This lesson familiarizes students with the anatomy of the immune system. By sharing symptoms of common illnesses they have experienced, students will begin to feel the relevance of the program. Students create a T-chart of locations and functions of organs and tissues of the immune system and label a diagram of the human body. There is discussion about the immune system’s interaction with pathogens.

Time: Up to two 45 minute sessions

Lesson questions

• What parts of the body are associated with the immune system?
• What are the locations and functions of organs and tissues associated with the immune system?               

Teacher files

Here you'll find your lesson plan and a quick overview of the lesson content, activities and recommended prerequisites.

• Lesson Plan
• Prep Steps (PPT)
• Prep Steps (PDF)

Lesson resources

• Eternal Vigilance: The Human Immune System (reading passage)
• A Virus Attacks a Cell (video animation)
• How Do Viruses Reproduce? (video animation)

Student files

This student worksheet can be distributed to your students digitally or on paper.