Is Bacteria Helpful or Harmful?
The students will have to construct an argument that claims that bacteria are both helpful and harmful. The students will be asked to complete learning activities based on PBS Learning Media videos. The students will complete a persuasive essay as a culminating assessment.
Essential Question
How are bacteria helpful and harmful?
Grade(s):
- 7
Subject(s):
Recommended Technology:
Internet
Digital Device for students (PC, Laptop, Chromebook, tablet, or iPad, etc.)
Cloud File Storage (Google Drive, iCloud, One Drive, or Dropbox, etc.)
Digital Productivity Software (Google Suite, Microsoft Office, etc.)
Other Instructional Materials or Notes:
If digital services are not available, then the following can be used in their place:
Science Journal
Paper
Pens
Pencils
Large Chart Paper
Markers
Lesson Progression
- Bellringer - The teacher will ask the question to the class: Do you think bacteria is harmful or helpful and why? The students will then think about their answer and the teacher will take a poll of the class and record their answers on the resource, “Bacteria: Harmful or Helpful?” The teacher will ask them to justify their response and write several responses in the responses column (if the teacher does not have the digital capabilities, the document can be created using large chart paper and markers).
- The teacher will then introduce the lesson by posing the essential question for the class and telling the class they will construct an argument on why bacteria is both harmful and helpful.
- The teacher will inform the class that they are going to learn about ways that bacteria is helpful. The students will watch this PBS Learning Media video - “Gross Science | What Lives in Cheese?” - https://scetv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/nvgs-sci-cheese/wgbh-nova-gross-science-what-lives-in-cheese/. The students will list the reasons that bacteria is helpful in the document, “Why Bacteria Is Helpful Notes” in the What Lives in Cheese column. This can be printed out or the students can add the notes to their journals, depending on the availability of digital resources. The students will share their answers with a partner and add any reasons they might have missed while watching.
- The students will watch the PBS Learning Media video - “The Invisible Creatures That Keep You Alive! | It's Okay to Be Smart” - https://scetv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/invisible-okay-to-be-smart/invisible-okay-to-be-smart/. The students will list the reasons that bacteria is helpful in the document, “Why Bacteria Is Helpful Notes” in The Invisible Creatures That Keep You Alive column. This can be printed out or the students can add the notes to their journals depending on the availability of digital resources. The students will share their notes aloud with the class and write any additional notes they may have missed in the document. The students can submit their work to the teacher to check for understanding.
- The teacher will inform the class that they are going to learn about ways that bacteria is harmful. The students will watch this PBS Learning Media video - “NC Science Now | Rapid Test for Bad Bacteria at the Beach” - https://scetv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/20ecfd18-546b-48d0-bae6-745221dc874f/nc-science-now-rapid-test-for-bad-bacteria-at-the-beach/. The students will write all the reasons that bacteria is harmful in the document, “Why Bacteria is Harmful Notes” in the Rapid Test for Bad Bacteria at the Beach column. This can be printed out or the students can add the notes to their journals, depending on the availability of digital resources. The students will share one way that bacteria is harmful from their notes aloud with the class.
- The students will watch the PBS Learning Media video “Gross Science | The Food Poisoning Lurking in Your Freezer” - https://scetv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/nvgs-sci-foodpoison/wgbh-nova-gross-science-the-food-poisoning-lurking-in-your-freezer/. The students will write why bacteria is harmful in the document, “Why Bacteria is Harmful Notes” in The Food Poisoning Lurking in Your Freezer Column. This can be printed out or the students can add the notes to their journals, depending on the availability of digital resources. The students will share their notes with a partner and add them to the document after sharing. The students can submit their notes for the teacher to check for understanding.
- Culminating assessment. - The students will create a persuasive essay arguing whether they believe bacteria is harmful or helpful. The students will take the position and must defend their position by use of an essay. The teacher should share the document “Bacteria Persuasive Essay and Rubric” with the students so they know their expectations. The students must cite the videos, research an additional reason to support their argument, and provide a counter-argument. The teacher will use the “Bacteria Persuasive Essay and Rubric Teacher’s Edition” to assess the student’s essay.
- The students will take a poll to see if they believe if bacteria is more harmful or helpful. This can be published in the digital classroom or as a poster.
Bacteria: Harmful or Helpful?
Brainstorming activity to determine the students’ background knowledge on bacteria.
Why Bacteria is Helpful Notes
Document for students to take notes on the helpful bacteria PBS Learning Media videos.
Why Bacteria is Harmful Notes
Document for students to take notes on the harmful bacteria PBS Learning Media videos.
Gross Science | What Lives in Cheese? Video
PBS Learning Media Video. Learn about the mites, bacteria, and fungi that make cheese delicious, in this episode of Gross Science from NOVA. Cheeses come in many different forms, but most are made of the same handful of ingredients: milk, salt, a combination of enzymes called “rennet,” and bacteria. Mixing in bacteria allows milk to ferment, and creates a diversity of flavors and textures in cheese. Cheese makers can also create other varieties by adding fungus, mites, and maggots to the mix. Many other foods, such as bread, wine, yogurt, and pickles, are created in similar ways. They are made by letting other organisms, like yeast and bacteria, digest parts of the food before humans do. This resource is part of the NOVA: Gross Science Collection.
The Invisible Creatures That Keep You Alive! | It's Okay to Be Smart Video
PBS Learning Media Video about a complete microbiome lives inside us, and believe it or not, that's a good thing.
NC Science Now | Rapid Test for Bad Bacteria at the Beach Video
PBS Learning Media Video on beach closings due to harmful bacteria are on the rise. Bio-engineers are trying to apply a reliable method for getting cells to express their DNA in a new way so that the ocean water can be tested rapidly, keeping the public safe.
Gross Science | The Food Poisoning Lurking in Your Freezer Video
PBS Learning Media Video. Learn about listeria, a type of bacteria that causes food poisoning, in this video from NOVA’s Gross Science series. Listeriosis is a serious disease that can kill up to 20 percent of people infected. Listeria grows on food and is tough enough to survive and even reproduce in cold refrigerators. When food contaminated with listeria is consumed, the body’s immune system recognizes the bacteria as a danger and mounts an immune response. White blood cells engulf the bacteria in phagosomes; however, listeria can escape this initial immune response by hijacking the cell’s cytoskeleton to move inside the cell, where it collects nutrients and reproduces. Eventually, the bacteria burst from the cell to infect other cells; the infection can become deadly as it spreads through the bloodstream to major organs. This resource is part of the NOVA: Gross Science Collection.
Standards
- Life Science: Organization in Living Systems
- 7.L.3 The student will demonstrate an understanding of how the levels of organization within organisms support the essential functions of life.
Assessments
The students will create a persuasive essay arguing whether they believe bacteria is harmful or helpful. The students will take the position and must defend their position by use of an essay. The teacher should share the document “Bacteria Persuasive Essay and Rubric” with the students so they know their expectations. The students must cite the videos, research an additional reason to support their argument, and provide a counter-argument. The teacher will use the “Bacteria Persuasive Essay and Rubric Teacher’s Edition” to assess the student’s essay.
Bacteria Persuasive Essay and Rubric
Bacteria Persuasive Essay and Rubric Teacher’s Edition