TEKS Covered by this Module:
6th Grade: New TEKS for 2010
6.1 A,B Laboratory and Field Investigations
6.2 A-E Scientific Inquiry
6.3 A Scientific Reasoning
6.4 A,B Tools and Safety
7th Grade: New TEKS for 2010
7.1 A, B Laboratory and Field Investigations
7.2 A-E Scientific Inquiry
7.3 A Scientific Reasoning
7.4 A, B Tools and Safety
7.10 A Microhabitats and biomes
7.11 A, B, C Organisms and their environments-unique traits
7.12 A Organisms and their environments-structure and function
7.13 A, B Organisms and environments-response to external or internal stimuli
7.14 C Inherited traits
8th Grade: New TEKS for 2010:
8.1 A, B Laboratory and Field Investigations
8.2 A, B, C, D, E Scientific Inquiry
8.3 A, D Scientific Reasoning
8.4 A, B Tools and Safety
8.11 A, B Organisms and environments Parasite/Host relationship
How to Apply to a Classroom Lesson:
This lesson will engage students and explore in detail symbiotic relationships amongst living systems. Students will be able to see parasitic relationships and their harmful effects on their host. They will be able to relate this presentation to their real world experiences either with their pets or family members.
The host body can be seen as an environment of its own, as can the area in which it lives. Teachers can use this presentation to lead students in a discussion about the different factors that affect our ecosystems which in turn harbor food webs and their ability to thrive or perish.
Teachers can also discuss how these parasites affect the homeostasis within the body of its host. What systems are affected? These topics are covered under interaction among system within the human body and how organisms try to maintain a stable internal environment. This is a great hook into many more lessons on ecosystems, food webs, equilibrium, homeostasis, and the structure and function and interactions of multiple systems, both in the environment and within organisms.
© Partnership for Environmental Education and Rural Health
College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University
Funding support from the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health