Once upon a time there was a boy named Jonathan who was able to have 100% attendance in school from kindergarten through fourth grade. He is in your fifth grade class this year. You are wondering how it is possible that he doesn't ever become ill. His doctor says he has a wonderful immune system. What does this mean?

To fully understand why Jonathan doesn't ever become ill, the fifth grade students will research the following structures and mechanisms that help the human body fight disease including:

• Tears, saliva, cilia, skin
• White blood cells
• Response to vaccination

Essential Question:How do the various components of the immune system work together to keep us free from disease?

Task and Product

Task
Your task is to gather information about one part of the immune system with a partner.You will work in teams. There will be two people researching each part of the human immune system in your team.

Team members will share the results of their research with each other by completing the immunology chart.

After completing the immunology chart, each team will prepare an oral presentation for the class.

The team immunology charts will be posted and students will participate in a gallery walk and vote on which component is most important.

Product

Each student will write a response on how the various components of the immune system work together to keep us free from disease.

As a team you will create a video documentary or a chart that tells how the the three parts of the immune system protect your body from illness.

Assessments

The following scoring tools will be used to assess both the process of gathering information and your finished product.

• Note-taking rubric: Immunlolgy
• Research process -Summativre(student/self)
• Research process - Summative (teacher)

Question

Essential Question: How do the various components of the immune system work together to keep us free from disease?

Subsidiary questions:

• Why are tears important?
• How do white blood cells fight germs?
• How do mucous membranes prevent pathogens from entering the body?
• What is a vaccine?
• What does a vaccine contain?

Gather and Sort

Each member of your team should complete one of the following note-taking sheets for the part of the immune system that has been assigned to you.

• Note-taking sheet for the different parts of the immune system.
  

After completing the research,an immunology chart will be prepared by each individual student.

Gather information about from a variety of sources.

Be sure to avoid plagiarism and keep track of your resources for a bibliography.

Organize

Analyze your research to determine if you have supplied all of the necessary information.

Synthesize your findings by choosing to answer one of the following questions:

• When is your skin not able to protect your body from germs?
• What response in your body does a vaccine trigger?
• Why might you need special vaccinations when you travel to foreign countries?

Evaluate the effectiveness of your research for the task.

• Have you gathered sufficient details about your part of the immune system on your note-taking sheet?
• Have you completely filled out your Immunology table showing how all of the parts help to fight pathogens?
• Have you used the scoring tool for oral presentations to help you when your team gives its presentation to the class?

Conclusion

Reflection and/or Extension Activities:

1. Jonathan does have a very good immune system which has allowed him to have 100% attendance in school since kindergarten. How would your health be affected if one part of the immune system was not working or if there weren't any vaccines available?

Write an extended constructed response to answer the following question:

Do you think one part of the immune system is more important than another? Why?

2.Use the following scoring tool to help with the constructed response:

• Extended Constructed Response Scoring Tool