KS3: Antibiotic Use and Antimicrobial Resistance
This lesson introduces students to the growing global public health threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through an interactive bacteria flash card game.
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Learning objectives
- Understand the appropriate use of antibiotics, the importance of completing prescribed courses, the risks of misuse, and the impact of antibiotic resistance on health.
Background Information
Antimicrobials are medicines used to kill or slow the growth of microbes and antibiotics are special medicines used by doctors to kill harmful bacteria. Some antibiotics stop the bacteria reproducing and others kill the bacteria. Antibiotics treat infectious diseases caused by bacteria, such as meningitis, tuberculosis and pneumonia. They do not harm viruses, so antibiotics cannot treat diseases such as colds, flu and COVID-19, which are caused by viruses.
Before antibiotics were invented, harmful bacteria were life threatening. Today, however, many bacterial infections are easily treated with antibiotics – but bacteria are fighting back. Through increased exposure to the antibiotics, bacteria are becoming resistant to them. This means that bacterial infections are once again becoming life threatening.
In this lesson, students are introduced to the growing global public health threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). They learn how antibiotics were discovered, their limitations, and why antibiotic resistance is a threat.
Activities
Main activity:- Antibiotics Can/Can’t Game
- Antimicrobial Resistance Flash Card Game
- Growth of Bacterial Lawn
- Antibiotic Resistance Debate Kit
- Antibiotics Conclusions
Curriculum links
Curriculum Key Elements
- Personal Health and Moral Character
Curriculum Skills
- Communication
- Managing Information
- Thinking
- Problem Solving and Decision-Making
- Working with others
Curriculum Areas of Learning
- Learning for Life and Work (Personal Development: Personal Health)
- Science and Technology (Science: Organisms and Health)