Fortifying the Gut – Against Bacterial Onslaught

Instructional Guide

Learners will explore what probiotics are and how they impact the GI system, as well as how they can help animals with diarrhea.

Intended Grade Level

The authors expect the lesson to be completed with success and comprehension for students grades 6-8.

Learning objectives

• Students will gain a basic understanding of the digestive system
• Student will be able to understand how probiotics work 
• Students will be able to understand what diarrhea is
• Students will be able  to understand why probiotics should be used for diarrhea

Lesson Format

Link to the Student Page

This can be done in any size group.

• First students will popcorn read, or read independently the introduction, information on the digestive system, and sections about probiotics.(30 minutes)
• Next, students will explore different kinds of human foods that can be used as probiotics, including those that can be used for dogs. Then students will be asked to identify the probiotics listed that can be used in dog diets. (10 minutes)
• Then students will answer three short true/false questions (5 minutes)

Activities

Students can review an image of different kinds of probiotics that human use, exploring what they are and whether or not they are good for dogs. Then they will answer a quick question to confirm that they have reviewed the material.

Common misconceptions and challenge points

A common misconception may be that all bacteria are bad, and how it is possible to distinguish between good and bad bacteria. Good bacteria is the kind that breaks down food. Bad bacteria is the kind that makes individuals sick.

Assessment

Students are asked to take a short quiz involving three true/false questions that review the material from the chapter.

Further exploration

You can explore other chapters within this book to learn more about this topic, such as these:

Prebiotic vs. Probiotic: Do They Work?