Microbes All Around

Give students fresh practice with microbes in this quick Science Spotlight. Four new cases — strep throat, chickenpox, a mold medicine, and an ocean drifter — have learners name the type of microbe (bacteria, virus, fungus, or protist) and then judge whether it is helpful or harmful in that situation.

What makes this sheet more than repetition is the deliberate flip: microbes that were helpful in a first look are harmful here, and vice versa. Bacteria cause strep throat, while a mold produces a medicine that kills bacteria, and single-celled algae release oxygen into the ocean. The takeaway is precise and important — helpful or harmful describes the case, not the whole group of microbes.

The word bank supplies the four fill-in answers, and its definitions keep the discriminator front and center: bacteria have no nucleus, protists have one, a virus is not alive on its own, and a fungus includes molds. Every card's underline task points to the clue that reveals the type, so students reason from evidence. A clean answer key shows the microbe, the correct choice, and the clue in red.

Built for grades 6–8 and aligned to NGSS MS-LS1-1, this is an ideal second practice sheet in a microbes unit. Just print and teach.