Students will progress from learning about an overviews of different pathogens (microbes) to focusing on specifically bacteria. They will examine how bacteria causes an infection and how it is is treated. They will investigate learn why some strains of bacteria are called superbugs and do a deep dive into MRSA to understand it’s evolution and effects.
What types of infections are treated with antibiotics? What is a superbug? Why are we hearing more about Superbugs lately? Why is it that Addie got sick, then got a little better, then sick again, then a little better, and then eventually VERY sick?
Students reflect on personal experiences with being sick and taking antibiotics.
Continue to reflect on a time that you were sick -- how did you feel? How were treated
Work with a partner to discuss some of the following questions:
How do you know when you are sick?
How are is an illness initially treated?
What are different ways illness is diagnosed?
What are some treatments for illness/injury?
Share out these answers
Lead a discussion about different illnesses, diagnoses (how illness is diagnosed), and treatments. Lead discussion into -- when do you receive antibiotics or external antibiotic treatments. What type of infection is this? As we discussed different types of infectious agents over the past two weeks--- we are focusing on bacteria
Students partner again and discuss their experience with antibiotics
Side effects
How long they have to take them
What are some reasons you might have stopped taking them?
Has anyone in your family stopped taking antibiotics? What are some reasons
Has anyone (you or your family) been hospitalized due to antibiotics not working?
Students share their experiences and teacher makes connections to Addie’s case
How common is a condition like Addie’s? How did Addie’s condition progress?
a. Students review and read pages 11-15:
Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States
b. How does your use of antibiotics affect antibiotic resistance?
c. If you would like students to explore some of the most common strains of antibiotic resistant bacteria-- they can continue reading pages 16 and 17.
d. If you would like use the CEQ strategy:
*** The Connect, Extend, Question routine asks students to engage with the following questions:
Connect: How are the ideas and information presented connected to what you already know (did it answer any prior questions)?
Extend: What new ideas did you get that extended or broadened your thinking in new directions?
Question: What new questions arise after reading the new material?
3. In order to understand more about bacterial infections-- we are going to do a short case study of MRSA:
● MRSA: Evolution of Resistance:
● American Museum of Natural History Lesson Plan: Bacteria Evolving: Tracing the Origins of a MRSA Epidemic:
● Develop answers to suggested questions on MRSA:
○ Who gets MRSA?
○ Is there only one variation/strain of staph (is there only the MRSA variation)?
○ What is the history of resistance to different strains of bacteria?
○ How many cases like Addie’s were there in the past?
○ What do community-associated MRSA and hospital-acquired MRSA mean?
○ Where can people pick up community-associated antibiotic resistant bacteria?
4. Connecting MRSA to other Antibiotic Resistant Strains of Bacteria
● Example of Bacteria and Fungi: Superbugs -
5. Understanding that these Superbugs exist are and are resistant to bacteria-- what types of questions do we need to be investigating in order to determine what is happening to Addie?
Examples of questions:
○ Where do we pick up this kind of bacteria and where do we get bacteria from in general?
○ If Addie got hers from the playground and hospital, where else do bacteria live? Only in dirty places?
○ How might we go about investigating where bacteria are found near us (in places like our school)?
What types of investigations should we be completing to learn more information about bacteria, superbugs, and antibiotic resistance?
Antibiotic Resistant Infections:
What is the difference between Hospital Acquired and Community Acquired Antibiotic resistant MRSA?
● We can get resistant bacteria from the hospital, a place where they clean things a lot and out in the community in places that maybe aren’t cleaned as often -- why can this happen?
● What is also occurring in a hospital that may not be occurring in a community?
Looking at Hospital Acquired MRSA Infections
Students develop a list of driving questions and types of investigations to learn more about Addie’s condition.