KS2: Useful Microbes
Students will learn that not all microbes are harmful by examining when microbes are useful to humans. A yeast racing competition is used to demonstrate to students that microbes can be beneficial.
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Learning objectives
- Investigate how microbes interact with their environment, exploring how some support health and are used in beneficial ways, and understanding the factors that influence growth.
Background Information
Microbes can be both useful and harmful. One of the main ways in which microbes are beneficial is in the food industry. Cheese, bread, yoghurt, chocolate, vinegar and alcohol are all produced through the growth of microbes.
The microbes used to make these products cause a chemical change known as fermentation – a process by which the microbes break down the complex sugars into simple compounds like carbon dioxide and alcohol.
This lesson plan will introduce the concept of useful microbes by looking at how fungi makes bread dough rise and identify other microbes that are used to make other food products.
Activities
Main activity:- Yeast Races
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Curriculum links
Curriculum Key Elements
- Personal Health and Moral Character
Curriculum Skills
- Communication
- Using Mathematics
- Thinking
- Problem Solving and Decision Making
- Being Creative
- Working with Others
Curriculum Areas of Learning
- Personal Development and Mutual Understanding (PDMU)
The World Around Us (TWAU