per group of two to four students

• six test tubes
• six cork stoppers
• test tube rack
• wax pencil
• two droppers
• three wooden splints
• 150 mL bromthymol blue solution
• dairy products -
• milk
• buttermilk
• yogurt
• cottage cheese
• sour cream

• vaccine
• vaccination
• Edward Jenner
• agar plates
• Bubonic Plague
• control
• microscopic
• respiration
• variable

The students will write the words on their vocabulary cards that they are compiling for the bacteria unit. As the words come up in the video the students will write the definition on the cards.

The students will complete the vocabulary cards throughout the video. There will be specific questions before several of the viewing segment. The students will be responsible for participating in the discussion and sharing ideas.

BEGIN the video Scientific Eye I #9 with the bells ringing and the narration "In August. PAUSE after the question "Would you take their money?" Focus and discussion questions at this point are: What percentage of the village died? Where they right in remaining isolated? Would you have taken food? Would you have collected money?

RESUME and PAUSE after the question "How do you think shots help prevent disease?" Discuss what causes disease in the first place. FAST FORWARD to the word LOOK picture of pin, PAUSE at question "How many would you have?" Have students calculate the number of bacteria ,if you start with one and they divide every twenty minutes, there would be in one hour, one day? What keeps microbes for taking over the world? FAST FORWARD to the incubator, PAUSE at question, What do microbes help cows make from grass? What are helpful things made from microbes? RESUME and PAUSE at the statement "The cows almost milk themselves." Discussion of what microbes are harmful. RESUME and PAUSE at question, "How are they spread?" and "How can one person infect a room full of people?" discussion of above questions. FAST FORWARD to "One weekend" during this segment the students will be the Scientist and try to determine what caused the illness. What kind of questions would you ask to solve the mystery? Have students jot down their predictions and questions. PAUSE at the question "Can you guess what caused the illness?" Discussion of their theories. RESUME and PAUSE at the question "What would you do if you suspected the water?" Discussion. RESUME and STOP at question "What else can we do to cut down the spread of disease?" Discussion of this question.

Remember what you just saw. Bacteria are living things too small to be seen without a microscope. Bacteria are said to be microscopic. Often a test can be done to show the presence of microscopic living things. The test can be done with a chemical indicator.

As its name says, a chemical indicator is a chemical that "indicates" something. One type of chemical indicator will tell you if carbon dioxide is present. The chemical turns from blue to yellow or green if carbon dioxide is present.

Respiration in bacteria and other living things produces carbon dioxide. Thus, this chemical can tell if bacteria or other living things are present in a sample being treated.

Bacteria are used to make many dairy products. the samples you will be testing in this investigation are different dairy products.

Note To The Teacher: The lab procedure, chart and follow up questions are on the attached sheet. Have students perform the experiment, record the results at the end of the class period and the next day. Answer questions. Each group can select a spokesperson to share results and answers to questions with class.

Have a doctor from the Center of Disease Control visit the class to discuss the possibility of an epidemic in our community, country, the world.
Have a doctor or nurse visit the classroom to discuss the importance of immunizations and boosters.

Visit a local dairy and actually see how bacteria and microbes are use to make food products we use everyday.

Math: Have students calculate the rate that a specific disease might spread throughout a community given the optimum conditions.

Science and Math: View the laser disc "Science Sleuth - Pathogenic Picnic" . Solve the mystery cause of the illness and show the proof.

Social Studies: Have students research the Bubonic Plague and create a population curve. Investigate the affects of such an outbreak on today's society.

Art and Science: Using various types of media i.e. paper punches, playdoh, macaroni, have students create a bacteria model or strain of bacteria.

Language Arts: Have students write how bacteria affects their lives both positive and negatively.

Master Teachers: Debby Haynes and Susie Helwig