|This lesson is discrete and can be taught
as a single lesson or in conjunction with others in this series.
The Teacher Resources include pre-and
post-tests for this lesson; these may be used at the teacher's
discretion. The lesson includes three activities.
- Students will understand that different bacteria
have different characteristics (i.e., bacteria cluster in colonies),
different size, shape, etc.
- Students will understand that different
strains of bacteria can be identified by colony morphology (colony
- Students will learn that they cannot identify
good vs. harmful bacteria with this laboratory experiment.
gain awareness that bacteria are everywhere, and that different
surfaces have different levels of organisms,
will be increased.
- Students will become aware that not all bacteria is
harmful; in fact, most bacteria are beneficial.
This lesson was drawn from the
first module in Science and Our Food Supply: Investigating Food
Safety from Farm to Table: Teacher's Guide for High School Science
Classroom (National Science Teacher's
This innovative and supplemental curriculum introduces students
to the fundamentals of microbiology while at the same time imparting
important public health information.
The curricula found in Science Our Food Supply were developed
in cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The curricula that you will be using includes two laboratory lessons
and three public health lessons. In different formats, these lessons
are in Science and Our Food Supply. The lessons have all been tested
by an experienced team of middle level teachers and meet National
Science Education Standards.