PBL Lesson Plan - Germs, Bacteria, and Communicable Diseases

Germs, Bacteria, and Communicable Diseases 

Grade: 2nd Grade
Name: Tiana Davis

Overall Goal:

The goal of this lesson plan is to educate students about germs and communicable diseases. It is important that students learn about germs and bacteria, as well as how to prevent the spread of germs and bacteria. The overall goal is that students learn about the germs and disease, and understand how to apply this knowledge in a final activity. Students should be able to define words such as germs, bacteria, sickness/illness, disease, and prevention. Students should have a solid understanding of the material taught.

Students will first define key terms necessary in understanding the material: germs, bacteria, sickness/illness, disease, and prevention. We will begin with a lesson hook activity where students will be put into groups with one designated “sick” student. Students will work together to figure out how to rid this student of their germs. Next, students will research germs and bacteria and post their findings on Seesaw. Students will then participate in a “Germ Detective” activity where they use black lights to display the germs present in the classroom, and post their findings on Seesaw. On day 3, students will watch a short Magic School Bus movie and post their thoughts on Seesaw. Afterward, students will research communicable diseases and post their findings on Seesaw. As a final activity, each student will create a Chatterpix showcasing their new knowledge and post it on Seesaw. Students will watch one another’s Chatterpix and post their responses on at least three students’ posts.

I made my lesson fit my audience’s needs by using more familiar terms to explain sections of the lesson. Because the health standards did not begin until second grade, I had to make my lesson plan for a second grade classroom which is a little bit older than I am used to teaching. I also created a plan for students of lower and/or higher abilities, different demographics, different languages, and differentiation for access and resources.

Driving Question: How do germs affect our body?

Key Terms & Definitions:

• Germs: A group of tiny invaders that can make our bodies sick. Germs are tiny organisms, or living things, that can cause disease.
• Bacteria: Tiny little organisms that are everywhere around us. We can’t see them under a microscope because they are so small, but they are in the air, on our skin, in our bodies, in the ground, and all throughout nature.
• Sickness/Illness: An unhealthy condition of the body or mind.
• Disease: A change in a living body (as of a person or plant) that prevents it from functioning normally.
• Prevent: To keep from happening.

Discuss these terms and definitions with the class. Ask the students if they know what each of these terms mean, and ask for their personal definitions. Afterward, share the proper definitions with them.

Lesson Introduction (Hook, Grabber):

Day 1

Introduction

SAY: “Good morning, class! Today we are going to be learning about germs and how they can make us sick. We will also learn how to prevent the spread of illness. We are going to start with an activity, so I am going to put you into groups of five (5). I am also going to choose one of you to be ‘sick.’ This will include getting a little messy, so do I have anyone who does NOT want to be ‘sick’?”

Activity - 30 minutes

Students will be put into groups of five (5), designating one student as the “sick” student.

Designated “sick” student will lather his/her hands in lotion, then dip their hands into a bowl of glitter.

SAY: “Your friend is sick. He/she has lots of germs on his/her hands. I have placed several different materials at each of your tables: hand sanitizer, wet wipes, paper towels, a hand towel, and a bowl of water. I want you to try out each of these materials on your sick friend’s hands to try to clean all of the germs off.”

Students will try out each of the materials. Make sure that they are staying on task and trying out each material. Ask questions about what is/is not happening, and ask the students what they think would remove all of the germs.

Explain that we must be able to get rid of our germs to prevent the spread of illnesses.

SAY: “How are the materials on your table working? Are they getting rid of the germs? Why not? Think to yourselves what you think would get rid of all of the germs.”

Sneak around to each table and put soap on each group’s table.

SAY: “I have placed a new material on each of your tables. Try it out. Maybe try it out with the water.”

Students will try using soap and water to get rid of all of the germs. Advise them to dry their hands when all germs are removed.

Lesson Main:

Day 1 cont.

Students will go back to their seats and take out their laptops/iPads. They will be researching germs and bacteria. They will take note of their findings in their online journal on Seesaw. - 60 minutes

Things they should research include:

1. What are germs?
2. What are the three types of bacteria?
3. Where are germs most often present?
4. How can we prevent the spread of germs?
5. What can happen if we do not prevent the spread of germs?
6. Anything else germ/bacteria related.

