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This curriculum unit is designed to be used over a two-week period, although it can easily be expanded in many ways. It is both an introduction to parasite biology and a look at the widespread devastation caused by them. Through the use of supportive data students will examine a variety of factors that either foster or inhibit the spread of theses diseases.
Students will be encouraged to look past the obvious cause and effect of transmission, and instead to investigate some of the less obvious, though more often controlling issues involved.
Students will gather data, construct graphs and charts, and draw conclusions as to the relative effects that poverty, waste management and ethics have in combating parasitic diseases.
It is hoped that this investigation will give students a greater appreciation of the benefits of living in an industrialized society. It is also hoped that it will foster a better understanding of our individual roles in the stewardship of this planet and awaken them to the desire to look beyond their current borders, whether they be neighborhood, city, state, country or larger.
Through a combination of role-playing, discussion, debate, and hands on activities the students will drive much of this unit. Included in this unit is a performance based learning and assessment activity that will lead them to try some higher order thinking skills.
By controlling the data sets used, this unit can be adapted for a wide range of educational abilities from middle school through high school.
(Recommended for General Science/Ecology, Life Science/Health, and Biology)