Microorganisms: friends and foes
Meet bacteria, viruses, fungi and protists, and how some of them cause disease.
Planned. This module is part of the plan and is not written yet.
Why it matters
Microorganisms help ferment cassava for garri and maize for ogi, and keep soil fertile, but others cause cholera and malaria. Knowing which is which explains why we wash our hands and treat drinking water.
Draft outline · in review- For
- Level 7–9 · JSS 1 to JSS 3 (BECE)
- Inside
- 5 lessons and a test · about 60 minutes
- Topic
- Microorganisms and disease · foundation, 1 of 4
Inside the module.
5 lessons in order, about 60 minutes in all, then a short test. Learners go at their own pace; the minutes are a guide, not a timetable.
Draft outline · in review
Lesson 1: Four groups of microbes
Bacteria, viruses, fungi and protists: their sizes and how each lives.
Explain15 min, from minute 0
Lesson 2: Helpful microbes
Fermentation in garri, ogi and yoghurt, and the decomposers that recycle soil.
Investigate10 min, from minute 15
Lesson 3: How microbes cause disease
Pathogens: what they do inside the body.
Explain15 min, from minute 25
Lesson 4: How diseases spread
Through water, air, touch, food and insects, and what breaks each route.
Discussion15 min, from minute 40
Lesson 5: Check your skills
Sort microbes and diseases into groups.
Review5 min, from minute 55
End-of-module test
Name the main groups of microorganisms, and explain how some cause disease and how diseases spread.
Mastered at 85% or more. Retake it until you pass; nothing is lost, and each try gives feedback.
Already know it? A Challenge Test (planned) clears the whole module: 90% overall, no objective below 75%.
Last stageafter about 60 min
Practicalities
Draft outline · in reviewBuilt to run offline
Planned to run on the Lantern's own computer, with no internet needed.
Languages
Planned first in English; every module aims to reach all of the Lantern's languages.
Try a question.
One question from the module, as a learner would meet it. Have a go, then open the worked solution a step at a time.
Draft outline · in review
Malaria is caused by which kind of microorganism?
Particulars
Where it sits
What a learner can do after it
- Name the main groups of microorganisms: bacteria, viruses, fungi and protists.
- Explain how some microorganisms cause disease and how diseases spread.
Needs first
This module has no prerequisites of its own. Like every first step, it assumes the Digital skills gateway: the first module on using a computer, which a Challenge Test clears in minutes.
Level
Level 7–9 · JSS 1 to JSS 3 (BECE)
Level mappings are approximate. A qualified teacher or lecturer in each country must check them before they appear in the app.
Difficulty for its level
1 of 4 · Foundation
Time
About 60 minutes
Alignments
- Aligned to NERDCpartial · in reviewNERDC Basic Science, JSS: microorganisms (descriptive ref)
- Aligned to GCSEintroduces · in reviewGCSE Biology: communicable diseases (descriptive ref)
Alignment in review until a qualified teacher or lecturer checks it. No exam body, university or vendor endorses us; learners still sit the real exam.
Challenge Test
Planned: a Challenge Test to prove you know it and skip it. Pass at 90% overall, with no objective below 75%.
University courses it previews
Medicine and Surgery, Pharmacy, Microbiology, Nursing, Biochemistry
The route here.
Everything this module builds on, drawn as a route from its foundations. Solid lanes must be mastered first, or cleared by a Challenge Test; dashed lanes are suggestions that never lock anything.
This module has no prerequisites of its own. Like every first step, it assumes the Digital skills gateway: the first module on using a computer, which a Challenge Test clears in minutes.
Help light the room where this is learned.
Every route on this map starts in a classroom with 24 stations, a tutor that works offline and a facilitator upstairs. Four are planned and waiting for light.