6th - 8th Grade Module 6 Concept 3

Cycle 2

What causes and prevents common diseases, and what impact can disease have on organ systems?
Cycle Summary

In the previous cycle, students figured out that multicellular organisms are systems that have cells that are organized into tissues and organs. These organs work together to help an organism survive by doing life processes such as response to environment, growth, and metabolism.

In the cycle, students explore what happens when disease impacts organs. They research to figure out what causes disease- some diseases are caused by infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses, and some diseases have noninfectious causes such as lifestyle choices or environmental triggers. They model how antibiotics work, and take on the role of epidemiologists solving a food poisoning mystery.

This cycle will prepare students for the Performance Task, where they will consider food poisoning more in-depth, as well as research a particular disease in order to understand how it affects a human from cell to system.

Session 6
Elicit

Students complete a probe about causes of disease.

Engage

Students choose myth or reality concerning disease facts and simulate disease transmission.

Explore

Students use a card set to relate diseases to causal agents and identify how disease can affect organ systems in a human.

Session 7
Explain

Students read and communicate information about common infectious and noninfectious diseases.

Session 8
Elaborate

Students simulate causes of antibiotic resistance.

Session 9
Evaluate

Students use epidemiology to investigate the spread of a disease at a picnic.

Session 10
Elaborate

Students use epidemiology to investigate the spread of a disease at a picnic.

Extend
Extend

Students design a poster for a living or public space to minimize the spread of an infectious disease.