Many people might wonder how in the world do you make the connection of chickens, salmonella, and poop to the 8th grade science curriculum. Believe it or not there are tons of ways to pull my externship into my classroom. A big part of the science standards for 8th grade is about microbiology. From this summer experience I will be able to give even more real-world examples of how microbes are found everywhere in the world. I will use my experience testing for salmonella to show my students the importance of food safety and also explain the difference between good vs bad microbes. This will also lead into great discussion about immunity. One thing I learned is that chickens are not affected by having salmonella in them; however, humans can become extremely ill when we come in contact with it. I will also connect the different career paths students could one day go into to learn and understand more about microbes and how they are a part of our everyday lives. The big connection my students will make from this project is that microbes are everywhere from our water to the tiny pores on our skin…..which is quite amazing if you ask me! 

There are numerous ways to connect this project to my classroom. Students will definitely get a better insight of the microbes that are all around them to the potential careers they could go into to learn more about microbiology.