Microbiology Unit Study for Middle School

My rising 7th grader will be completing this microbiology unit study. I had a previously completed microbiology study, but I am using different spines, changing some of the videos, and scaling it back a little to suit my youngest child.

This study will include cells, microscope exploration, genetics, and bacteria.

These are the spines that I am using for this study:

• Microscopic Life by Richard Walker
• Prentice Hall Science Explorer Cells and Heredity
• Prentice Hall Science Explorer From Bacteria to Plants

Introduction to Microbiology

• Microscopic Life by Richard Walker Chapter 1
• Size and Scale https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaGEjrADGPA
• Explore https://www.cellsalive.com/howbig_js.htm
• Microscopic Life by Richard Walker Chapter 2
• 7 Wonders of the Microbe World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuZQUEFD52I
• Microscopic Life by Richard Walker Chapter 3
• Microscopic World Around Us https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyXrtODhJEA

Microscope Exploration

• Introduction to the Microscope  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVcEEw6qbBQ
• Explore prepared microscope slides
• Electron microscope pictures https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yutNM8AIkkk

History of Microbiology

• Read Prentice Hall Cells and Heredity pg 6-13
• Microscope History and Anton Van Leeuwenhoek https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yDFLzNrh7U
• The Story of Louis Pasteur https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLKaJtv-QbU
• Ignaz Semmelwis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUp9mUyVIGA
• Alexander Fleming https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RGs-2eNnjM
• Edward Jenner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga0B9PjUOhw
• Brief History of Cells https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eThaEkKm54k
• Explore microscope slides

Cells Structure and Function

• Read Prentice Hall Cells and Heredity pg 16-24
• Draw a plant cell and make a plant cell cake
• Components of Blood and Their Importance  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSVYgivfs9c
• Function of red blood cells https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhqcB34AwpU
• How White Blood Cells Work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TvTyj5FAaQ
• White Blood Cells Types and Functions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tdx-U8S6ZMk
• Write a summary of the function of red and white blood cells
• Make edible red and white blood cells
• Complete Eldon Blood Typing Kit
• Read Prentice Hall Chemical Compounds in Cells pg 25-30
• Hidden Life of the Cell Daily Motion video
• Programming of Life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00vBqYDBW5s
• Draw an animal cell and make an animal cell cake.
• Explore microscope slides
• Read Prentice Hall The Cell in Its Environment pg 32-37
• Watch Diffusion by Amoeba Sisters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhszFBtBPoI
• Watch Osmosis and Water Potential by Amoeba Sisters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-osEc07vMs&t=247s
• Complete chapter 1 review on page 39 and 41

 Cell Processes and Energy

• Read Prentice Hall Photosynthesis pg 44-48
• Watch photosynthesis by Amoeba Sisters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uixA8ZXx0KU
• Read Prentice Hall Respiration pg 49-54
• Watch Cellular Respiration by Amoeba Sisters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Eo7JtRA7lg
• Watch Fermentation by Amoeba Sisters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbdkbCU20_M
• Make a yeast bread recipe. Cut a piece to determine if there is evidence of fermentation.
• Read Prentice Hall Cell Division pg 55-63
• Amoeba Sisters Mitosis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-ldPgEfAHI
• Read Prentice Hall Cancer pg 64-69
• Amoeba Sisters Cell Cycle and Cancer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVCjdNxJreE
• Microscope exploration
• Chapter 2 review on page 71-73

Genetics: The Science of Heredity

• Read Prentice Hall Mendel’s Work pg 76-81
• Gregor Mendel My Favorite Scientist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxKFdQo10rE
• Mendel’s Peas, Bateson’s Chicks, and Wheldale’s Snapdragons https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azHCd9c59KU
• Wisconsin Fast Plants Monohybrid Genetics Student Kit
• Complete pg 82-83 project. Make a list of family members and determine if they have free/attached earlobes, hair on fingers/no hair on fingers, widow’s peak/no widow’s peak, curly hair/straight hair, cleft chin/smooth chin, smile dimples/no dimples.
• Read Prentice Hall Probability and Heredity pg 84-89
• How special are your physical traits https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SdCoNpDzqw
• How Mendel’s Pea Plants Helped Us Understand Genetics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mehz7tCxjSE
• Are Your Traits Dominant https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnSkz8s-b44
  Nature and Nurture The Study of Twins  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji6edLCfV60
• Use ScienceWiz DNA Kit to extract DNA from fruit
• Read Prentice Hall The Cell and Inheritance pg 92-96
• Genetics Bill Nye https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuFODX4VuAw
• Meiosis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzDMG7ke69g
• Monohybrid Crosses https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-0rSv6oxSY
• Use Science Wiz DNA Kit to Build a DNA Ladder
• Read Prentice Hall The DNA Connection pg 97-103
• DNA Replication https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqe4thU-os8
• Mutations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl6Vlf2thvI
• Watch DNA The Human Race https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZvPZke8NXc
• Chapter 3 review pg 103-107
• Use ScienceWiz DNA Kit to sort chromosomes

Modern Genetics

• Read Prentice Hall Human Inheritance pg 110-116
• DNA Mysteries A Search for Adam https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCjVY3xMUko
• Read Prentice Hall Human Genetic Disorders pg 117-122
• Watch Genetic Disorders playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDepNq_7J8OmkZwWEt-fe_ErBre8P8xP7
• Read Prentice Hall Advances in Genetics pg 123-131
• Genetic engineering short https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAjsegfQyPk
• Human Genome Project https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcTsXhjcmPw
• Chapter 4 review pg 132-135
• Use ScienceWiz DNA Kit to extract your own DNA and make DNA ink

