Topic: What threatens us?

Target group

4th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

General aim of education

Students identify microbes as disease‑causing factors.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• explain what bacteria and viruses are and what diseases they cause;

• explain how to prevent diseases and how to treat them;

• describe the significance of positive and negative microorganisms.

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • talk.

• activating

  • discussion.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers;

• health books with vaccinations;;

• work cards with a table.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

• The teacher asks students to bring a health book to the lesson in which they have documented vaccinations to which they have been subjected..

Introduction

• The teacher explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.

Realization

• The teacher writes on the board and explains five or more new English words related to the subject of the lesson. Then the teacher plays the audio recording of the abstract, asking the students to raise their hands when they hear one of the written on the board words. Lesson participants can also note how many times they have captured a given word.

• The teacher asks students to read the given fragment of the abstract and try to remember its content. Then the participants, working in pairs, ask each other about the knowledge of the fragment.

• Work in pairs. Table data analysis. Students discuss in pairs and then write down their explanations. The pointed out couples discuss their studies within the class.

• The teacher asks the students to check in their health books which diseases have been vaccinated so far - he records the disease on the board. The teacher explains to students the concepts: symptoms and complications. He then shows the students Table 1 of the Childhood Disease and asks the pupils to read and prevent them from vaccinating for a specific disease.

• The teacher asks students to carry out the recommended interactive exercise themselves.

• Participants familiarize themselves with the content presented in the interactive illustration. Then the teacher discusses the issues with the students.

Summary

• The teacher chooses one student by random method and asks him or her to explain in own words the meaning of a given word or concept learned during the lesson.

• At the end of the lesson the teacher asks: If there was going to be a test on the material we have covered today, what questions do you think would you have to answer? If the students do not manage to name all the most important questions, the teacher may complement their suggestions.

Homework

• Develop a lap book containing issues learned during the lesson and bring your work to the next class.

• Listen to the abstract recording at home. Pay attention to pronunciation, accent and intonation. Learn to pronounce the words learned during the lesson.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

What threatens us?

What is disease? Simply put, it is a condition when the body is not healthy, i.e. it does not function properly.There may be many reasons for this, but one of the most common is the effect of harmful microorganisms called pathogens. Our body can fight them. However, sometimes, for example due to an unhealthy lifestyle, we can not cope with them. Then we are sick.

What are microbes? They are very diverse organisms of small size, usually built from one cell. They can only be seen under a microscope, therefore they are also called microorganisms. We include among them bacteria and viruses. Bacteria are found all around us: in the earth, in the water, and even in the air. They are often useful – many of them live in the bodies of animals (including us!), facilitating the digestion of foods and the production of vitamins. Some may, however, cause diseases, e.g. angina, otherwise known as pharyngitis. Others, living in the ground, break down dead parts of plants and animals.

Other pathogens are viruses. Many of them are dangerous to us. Viruses have a simple structure, which is why they are subject to frequent and rapid changes. Therefore, combating them is very difficult – sometimes it turns out that effective medicines in one year, by the next year do not work anymore.
We also include some fungi as microorganisms. They cause diseases called fungal infections. Most often these are skin diseases, but some fungi can also affect the lungs.

There are diseases that most of us go through at a young age, we call them childhood diseases. They are usually caused by viruses and have one thing in common: after a single illness, the body is immune to them for life! Despite this, children are vaccinated for some of these diseases because after vaccination the symptoms are milder. Children's diseases are troublesome but not dangerous for people at an early age, it can be worse if they happen to an adult.

• Many diseases are caused by harmful microorganisms (eg bacteria and viruses).

• Diseases caused by bacteria are treated with antibiotics.

• Some bacteria are useful for us and the environment.

• Diseases transmitted at a young age are called childhood diseases.