Students must respond to at least two (2) classmates’ posts. - 30 minutes

Some responses may include:

1. Something you find interesting.
2. Something you learned from your classmate’s post.
3. Building off of something that your classmate mentioned in their journal.

Day 2

Students will work with their assigned groups and begin with a “Germ Detective” activity. - 30 minutes

• Each group will be given a black light, a notepad, and a writing utensil. Teacher will turn the lights off in the classroom, and each group will turn their blacklight on.
• Teacher will ask the students what they think the black light is illuminating. Students will raise their hands to answer this question. (The blacklight is illuminating all the germs in the room.)
• The objective is to find the location in the classroom with the most germs, as well as the location with the least germs.
• Students will take notes, ranking five (5) locations in the classroom where germs were present from least to greatest amount of germs.
• The class will get into a circle and students will discuss their findings, and why they think certain areas had more germs than other areas. - 15 minutes
• Each student should post their germ rankings in their Seesaw journal.

Day 3

Students will watch a short movie entitled: The Magic School Bus - Inside Ralphie (https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3h1fyg).  - 20 minutes

• Summary: Ralphie is sick and has to stay home from school. Ms. Frizzle and the class take The Magic School Bus to Ralphie’s bedroom. They shrink and go inside his body, and travel in his bloodstream to his sore throat. The kids find out what's making Ralphie sick, and see his white blood cells fight the bacteria in a raging battle. But then the white blood cells think The Magic School Bus is a germ. How can the class escape?
• After the movie, students will share their thoughts and what they learned from the movie. - 10 minutes
• Each student should also post at least three (3) things they learned from the short movie in their journal on Seesaw.

Students will take out their laptops/iPads and research communicable diseases. They will take note of their findings in their online journal on Seesaw. - 60 minutes

Things they should research include:

1. What are communicable diseases?
2. What are some examples of communicable diseases?
3. What causes communicable diseases?
4. How does our body fight off communicable diseases?
5. How can we prevent communicable diseases?
6. Anything else students find interesting about communicable diseases.

Students must respond to at least two (2) classmates’ posts. - 30 minutes

Some responses may include:

1. Something you find interesting.
2. Something you learned from your classmate’s post.
3. Building off of something that your classmate mentioned in their journal.

Lesson Ending:

Day 4

Students will create a Chatterpix addressing one of the following questions: - 30 minutes

• What are germs?
• Where are germs most often present?
• What are communicable diseases?
• What are some examples of communicable diseases?
• How can we prevent the spread of germs and disease?

Every student should also answer this question:

• Your personal health goal for preventing the spread of germs.

*Each student in the group should answer a different question.*

Students should choose a germ image/clipart to be the image of their Chatterpix. - 30 minutes

• Teacher will introduce the Chatterpix app with an explanation of how to use the app.
• Teacher will also share an example of a Chatterpix.
• https://1drv.ms/v/s!At6YBWbW3asHiiN9YcY21wO3U-Ac 

Students should post their Chatterpix script (what they want their Chatterpix to say) in their journal on Seesaw. - 15 minutes

Students will post their finished Chatterpix on Seesaw, and comment on at least two (2) of their classmates’ Chatterpix. - 30 minutes

Some points to consider when responding:

1. Likes/dislikes of classmates’ Chatterpix -- be nice and give constructive feedback.
2. Is there anything you may want to add to what classmates said in their Chatterpix?
3. Did your classmates mention something that you did not know before?

Assessment Rubric of Assignment/Activity:

(Also linked under Resources/Artifacts section)

Resources / Artifacts:

Artifact 1 -- Chatterpix: https://1drv.ms/v/s!At6YBWbW3asHiiN9YcY21wO3U-Ac 

Artifact 2 -- Seesaw:

