At Pace Microbiology Lab, Teacher's never stop learning.

At the New York American Museum of  Natural History, we were able to get a closer look at biodiversity. 
Carlotta Y. Hamilton-Williams:  I'm a  6th, 7th & 8th grade science teacher in District 8 in  the Bronx.  I am a first year teacher of primarily special needs students.

       At the 2000 Woodrow Wilson Summer Commuter Institute for Biodiversity, I had the privilege of studying at Pace University, as well as the American Museum of Natural History.   At Pace, we studied microorganisms which are at the beginning of the Biodiversity cladistics chart for one week.  The next week we were at the museum, where macro organisms were studied from fishes to dinosaurs, we are diverse creatures.

By the end of the institute, I was able to design a curriculum from the Living Environment which I have submitted below.  

From : The Living Environment                         

CURRICULUM OUTLINE

Lesson 1-Engulfing

Lesson 2-Cell Defense

Lesson 3-Germ Destruction, a 3D model

KEY 5

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 5.2 : Students explain disease as a failure of homeostasis.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDINGS 5.2d : 

Certain white blood cells engulf invaders.  Others produce antibodies that attack invaders or mark them for killing. The specialized white blood cells will remain, able to fight off subsequent invaders of the same kind.

BACKGROUND: The students would have had prior knowledge about germs, what they were and what caused some of them, before starting this lesson with the students.

MOTIVATION: Ask the students:

  1. What are some ways germs enter the body? [as the students brainstorm, I would create a web with their ideas/answers]
  2. Who or what do you think tries to get rid of these germs once they are inside the body? [again, as the students brainstorm, another web would be created with their answers/ideas]

After this, I would describe/explain to the students what white blood cells are (microscopic cells in our bodies that fight germs for us) and how they protect our bodies.

Ask:

  1. How do you think these white blood cells get rid of / destroy the germs?
  2. If you were a white blood cell, what are some of the best ways to get rid of them (the germs)? [heating the body (fever), coughing, and whatever else they can think of]

I would explain to the students that white blood cells engulf [vocabulary word completely surrounding] the germ until it was completely gone via dissolving, eating it, etc… At this point I would give them a visual by locking my fingers together and placing it over my knee to give them a better idea and to model for them what engulfing is.

LESSON 1: At the groups of tables with 4 – 5 students, I would have soap water in a large round pan and a large bubble loop/wand; this will help to further explain what engulfing is. I will give the students inanimate objects to engulf within the bubble. Prior to this activity, they must first know the rules:

After this quick exercise, I would divide the class into 3 groups for a play/scenario to show the students how white blood cells protect the body from germs:

A student from group 1 (a germ) will invade the body and the wbc’s will have to figure out the right methods of getting rid of the germ. The ideas will come from the brainstorming that was done earlier and they would be on the board for them to refer to. There would be a 2-minute time limit for the wbc’s to attack the germ (without hurting the student).

After this activity, ask inquiry questions:

  1. What was the best way to destroy: the blue germ? ( red, yellow and brown?)
  2. Do you think our cells know how to form a plan of attack, which is what we just did?
  3. How does the white blood cells know which germs to get rid of ?
  4. What would happen to our bodies if we did not have white blood cells?

LESSON 2: Use the same motivation as in lesson one.

Have the students draw a castle and put things inside that they would want to protect or defend.

  1. On the outside of the castle, whom would you draw ? (who would defend their castle) [soldiers]
  2. What would be the size of your defenders? Label the defenders wbc.
  3. What type of defenses would your soldiers/defenders have? (this would come from the brainstorming that was done during the motivation)
  4. Draw different soldiers trying to attack the castle (they should have different colors and the letter ‘g’ on it denoting that they are the germs. Some should be smaller than the wbc’s and others should be equal)
  5. Create a battle/fighting scene over the castle/body.

Now the students will create a sequencing chart (first, next and last) with pictures and with words depicting what is happening in each scene sequence.

Lesson 3: Use the same motivation as in lesson one.

To show how a white blood cell destroys a germ that has invaded the body by use of a 3-D model.

Materials: balloons, balls of various sizes, Vaseline, water, newspaper, flour [for paper mache], plastic table cloths, paints, paint brushes, paper, pen and a shoebox. optional]

Directions: The students will blow up 4 balloons (not large) and cover with paper mache each in different stages; 2 completely covered; another covered in the shape a the letter c; and the last will be in the shape of a question mark. Cover the balls completely with paper mache. When everything is covered and set aside to dry, the students will write a ‘blurb’ that will go beneath each model describing what is happening .

Once everything is dry the next day, have the students paint the balloon shapes white (which represent the white blood cells) and fashion to the shapes below.

The ball shapes are painted and placed according to the diagram below.

Or, use a large ball that cannot be engulfed by the white blood cell, instead it causes the white blood cell to burst open and destroy it. Ask: what types of diseases are not affected by the white blood cells? What could be another way of destroying this germ?

Shapes of the balloons

 

Placement Diagram for the white blood cell and the germ.