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.

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