Morning Starters: Spring 1 - Microorganisms
Did You Know?
Though not strictly a microorganism, a virus is a microscopic infectious agent that replicates itself when it is transferred and infects the cell of a plant or animal. They are responsible for diseases such as COVID-19 (see photograph below), the flu, chickenpox and measles. The immune systems of humans and other animals are designed to fight viruses. They produce white blood cells and substances called antibodies that attack viruses.
Credit: BBC News World Service
Word Challenge
Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check
Use the above strategy to learn the spellings of the words underlined in the ‘Did you know?’ paragraph.
Grammar Challenge
Copy and complete the following sentence with an effective simile.
Under the microsope, the COVID-19 virus looked like…
e.g. Under the microsope, the COVID-19 virus looked like a Christmas bauble.
Number Challenge
- Viruses are so small they are measured in nanometres.
- One nanometre is equal to one billionth of a metre.
What does a billionth of a metre look like as a decimal number?
Critical Thinking
The COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact on our lives
What can we learn from the experience?