New TGR EDU: Explore lesson introduces biotechnology through Zika Virus studies

TGR Foundation has been busy since the start of the new year developing fresh content for educators across the country to use in their classrooms. One of our newest TGR EDU: Explore resources, Beating Mosquitoes at Their Own Game, introduces high school students to the exciting field of biotechnology.

Beating Mosquitoes at Their Own Game is a unique, interdisciplinary lesson plan that fuses science, technology, mathematics, ethics, and english language arts into a week-long experience. During the lesson, students not only learn how infectious diseases are spread but also uncover specific concerns of the Zika virus and debate whether genetic modification of mosquitos is an appropriate method to stall or eliminate the spread of disease.

This lesson, like all resources available on TGR EDU: Explore, is free for educators to download. In addition to the lesson plan, an engaging PowerPoint presentation walks educators – and their students – through the lesson. The presentation includes, among numerous elements and guiding questions, embedded videos that help explain complex topics in more detail. 

TGR Foundation is committed to providing innovative, standards-aligned resources that help develop students’ passions, make learning authentic and, knowing that educators are time-strapped already, require minimal prep time and expensive equipment. Beating Mosquitos at their Own Game is just the latest example of many TGR EDU: Explore assets that do just that.

While on the site, be sure to check out more of the new STEM resources launched this year, including Magnetic Migration, which has middle school students explore the topics of magnetism and migration by conducting a series of hands-on experiments, and Geometric Building Design, a math-focused lesson bundle that challenges students to develop spatial reasoning skills and design a building.

For students and families in the midst of college planning, our latest college-access lesson bundle has high school students assume the role of a scholarship selection committee member to determine which three fictional applicants should be awarded funds for college. Through this collaborative activity, titled Scholarship Case Study: Reducing the Gap, students will come to understand how important a well-rounded, thoughtful application is when applying for financial aid.

To explore the variety of engaging STEM and college-access lessons and resources on TGR EDU: Explore, stop by the curriculum page today.

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