Objective
My curriculum unit is designed to demystify my students' notion about the need for antibacterial/antimicrobial everything. Over the course of two weeks, I hope to inform my students of the basics of the lymphatic/immune system, and introduce basic concepts of bacteriology and virology, so that they will understand how something as simple as using antibacterial hand sanitizers at each meal could have much larger consequences. In addition, students will be introduced to drugs that are designed to combat bacterial infections and those that can treat viral infections. As a result of this unit, I hope to raise awareness in my students by increasing their understanding that there are such things as good germs (the natural plethora of bacteria that live helpfully on our bodies) versus the bad germs (those causing infectious diseases like tuberculosis, influenza, and HIV).
My intended audience for this curriculum unit is students enrolled in 11th/ 12th grade Human Anatomy and Physiology and 9/10 th grade Biology. Students opting to take Physiology as a third or fourth year of science have intentions of pursuing science or math in college or will be applying for vocational courses in physical therapy, nursing, dental hygiene, or medical assisting. Students of Biology are required to complete the course for high school graduation or to fulfill CA State University (a-g) requirements. Typically, the study of the lymphatic system and immunity is taught during the 5 th quarter of Physiology and introduced in the 6 th quarter of Biology. Introduction to bacteria and viruses is taught during the 2 nd quarter of Biology in which prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells are introduced. It is my intention to teach aspects of this unit to Biology in the 2 nd quarter and the complete unit to Physiology in the 5 th quarter.
Since literacy and raising academic language skills are two of the goals for our school, students will be exposed to a variety of reading material that will foster growth in their writing and reading. The unit will incorporate reading and writing strategies, oral and kinesthetic activities, and collaborative projects. It is also intentional that multi-disciplinary reading materials and activities are a part of the unit in order to foster the idea that learning and knowledge is interconnected among all subject areas.
Comments: