My biology class has studied prokaryotic cells and are currently reading The Hot Zone by Richard Preston. We have a project approaching where the students will begin research on contagions in the areas in which they live, they will then complete a lab about “germs” and finish by creating a Public Service Announcement about what they discovered.  The steps for this project are to:

1. Investigate what bacterial pathogen is currently being tackled in your community.  What age group does it generally affect.  How is it contracted, treated and prevented?
2. Create a digital story educating your peers and community about this pathogen.
3. Now investigate a viral pathogen being treated in your community.  What age group does it generally affect.  How is it contracted, treated and prevented?
4. Again, create a digital story educating your peers and community about this pathogen
5. Conduct Germ lab
6. Combine aspects of your 1^st two stories and the information gained from your lab to create a public service announcement for your area.

In preparation of this assignment I created a digital story about bacterial pathogens that are seen in the teen and young adult population.

A digital story about viral pathogens and another about investigating the effectiveness of hand-washing will complete the trio of stories.  These digital stories that will remind the students about past lessons and give them ideas on how to create their own stories.  My sample story featuring “Joe” bacteria from our lesson on prokaryotic cells follows.