LPTP+Maria+Johnson+and+Jessica+Boyer


 * Title ****:** Viruses, Bacteria, Fungi - OH MY!


 * Authors : **Maria Johnson and Jessica Boyer of Roxbury Central School, Roxbury, NY
 * Subject and Grade Level ****:** 7th Grade Life Science
 * Time Needed ****:** Approximately nine 40-minute periods

 For additional free online lessons integrating media literacy and critical thinking into the curriculum, go to www.projectlooksharp.org

Overview **:**
"Intense media coverage makes infectious diseases seem more dangerous...The media tend to focus on rare and dramatic events. When a certain disease receives repeated coverage in the press, people tend to focus on it and perceive it as a real threat. This raises concerns regarding how people view their own health, how they truly understand disease and how they treat themselves." - Meredith Young, McMaster University lead author of a 2008 study on media coverage and its relationship to infectious diseases.

The topic is going to be infectious diseases where the students will be responsible for identifying and providing information on the disease-causing pathogen (virus, bacteria, fungus, or protist), describe the affects it has on the human body, and current form(s) of treatment. Students will be decoding the current messages in the media about infectious disease, creating a public service announcement about their disease of choice using Glogster (in the form of a digital poster incorporating multiple modes of media), and have some blog assignments using Edmodo (possibly 3 - for example: each student will have to respond to at least one presentation, a creative writing piece, etc.)

**Curriculum Goals:** **Students will discover the interactions that pathogens have on the human body.** 1. Students will research an infectious disease in any of the following categories: virus, bacteria, fungus, or protist. 2. Students will discover the affect the pathogen has on the human body. 3. Students will investigate the possible treatments for the disease.
 * Objectives ****:**

Intermediate Level Science: Core Curriculum Grades 5-8 Standard 4: The Living Environment

Key Idea 1: Living things are both similar and different from each other and from living things. 1.2j: **Disease breaks down the structures or functions of an organism**. Some diseases are the result of failures of the system. **Other diseases are the result of damage by infection from other organisms (germ theory)**. Specialized cells protect the body from infectious disease. The chemicals they produce identify and destroy microbes that enter the body.

Key Idea 5: Organisms maintain a dynamic equilibrium that sustains life. 5.2f: **Contraction of infectious disease**, and personal behaviors such as use of toxic substances and some dietary habits, **may interfere with one's dynamic equilibrium**. During pregnancy these conditions may also affect the development of the child. **Some effects of these conditions are immediate; others may not appear for many years**.

**Media Literacy Goals:** 1. Students will engage in critical thinking when evaluating media messages. 2. Students will evaluate the credibility of information from different sources. 3. Students will recognize the media's influence on beliefs, attitudes, values, and behaviors regarding infectious diseases. 4. Students will produce communications and express oneself about an infectious disease using different forms of media.


 * Vocabulary ****:** (optional)


 * Materials ****: TO BE UPDATED**

(list and attach the particular video, slide, or print documents. Look Sharp will host with a link from here - NOTE you need to register and sign-in to wikispaces in order to attach a document)

Students will need access to internet (research sources, Edmodo, Glogster)

1. What is the pathogen category? (Virus, bacteria, fungus, protist) 2. How did it get it's name? What is the more common vs. its medical name? 3. Mode of transmission? (How does it infect the human body?) 4. What are the symptoms of the disease? 5. How is it treated? 6. How can spread of the disease be prevented?
 * Lesson Steps ****:** (this will be the lengthy part)
 * Content Project Requirements on Glogster Digital Poster:**

1.Student video - Public Service Announcement about disease 2. Data/Graph on number of illnesses/deaths related to disease (if unable to find any type of graph then just provide the information on the estimated number of people affected per year). 3. One link to another media source about the disease (either video of news report or online news article) 4. One link to a reliable research you used for the audience to be able to go and get more information 5. At least one interesting fact about the disease not addressed in any of the other requirements 6. Overall - the more creative (images/pictures, color, etc.) the better!
 * Other Project Requirements on Glogster Digital Poster:**

On Edmodo, student opinion poll on their current perception of more harmful disease Decoding Exercises using uploaded images (**TO BE UPDATED)** Partner and topic selection, which gets posted to Edmodo
 * Day 1: Project Introduction**


 * Day 2: Evaluating Web Resources using Project Look Sharp's criteria**

Research - Students need to collect all resources/information needed for the Glogster production (NOTE: students are NOT to research and produce simultaneously)
 * Days 3 & 4:**

Glogster Demo (sample), guided production
 * Days 5 & 6:**

Student presentations of Glogster productions
 * Days 7 & 8**:

On Edmodo, students respond to other group's production based on given questions On Edmodo, repeat introductory poll and discuss possible changes in opinions, etc.
 * Day 9**:

Grolier Online CDC WHO Teen Health and Wellness News Bank
 * Additional Online Resources :**

Prior to implementing the project students have completed the chapter on microbes (viruses, bacteria, protists, and fungi)
 * Background Information ****:**


 * Email contact ****:** (optional)

 This lesson was produced during 2011- 2011 as part of a collaboration between Project Look Sharp (PLS) at Ithaca College and four NY State BOCES School Library Systems. The initiative brought together pairs of secondary science teachers and school librarians to develop models for integrating critical thinking and media literacy into secondary science content. The project was supported by federal LSTA funds awarded to the NY State Library by the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services. To view additional lessons from this series go to: www.projectloksharp.org.