Infectious and Chronic Diseases
Making Decisions for Good Health
The organisms that cause disease are all around us. Infectious diseases can spread from person to person. Chronic diseases are long lasting health problems that can make people feel sick for a long time, but typically do not spread to other persons. BioEd Online offers teaching resources about viruses, infectious diseases, disease prevention, and public health in general.
In this section, you will find informational materials, such as a Guide to Healthy Schools and an overview of how to prevent the spread of microbes that can cause disease. You will also find classroom lessons for different grade bands (K–2, 3–5, 6–8, 9–12) suitable for use in science, social studies, and even reading classes.
Help your students become more informed about microbes and disease, and how they stay health.
Basic Information
Hot Topic
Information for Educators on COVID-19
COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus that first appeared in Wuhan, China in December, 2019. BioEd provides teaching resources and links to science and health information to help you and your students prevent disease.
Article
Planning for Healthy Schools: A Guide to Reopening and Safe Operations
Planning for Healthy Schools provides an overview of health guidelines and strategies to maintain healthy buildings and protect people. It also contains decision-making tools about when to stay home, what to do if someone is ill or tests positive for COVID-19 and provides links to resources.
K-2
Slide Set
Coronavirus: What You Need to Know
In late 2019 a new respiratory illness appeared in Wuhan, China caused by SARS-CoV-2, a betacoronavirus, like MERS and SARS, both of which originated in bats. The respiratory illness, coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) expanded rapidly and now represents an evolving public health emergency with new information published daily.
K-2
What Is Coronavirus?
Students gather information online to explore differences between viruses and cells, and to learn about the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. This information is both recent and developing, and it helps illustrate to students that science involves ongoing discovery of new information. Note that the objectives meet two of the TEKS objectives for high school biology.
View this lesson Download PDFDisease Prevention
It Starts @Home
Students will learn about common symptoms of COVID-19, as listed in health communications, and discuss similarities and differences of COVID-19 with other illnesses, such as colds or flu (influenza).
View this lesson Download PDFK-2
Clean Hands Knock Out Germs!
Washing hands correctly kills germs that cause disease. This lesson explains why washing hands is important and how to clean hands correctly.
View this lesson Download PDFK-2
Transmission by Droplets
Student teams will use water in a spray bottle to observe 1) the importance of physical distancing by at least six feet, and 2) why masks are effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19.
View this lesson Download PDF
The More the Merrier?
Students use powdered drink mix in plastic cups to simulate disease transmission in different-size crowds.
View this lesson Download PDF
Spacing Out
Students are challenged to design an art room that will afford the social (physical) distancing required during the pandemic. Working through the challenge will raise awareness about the complexity of arranging the physical environment to reduce disease transmission in a traditional classroom.
View this lesson Download PDFMicrobes and the Science of Infectious Diseases
Eradicating COVID-19—Not Likely
Students read an essay about the history of smallpox, the first case of human vaccination, and the eradication of smallpox as a naturally occurring viral disease in humans.
View this lesson Download PDF
Pandemics Through History
Students are challenged to make a timeline of historical pandemics to demonstrate that the current COVID-19 pandemic is not a one-of-a kind event. Students will reflect upon the ways in which pandemics have shaped the development of scientific and public health knowledge, and the treatments that have resulted.
View this lesson Download PDF
Microbes and Disease
Students investigate a sample of microbes and the diseases associated with them, learn how diseases are transmitted and impact society, and create art projects representing the diseases they have studied.
View this lesson Download PDF Digital Slide Set
Pandemic Puzzle
This word search puzzle focuses on terminology and vocabulary associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. It can be used as a stand-alone activity or to extend any other curriculum lessons.
View this lesson Download PDF
Rewind, Reflect, Fast-Forward
Students will compile key events in the COVID-19 pandemic timeline, learn where to find accurate national and state COVID-19 statistics, and reflect on how the pandemic has affected their lives.
View this lesson Download PDF
Modeling the Virus that Causes COVID-19
A particle (virion) of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is approximately 100 nanometers across. How big is that? In this activity, students learn about the shape and relative size of the virus by constructing a paper model of a single virus particle.
View this lesson Download PDF
What are Infectious Diseases?
Students will conduct research using online text resources and media related to infectious and non-infectious diseases and compare the prevalence of different diseases across countries with different income levels.
View this lesson Download PDF
Can Drops Travel in Air?
Students will investigate the number of water droplets that make "contact" with a wall from different distances when propelled in a manner that stimulates a sneeze or cough.
View this lesson Download PDFK-2
Vaccines and the Immune System
Reducing Disease Threats through Vaccination
By working through three simulations of the spread of an imaginary infectious disease called “yuckyitis,” students learn how vaccination can protect populations against disease, and they relate this knowledge to the COVID-19 vaccination efforts.
View this lesson Download PDF
Defending Against Microbes
Students investigate the human immune system and solve a crossword puzzle featuring vocabulary related to the immune system and microbes.
View this lesson Download PDF
Vaccines and Health
Students learn about the impact of vaccines on human health by exploring one of the 16 diseases for which they have (or should have) received a vaccine. Student teams will share what they learned with the class. Informational text for students will provide them with additional information about new vaccines being developed for non-communicable diseases.
View this lesson Download PDF
What Are Vaccines?
Students learn how vaccines work and how they are made by viewing two short videos and answering questions that promote critical thinking related to vaccines and the immune system.
View this lesson Download PDFSocial and Emotional Wellness
Life is Different Now
This school year is different in so many ways for everyone, whether students are learning at home “virtually” or in a face-to-face classroom. In this activity, students will reflect on how life has changed for them during the Covid-19 pandemic.
View this lesson Download PDFK-2
The Eyes Have It
Students identify the emotions projected by the eyes in a series of photographs, then try their hand at creating their own face images, in the style of emojis.
View this lesson Download PDFK-2
STEM@Home Activities
Lessons
Grades K-2
Explore fun activities and resources that connect science content to health and wellness. Learning about the environment and the world around us supports students’ school-based studies and introduces them to basic concepts and scientific understanding.
K-2
Lessons
Grades 3-5
The scale and size of microorganisms is intriguing, and their role in nature and human health is sometimes confusing. These activities allow you and your child to explore the world of the unseen!
Lessons
Grades 6-8
These exciting, interdisciplinary resources are easy to do at home with everyday materials. Keep your middle schooler’s science skills sharp and have a little fun along the way!
Lessons
Grades 9-12
High school students are beginning to investigate in depth many topics online and through their courses. Explore engaging learning experiences, such as easy reading materials that break down difficult concepts as well as career explorations and more.
Funding
The Health HACKS curriculum project is made possible thanks to the support from Laura & John Arnold and Baylor College of Medicine. Scientists, educators, and physicians from Baylor College of Medicine provided content, feedback, and technical reviews.