Viruses and Bacteria

• Prentice Hall From Bacteria to Plants – Viruses pg 40-46
• The Evolution of viruses https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O-wFxuIiSA
• Germ Menace https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuNCXjQ-4UM
• Why You Are Still Alive https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQGOcOUBi6s
• How the Immune System Works https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Non4MkYQpYA
• Microscope exploration
• Prentice Hall Bacteria pg 48-57
• Bacteria https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORB866QSGv8
• Petri dish experiment www.stevespanglerscience.com experiment
• Bacteria https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIqwggzbBoA
• Microbiology structure https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzIKJpcfXfo
• Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria https://www.pbs.org/video/hunting-nightmare-bacteria-update-nqil1d/
• Microscope exploration
• Typhoid Mary  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dWfndZwG18
• Home Science Tools Bacteria Experiment Kit Experiment 1 Bacteria in the Air
• Home Science Tools Bacteria Experiment Kit Experiment 2 Bacteria on Surfaces
• Viruses, Bacteria, and Your Health pg 60-67
• Home Science Tools Bacteria Experiment Kit Experiment 3 Bacteria on Hands
• Home Science Tools Bacteria Experiment Kit Experiment 4 Isolating Bacteria
• Microscope exploration
• Flu Attack How a Virus Invades Your Body https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpj0emEGShQ
• Cell vs Virus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqGuJhOeMek
• Watch Coronovirus Explained on Netflix – episodes 1 and 2. https://www.netflix.com/title/81273378

Protists and Fungi

• Read Prentice Hall From Bacteria to Plants – Protists pg 74-83
• 4 Ways Algae is awesome https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agWS8MH6voM
• Kelp Forest Marine Forest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJabJCH9EGA
• Life in a Drop of Water video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JwVfAldL2o
• Make microscope slides of algae from fish tank. Compare microscope slides of pool water, pooled water in mud, tap water, and fish tank water.
• Read Prentice Hall Algal Blooms pg 84-87
• Complete experiment of algae bloom with aquarium water and liquid fertilizer on page 87
• Read Prentice Hall Fungi pg 88-95
• Fungi Fantastic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpCARk689zU
• Spore rain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mrphn1zOWaE
• Food Mold 101 video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyqOE2Z-MdU
• Making Mold experiment http://www.scienceprojectideas.org/bread-mold-experiment.htm
• Microscope exploration of mold.
• Chapter 3 review pg 98-101

Microbes and Humans

• Secret Life of Head Lice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a3_SZtgHYE
• Dust mites https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACrLMtPyRM0
• Creatures on Your Body https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrmashOX5EU
• Deer Ticks and Lyme Disease https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9bgc4V3zl8
• Microbes that live with us https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_ZRZkU-FEw
• The Invisible Universe of the Human Microbiome https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DTrENdWvvM
• The human biome and what we do to it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEZSuwkx7Ik
• Probiotics A Quick Trip Inside Our Gut https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjPvSpKh5oI
• Know Your Gut https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjdivDJ9cho
• Explore probiotic foods and choose some new ones to try http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/probiotics-10/slideshow-probiotics
• Watch 2 episodes of Monsters Inside Me
• Explore microbes on and in body by petri dish cultivation with samples from mouth, sweat, skin (under arm), nose, and hair.

Microbes in the World Around Us

• The Unknown Microworld Dust Mites https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47CIdUld8eQ
• Bed Bugs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfKCcSPCOQo
• How to Know if You Have Bed Bugs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVk3xFClDQA
• Take samples from bedrooms or other areas in the house and look under the microscope to see if any dust mites can be found.  http://www.livestrong.com/article/246335-how-to-tell-if-you-have-dust-mites/
• What Do Yeast Like to Eat? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mxqGF9JZHI
• Fermentation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbdkbCU20_M&t=376s
• Observe yeast, sugar, water mixture on microscope slide
• Swabbing drain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miM6jWJ3HSw
• Microbes in Drains – get samples from the bathroom, kitchen and tub drain for petri dish cultivation.
• Rotting food time lapse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwTCdcs8gGg
• Rotting kebab time lapse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUlYNNGGtgs
• Rotting cocktail time lapse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hQVATMNbtU
• Pork and coke experiment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quCvJGbPlUA
• Aquarium water microorganisms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDrqZNZ96mg
• 10 Ways to Get Rid of Algae https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NlRuBu8BNo
• Mysterious Microbes Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNn3vVF2Dgs (13)
• Mysterious Microbes Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BibGzhuDWJE (13)
• The Science and Art of Cheese https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G6yzLSByHQ (10)
• From Cow to Cheese https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX3cLS2m67c (12)
• British Cheese Board Making Cheese https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXhXTs5uwyg (13)
• Making Colby cheese at home https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0QzytxYeI8 (30)
• Watch and make mozzarella cheese https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWh2LS9WJIk (14)
• Make Mozzarella and Ricotta with Ricki’s Cheesemaking Kit
• Wastewater:  Where Does it Go? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaXth88i7rk
• Wastewater Treatment Plant Tour:  Flush to Finish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRaptzcp9G4 (26)
• Travels of Bob the soil bacterium https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3IUVEfQueo
• Soil Stories https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ego6LI-IjbY (30)
• Soil Biology https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuHznslr8aI (5)
• Harvest Microbes from the land to build your soil https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCBJ0rXwILY
• Bury rice sock in the dirt for a month and observe the changes each week.
• The Perfect Compost Recipe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1kIpCBD3UI
• How to make compost the easy way https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wltDnYKVE4 (12)
• Fill the compost bin and observe change over time.
• The hidden life in pond water https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIMJWWpOrjw
• One drop of water https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-7YQXusDR0
• Creatures in my water https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7Qo2thTMaA
• Microscope exploration