A War You Cannot See: teacher key

Germs, grade 6 edition, written for 6th grade. Your body meets tiny germs every day. Learn how bacteria and viruses differ, how antibodies remember, and why medicine can stop working.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What can antibiotic resistance do?
   • Make a virus smaller
   • Make an antibiotic stop killing bacteria (answer)
   • Heal a cold
2. Who becomes resistant to a medicine?
   • The germs (answer)
   • The doctor
   • Your body
3. What do antibodies do?
   • Make soap
   • Cause colds
   • Lock onto specific germs (answer)
4. Why can a vaccine teach your body?
   • It is a bandage
   • It is a food
   • It imitates an infection (answer)
5. What do toxins do?
   • Make food
   • Damage cells (answer)
   • Cool the air
6. Is antibacterial soap better than plain soap?
   • No, any soap works (answer)
   • Yes, a lot
   • Only in summer

Words

• bacteria: tiny living germs
• antibodies: germ-locking proteins
• resistance: medicine-proof change
• toxins: cell-harming poisons
• vaccine: germ-training shot