Introductory biology and medicine class (P3 or P4)
Age: 8 -14
Class Description
The course covers basic chemistry of life, processes of organisms, as well as medical topics such as disease-causing agents, basic epidemiology, etc. Some history of science will be covered as well when convenient.
This class will prepare kids for biology in school and can also be a good foray into medicine and the medical sciences. Even if kids are not that interested in STEM fields it is still a good idea to take this course. As pandemics will inevitably become more common, in line with the trend observed over the past few decades, it is important for kids to understand the microbial world that we all must entangle with. Children can learn how to research medical topics, how to defend against disease, and how to differentiate between real and fake medical information.
About Teachers:
Emily Xiao, an 11th grader who has interest in science. She self-studied AP Biology and scored a 5 on the exam, making her qualified to teach this course. Emily enjoys reading books and research papers on microbiology, epidemiology, and various other fields.
Course outline:
Note: The level of detail I will go into regarding the subject will vary with what level of understanding kids come prepared with
Unit 1 – Basic chemistry: elements, molecules, atoms, intermolecular forces and bonding
Unit 2 – Properties of water: adhesion and cohesion, pH/acids and bases, solvent properties, etc.
Unit 3 – Macromolecules: carbon structures, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, proteins
Unit 4 – Cells: properties of life, prokaryotes and eukaryotes, organelles, cell division
Unit 5 – Disease agents: bacteria, viruses, protists, fungi, multicellular parasites
Unit 6 – Infection: transmission, molecular interactions between disease agent and healthy cell, immune response, symptoms
Unit 7 – Epidemiology: statistics, investigation of patterns, ecology of disease agents, real-life examples, and problems
Course materials:
Pen / Pencil, Notebook (preferably lined) or paper to write on, Optional folder.
Time:
- 3:20pm – 4:05pm OR
- 4:15pm – 5:00pm
