Auditory anatomy, audiograms, cochlear implants, immune response, vaccine design, herd immunity.
What to do if absent- CER:
- Claim, Evidence, Reasoning — make a claim, back it with evidence, explain your reasoning.
- SOP:
- Standard Operating Procedure — the exact steps to follow (especially in a lab).
- Tracker:
- Your PLTW progress log where you record completed evidence.
- myPLTW:
- The PLTW course site where you do the online activities — you open it through Schoology.
Week overview - Sound and shields: audiograms, the immune response, and vaccines
Read an audiogram and connect immune response to vaccine design and herd immunity to complete Unit 1 evidence.
- 1Label a diagram of the ear, marking the cochlea and hair cells.
- 2Read a sample audiogram and identify the frequencies where hearing loss appears.
- 3Diagram a basic immune response, labeling adaptive immunity.
- 4Explain in one sentence how a vaccine trains adaptive immunity before real exposure.
- 5Use a model dataset to show how herd immunity slows disease spread as coverage rises.
- 6Assemble your Unit 1 evidence so the tracker is ready for audit.
- • You will be able to read an audiogram for hearing loss.
- • You will be able to explain how a vaccine engages adaptive immunity.
- • You will be able to describe how herd immunity protects a population.
Daily lessons this week
Open any day for its full lesson, the work due that day, and guided notes.
One CER (claim, two evidences, reasoning) on cochlear implant ethics plus a three-sentence reflection.
Labeled audiogram with threshold plots, speech banana marked, and one-sentence severity classification.
Adaptive immunity diagram, two-scenario disease-model data table, and one comparison sentence.
Two herd immunity threshold calculations with work shown, and one sentence explaining who herd immunity protects.
Unit 1 tracker audit (gap list) plus a short hearing-and-vaccine intervention recommendation for the case patient.
Quick intro to the week
- Hook: the same biology that lets you hear a whisper also decides whether a community resists an outbreak.
- Today's goal: read an audiogram and connect immunity to vaccine design while finishing your Unit 1 evidence.
- This week's Monday bioethics debate is cochlear implants, so weigh technology against identity and choice.
- Reminder: your Unit 1 tracker and all evidence are submitted in the PLTW course shell for audit.
Your PLTW coursework this week
Do this: Complete and submit the PLTW Unit 1 tracker in the online course shell with your hearing and vaccination evidence.
- • Hair cells in the cochlea convert sound into nerve signals.
- • Vaccines prime adaptive immunity so the body responds faster to real infection.
- • Read an audiogram to locate hearing loss.
- • Explain how herd immunity limits disease spread.
📋 PLTW tracker evidence due this week: completed Unit 1 tracker with audiogram analysis and vaccine and herd-immunity evidence ready for audit.
All PLTW activities are completed inside the PLTW course environment — this page only gives direction.
This week's PLTW tracker
Your week at a glance. Check off each deliverable as you finish it, then submit so Mr. Mendoza can see how the class is pacing.
Use the code Mr. Mendoza gave you, not your name. Saved on this device.
| Day | Date | Focus | Key deliverable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Wed, Oct 7 | Cochlear implant debate | One CER (claim, two evidences, reasoning) on cochlear implant ethics plus a three-sentence reflection. |
| Tuesday | Thu, Oct 8 | Audiogram interpretation | Labeled audiogram with threshold plots, speech banana marked, and one-sentence severity classification. |
| Wednesday | Mon, Oct 12 | Vaccine and disease-model lab | Adaptive immunity diagram, two-scenario disease-model data table, and one comparison sentence. |
| Thursday | — | Herd immunity math | Two herd immunity threshold calculations with work shown, and one sentence explaining who herd immunity protects. |
| Friday | — | Unit 1 tracker check | Unit 1 tracker audit (gap list) plus a short hearing-and-vaccine intervention recommendation for the case patient. |
- M: cochlear implant debate
- T: audiogram interpretation
- W: vaccine model
- Th: herd immunity math
- F: Unit 1 tracker check
Due by week's end: Hearing / vaccine intervention case recommendation.
Lab day — what to bring & watch
This explainer accompanies the PLTW lab protocol — watch it before lab.
What to do when absent
Most days, this class is your PLTW coursework — and PLTW is online and individual. So being out usually just means doing exactly what we did in class, from home.
Open Schoology (CMSD) and keep goingHow to get there: open the CMSD website, click Clever, sign in with your Microsoft (district) account, then open Schoology from Clever.
You can't do those from home — do this instead: Online case / data analysis.
Class still runs. A substitute will post today's plan — complete the online activity above; it's built to be self-guided. Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
NIH MedlinePlusVocabulary
Virtual resources
Teacher-posted resources
Classroom documents for this lesson. Ones marked “Open the file” open right here; the rest are posted in Schoology. Use the label on each card to choose the right move.
Use this with the vaccination lesson to connect vaccine development to a real example.
Placement rationale
Relocated to the vaccination lesson (Unit 1.4), where the COVID vaccine activity supports the day. Visibility: student-schoology.
Use this if you were absent, got stuck, or need another pass before you submit the lesson artifact.
Placement rationale
Matched Hearing loss, cochlear implants, vaccines by path:Medical-Interventions/Unit-1_How-to-Fight-Infection/1.3_Hearing-Loss; keywords:hearing, audiogram, cochlear. Score 142. Visibility: student-schoology (student-facing resource; link through Schoology rather than local path).
Use this if you were absent, got stuck, or need another pass before you submit the lesson artifact.
Placement rationale
Matched Hearing loss, cochlear implants, vaccines by path:Medical-Interventions/Unit-1_How-to-Fight-Infection/1.4_Vaccination; keywords:vaccine, vaccination. Score 142. Visibility: student-schoology (student-facing resource; link through Schoology rather than local path).
Open this when the class reaches this activity and use it to complete the required lesson artifact.
Placement rationale
Matched Hearing loss, cochlear implants, vaccines by path:Medical-Interventions/Unit-1_How-to-Fight-Infection/1.4_Vaccination; keywords:vaccine, vaccination. Score 142. Visibility: student-schoology (student-facing resource; link through Schoology rather than local path).
How to get there: open the CMSD website, click Clever, sign in with your Microsoft (district) account, then open Schoology from Clever.
Standards this week
WebXam practice
Drop your Week 8 here. Use a clear file name (your initials + project). Routine work still goes to Schoology (via the CMSD portal).
Upload a project