SciREN Lesson Plan Portal

• Name: Janki Patel
• Position and Institution: Research Assistant, Salk Institute for Biological Studies
• Contact: jpatel@salk.edu
• Available for contact for questions and classroom visits: Yes
• Year contributed: 2020

• Grade Level: 9-12
• Science Domain: Life Sciences
• PE Code: HS-LS1-1

Viruses are always looked upon as something scary. They are thought to be a nuisance to the human-kind (which most are). However, scientists have been able to hack the viruses (much how they hack us when we get infected) and can now use them to deliver special goods to special cells. There are specific things the viruses need to make more copies of themselves. With simple matching exercises, the students can learn how to design their own experiments to get answers to how the brain works. This will give the students insight into how scientists think and design experiments using something we all fear; viruses.

• Viruses
• Central dogma
• DNA
• RNA
• protein

• Lesson Plan