Students know that most microorganisms do not cause disease and that many are beneficial.

As noted in the California Science Framework (page 62), “this standard helps students to look beyond the common misconceptions that bacteria are responsible only for diseases and that microorganisms are responsible only for decomposition.” For example, photosynthetic single-celled organisms in the ocean are the primary producers for vast ecosystems.

The American Society for Microbiology has an education section on their website. The information there is generally too advanced for most 4th grade students. However, it can be an excellent resource for teachers. One section, called “Microbiology: What It’s All About,” can be accessed at

http://www.microbeworld.org/htm/aboutmicro/abt_start.htm

This part of the website begins by informing us that microbes are single-cell organisms so tiny that millions can fit into the eye of a needle. They are the oldest form of life on earth. Microbe fossils date back more than 3.5 billion years to a time when the Earth was covered with oceans that regularly reached the boiling point, hundreds of millions of years before dinosaurs roamed the earth. Without microbes, we couldn’t eat or breathe. Without us, they’d probably be just fine. Understanding microbes is vital to understanding the past and the future of ourselves and our planet.