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Immune System

  • 2-5 grade

Lesson Description:

In this lesson, the students will identify habits to avoid being sick and how the immune system works by using Cubelets robots to visually represent the protection in the immune system. 

Objective:
Apply their understanding of the Immune system and represent it using Cubelets robots.


 

Standards Covered

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.5

Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

NGSS 1-LS1-1

Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs.

NGSS Crosscutting 2

Events have causes, sometimes simple, sometimes multifaceted. Deciphering causal relationships, and the mechanisms by which they are mediated, is a major activity of science and engineering.

NGSS Crosscutting 4

Systems and system models. Defining the system under study—specifying its boundaries and making explicit a model of that system—provides tools for understanding and testing ideas that are applicable throughout science and engineering.

NGSS Crosscutting 6

Structure and function. The way in which an object or living thing is shaped and its substructure determine many of its properties and functions.

NGSS Practice 1

Asking questions and defining problems

NGSS Practice 2

Developing and using models

NGSS Practice 4

Analyzing and interpreting data

NGSS Practice 6

Constructing explanations and designing solutions

image description

Lesson Modules


Teaching Tips:

Technology: Cubelets 


Materials:  

  • an object to imitate a virus (small ball, marble, action figure) 
  • yellow Lego adapters  


Preparation: make sure Cubelets are at full power by the time class starts 



Teaching Tips:

  1. Have students answer the question.
  2. Show the result to the class.
  3. Have a discussion with students:
    1) What were the most commonly used words?
    2) Pick 1 word on the word cloud that you did not think of. 

Discuss with the students about which healthy habits they already have and which they need to do more of. 

Ask the students:

  • Which habits do we already use to keep ourselves healthy?
  • Which habits do we need to do more often?
  • Why do you think we don't use those habits as much? (ex: do we forget, is it annoying to do, etc?)




What can you do to make sure you don't get sick? Type your answer using only ONE word.





Preventing the Flu: Good Health Habits Can Help Stop Germs
 




Avoid close contact

Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.


 





Let's practice

  • Get into pairs. Let's say a friend of yours goes to give you a high 5, but you are sick. Politely let them know that you won't give them a high 5 because you do not want to get them sick.





"Stay home when you are sick. This will help prevent spreading your illness to others."
 





"Cover your mouth and nose.

Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick."

Let's Practice: Pretend sneeze into your arm.




"Clean your hands.

Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub."





What is the right way to wash your hands?

Follow the five steps below to wash your hands the right way every time.

  1. Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.
  2. Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Be sure to lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
  3. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the "Happy Birthday" song from beginning to end twice.
  4. Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
  5. Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them
  6. Let's act out the correct way to wash our hands!




Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.

Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.






 Practice other good health habits.
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces at home, work or school, especially when someone is ill.
  • Get plenty of sleep
  • be physically active
  • manage your stress
  • drink plenty of fluids
  • eat nutritious food




Let's see which healthy habits we already have and which we need to do more of.


Which healthy habits do you need to do more of?
  • Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.
  • Stay home when you are sick. This will help prevent spreading your illness to others.
  • Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick.
  • Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.
  • Get plenty of sleep.
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces at home, work or school, especially when someone is ill.
  • Be physically active.
  • Manage your stress.
  • Drink plenty of fluids.


Teaching Tips:

Make sure to narrate as you draw skin as a barrier. Talk about which tool you are using and why. Make sure to make a mistake so that you can show them how to fix it (ex: erase or undo)

Have students move over to the screen so they can get a better look at their peers’ illustrations.

It is always good to help our body not get sick, but our body also works very hard to make sure we don’t get sick through our immune system.

The immune system is the body's defense against infectious organisms and other invaders. Through a series of steps called the immune response, the immune system attacks organisms and substances that invade body systems and cause disease. 



3 levels of protection in the immune system

The immune system has 3 levels of backup if a virus is near your body.

  • The first defense is the skin which creates a barrier so the virus cannot get into your body.
  • If the virus still gets in then the B-Cells alert the immune system that there is a virus that got into your body, this is the second defense.
  • The third defense are the T-cells, these hear the alert and attack the virus.you will create a visual of each level of the immune system (skin, B cells, T cells)

You will create a visual of each level of the immune system (skin, B cells, T cells). Focus on what role it has in protecting you against getting sick



Let's brainstorm together! The skin's role is to create a barrier. How would we draw a barrier? Draw a barrier on a piece of paper.





GOAL


Create 3 robots that will act like the 3 levels of protection in the immune system to defend your body against a virus.

 






Teaching Tips:

Students should create 3 robots that imitate the role of each part of the immune system. Have an object that represents a virus that can move on its own or while controlled (ex: marble, action figure).

Use the yellow Lego adapters on the virus robot (if applicable) to prevent the virus from snapping into other robots.

As the students are designing and testing, remember to encourage them to redesign based on their observations.

PROTIP: For younger students have an object that you control, for older students use an object that moves on its own and sees if the Cubelets react correctly.

Ways students could make the different viruses – do not limit them to these! Let them explore the many different ways they can create robots that imitate these systems.

Skin: blocks viruses from entering the body (distance & drive)

T-Cells: call out when near virus (distance or temperature* & speaker)

B-cells: attach virus (distance & drive)

*Optional: Place the object in the refrigerator or freezer to make the item cold to use the temperature block.



Teaching Tips:

At this point, take some student volunteers (or two groups)-* and ask them to explain how their robots work and their reasoning behind what their choices.


*The number of students of groups will depend on the time constraints of the session. 

Record a video of yourself:  

Run your robots, and explain how each robot acts like which part of our immune system. You can watch the video and choose to re-record or keep it.


Answer the following questions. 

How did you redesign your robots to work better?

What is the most interesting thing you learned today?