About the Activities
Animals get sick, just like humans do. This series of activities explores how sickness spreads among animals, how the immune system fights off illness, and how veterinarians examine and treat animals with medicine to help them get back on all four feet.
Grades: 6-8
Topic: Animal Science
Supported by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, Education and Workforce Development Program.
Defense Department
In the first activity of this series, kids will count and categorize different colors of M&Ms to learn how the different kinds of blood cells in human and animal bodies create an immune system that fights against sickness. Oh, and there’s candy involved, so it should be a hit.
Grades: 6-8
Estimated Time: 1 hour
Biosecurity Dominos
One sick animal can quickly spread that illness to others – especially in enclosed spaces like barns. In the second activity, kids will use dominos or blocks, arranging them in different ways to simulate how illnesses are spread and stopped.
Grades: 6-8
Estimated Time: 30 minutes
Sick or Well: How Can You Tell?
Depending on the animal, a dry nose or a runny nose can both be a clue they are sick. In the third activity of this series, kids will learn the kinds of symptoms that veterinarians look for to know if an animal is sick and will examine a pet of their own to find and record any of these signs.
Grades: 6-8
Estimated Time: 30 minutes - 1 hour
Not a Shot in the Dark
In the final activity of the series, kids will mix up a batch of pretend "medicine" and learn how to measure proper doses by weighing the people or animals in their household and applying some basic math.
Grades: 6-8
Estimated Time: 30 minutes

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This work is supported by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, Education and Workforce Development Program, grant no. 2021-67037-33376/ Project Accession No. 1024940, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
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