Dear parents,

Your children continue to work well as a group, and have fun ideas, examples of illnesses, and fine questions. We started the day learning about different kinds of microscopes and examined 5 new slides, including pumpkin skin, rabbit spinal cord, and pine stem.  We talked about ways to stay healthy.  And the class has acknowledged how we contract illnesses in a variety of ways (some illnesses are infectious, others can be related to lifestyle, some are due to something in the environment, etc.)

With (almost invisible) glow powder, we shook hands with the students when they re-entered the room.  Then, using a blacklight, we were able to reveal the germs’ transmission.  (We made sure that they washed their hands with soap and water afterwards.)

The class learned about the epidemiologic triangle used to stop disease, which includes agent (what), host (who), and environment (where).  They analyzed 5 scenarios in order to identify the sides of the triangle.  We discussed the agents from the scenarios, which were: chicken pox, influenza, Legionnaire’s, salmonellosis, and strep throat.

We explained to the students that they would be creating their own fictitious microbes throughout the week.  They would be describing the microbe and its fun symptoms, its preferred host, and its ideal environment.  After seeing more pictures of magnified microorganisms, the students built their own 3-dimensional microbe models with Model Magic.

Then, oh no!  We were informed of breaking news that various towns across Tennessee had reported cases of an unknown illness, and a case was in a neighboring town.  Fortunately, the class felt this was cause for concern.

The students learned what the CDC is and how the CDC tracks epidemics. We discussed Ebola, contact tracing, and how the CDC must work with other countries.  The class also learned about malaria and how that is spread through mosquitoes. In addition, they participated in another musical chairs-like game showing how germs spread.

At the end of the day, the class used the iPads to research assigned diseases on the Mayo Clinic website.  We played a whole-class health Kahoot.

Dinner table questions:

Please remember: Tomorrow we will take a field trip to the Vanderbilt Medical Center North.  For safety reasons, the students need long pants and closed-toe shoes for this trip.  We will be in a real medical facility.

We look forward to tomorrow!

Warmly,

Ms. Elizabeth and Ms. Andrea