Immunity and Disease

Gregory Carter                 William King Elementary
                               740 S. Campbell
                               Chicago IL 60612
                               (312) 534-7897

Objectives:

This Mini-teach lesson is designed for 5th-8th grades.  Students will learn how 
the immune system (an assortment of cells and tissues coordinated through a 
complex network of molecular messages and interacting genes), fights a war with 
a pathogenic organism: one of the many bacteria, viruses, and protozoans that 
can infect our bodies and cause disease.

Materials Needed:

Movie (The truth about HIV and AIDS), Construction paper, and Game Board.

Strategy:

Activity 1: The students will be shown the movie on HIV and AIDS which will 
            give them an insight on the immune system, the way the disease
            is transmitted, and to see and hear other young people who have
            contracted the disease, and how they are dealing with it, as well
            as young people who don't have the disease, and what they are 
            doing not to contract it.

Activity 2: Students will cut out letter shapes, and try to fit them into 
            other letter spaces, i.e., trying to fit the letter X into shape
            O.  What this activity shows is how the white blood cells in the 
            immune system fight off any foreign invaders, and how other "X's"
            will come to destroy the "O" because it does not belong.  Yet when 
            the HIV virus enters the blood system, the system is broken down 
            and any foreign invader can enter the body and destroy it.

Activity 3: After Activities 1 and 2, you should have a 30-40 min. lecture
            and answer and question period on the movie and other hand outs
            on immunity and disease.  The game board is used to play "Jeopardy"
            answering questions about things that are familiar to students 
            about the disease or immune system (for example, "This NBA star
            retired after learning be was infected with the HIV virus".  Ans:
            "Who is Irvin "Magic" Johnson"?).  This activity will be enjoyable 
            to the students as well as thought provoking.

Performance Assessment:

The students' assessment will basically come from the game and a short quiz on 
the movie, lecture, and hand-outs as well as prior information learned through 
the game of life.  The expected results would be that students learned how 
dangerous unprotected sex and doing drugs can be, and that no one is immune to 
catching AIDS.  SO PLAY SAFE OR NOT AT ALL.