• https://app.seesaw.me/pages/shared_activity?share_token=OonM3GGlQX-0CisiIbAuFw&prompt_id=prompt.8ebce02f-e97d-4e5c-9fb7-eeace196c664 (Germ Research)
• https://app.seesaw.me/pages/shared_activity?share_token=Igq_YVvwTG6b87c2pCrE_w&prompt_id=prompt.41c0947f-e4ec-4f41-bad4-3fcaa652c553 (Classroom Germ Rankings)
• https://app.seesaw.me/pages/shared_activity?share_token=u6E_42IxQpSq0_mGaKbzww&prompt_id=prompt.87b2e519-3d2b-4ca5-b60f-d4b7752fb0c3 (Magic School Bus Notes)
• https://app.seesaw.me/pages/shared_activity?share_token=dBm-WHRLQuqQVTC6LaVTuQ&prompt_id=prompt.e152891a-eb2d-479d-a606-b5e9a94e0b4a (Disease research)
• https://app.seesaw.me/pages/shared_activity?share_token=TnMArOACTZ2ZeP7kFOL8lw&prompt_id=prompt.74e24abd-fb99-421e-9a04-cf8278713724 (Chatterpix Post)

Rubric -- http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=ShowRubric&rubric_id=2794189& 

Differentiation:

1. Differentiation for ability levels

• High ability learners may already have a solid grasp of germs, bacteria, and communicable diseases. During the activities, they may already know that certain things are going to happen (e.g. soap and water will be the solution that kills the germs). I will ask students who already know the answers to allow their classmates time to come to these conclusions on their own.
• Low ability learners may need more time to understand the concepts of this lesson. This is not a problem, and I will allow these students extra time to thoroughly think things through and come to the conclusions on their own. I do not want their classmates to give away all of the answers, and this is a big reason that we have individual work time, as well as group collaboration time after each student has had ample time to explore these concepts on their own.

      2. Differentiation for students with emotional or behavioral challenges

• Students with emotional or behavioral challenges may struggle with some of the activities in this lesson because there are several hands-on activities that require individual work as well as group collaboration. These students may become frustrated if things do not go their way, they may struggle more with staying on task, and they could cause conflicts among their classmates.
• If any of these things happen, I may have to step in and redirect the student. This could include pulling the student aside and simply talking to him/her, giving this student a “special task,” and walking by the student to ensure that they are getting their work done.

      3. Differentiation for access & resources

• This will not be an issue for this lesson plan, because all of the activities that require the use of electronics and Internet will be completed in class, where each student has their own electronic device and free Internet access.

Anticipated Difficulties:

The following are some possible difficulties that could occur throughout this lesson:

• Parts of the lesson could take longer than anticipated -- this is okay; I do not want to rush the lesson, so we would just try to move a little quicker without leaving any part of the lesson out.
• Students may not know what some of the key terms mean when I ask, or they may not want to respond -- this is a learning process, so it would be normal if they do not know any of the key terms that we will learn throughout this lesson. I would just take a moment to introduce the definitions, and ensure that the students have a solid grasp of the terms by the end of the lesson.
• Students could make a mess with the glitter during the grabber activity -- the students are only in second grade, so it would be no surprise if they get a little carried away with the glitter. We would just take a moment to clean up and discuss why we should not make messes.
• There is always a possibility for technical difficulties, so there is a chance that the students will run into some technical difficulties or Internet problems with their laptops/iPads during their research/Seesaw-posting time -- we could either move on to the next planned activity and come back to this part later, the students could go to the library and find books about the topics, or we could talk about the questions they would be researching and share their findings vocally within the students’ groups.
• There is also always a possibility that the students get distracted or off track with their assignment/activity -- I will walk around the room and remind students of what they should be doing. I can also restate what they should be doing as many times as needed. If students seem too distracted and appear to not be getting any of their work done, we can stand up and do a quick movement activity and get right back to work.  

References:

Chatterpix (app): http://www.duckduckmoose.com/educational-iphone-itouch-apps-for-kids/chatterpix/ 

Dictionary: https://www.merriam-webster.com/

Magic School Bus Film https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3h1fyg

Rubric: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?ts=1555370931

Seesaw: https://app.seesaw.me/invite/?code=C2U_BD3RWuazn8pXseQVQRf44lm5faLtH0cw4GKRkeVaDc66J0A0XR_xLfNPHFz7PHU0r56gT54Wkq0meuEV9g%3D%3D&type=REF 

Standards: https://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/standards/prek-12-health-standards-final-dec6-2017.pdf