This manual was written primarily to aid you, the high school biology teacher, in teaching an important segment of the broad topic of biology. Middle and high school teachers will also find some of the exercises helpful in introducing the concept of the invisible life around us. College instructors may even find this information useful in classes designed for non-majors.
The format of the book is designed with your ease of use in mind: The time required for each experiment, as well as the appropriate grade level, are stated at the beginning of each exercise, allowing you to use only those exercises that are suitable for your students. Words that appear as key terms are boldfaced when first used in the text and experiments. A key term glossary is found in each chapter.
The exercises in this manual were designed with the constraints of the middle- or high-school biology laboratory in mind. Each procedure can be easily accomplished in a double lab period (In this manual, a period is equal to 45 minutes). For those situations in which only single periods are available, the theory can be presented during the first period, and the actual work performed during the next one. Although the exercises need not be done in order, and can be used individually and randomly, it is extremely important that aseptic technique be introduced first so that the microorganisms are safely and properly handled.
If you have never worked with microorganisms before, or if you have inadequate facilities for the proper execution of the exercises in which you are interested, please contact us at the following addresses for additional guidance:
Barbara B. McHale,
Gwynedd Mercy University
Gwynedd Valley, PA
Retired
mchaleb@comcast.net
Brian M. Forster, Ph.D.,
Saint Joseph’s University
Philadelphia, PA 19131
(610)-660-3188
bforster@sju.edu