Immunity and vaccination
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe what a vaccine is and how a vaccination works to create immunity.
Key learning points
- After exposure to a pathogen, memory cells remain in the body to provide immunity.
- Vaccination creates immunity by injecting a small amount of a dead or inactivated pathogen in a vaccine into the body.
- White blood cells mount an immune response by producing antibodies against the pathogen in the vaccine.
- Some of the white blood cells stay in the body as memory cells to provide immunity to the pathogen in the vaccine.
- Upon reinfection by the pathogen, memory cells respond by rapidly making antibodies against the pathogen.
Keywords
Immunity - Immunity is established after the body is first exposed to a pathogen's antigens, and enables white blood cells to respond quickly to the antigen when the body is re-exposed to it.
Antibodies - Proteins produced by white blood cells against specific pathogens.
Memory cells - White blood cells that remain in the blood and give lasting immunity to certain pathogens.
Vaccine - A formulation that contains an inactive pathogen, or parts of it.
Vaccination - The process of administering a vaccine to an individual to create immunity to a pathogen.
Common misconception
Antibodies remain in the blood for years, which makes a person immune to a disease.
Antibodies don't stay in the body longer term, the memory cells do and they provide long lasting immunity against a pathogen.
Teacher tip
Students may ask about the safety of the MMR vaccine. It is not linked with autism - the study that suggested this was fundamentally flawed and no link has ever been made since. Risks and benefits of vaccination are evaluated in the next lesson.
Equipment
None required.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match each word to its meaning.
produced by white blood cells to neutralise harmful chemicals
produced by some pathogens and make us feel unwell
molecule found on the surface of all cells
produced by white blood cells and causes pathogens to clump together
Q2.Which of the following is a key part of the immune system?
Q3.Which of these do not help to protect us against pathogens?
Q4.Match each cell to what it does.
can engulf and digest pathogens
can make specific antibodies that bind to antigens
infects the body and causes symptoms of illness
Q5.True or false? Antibodies are proteins.
Q6.Put these steps in order to explain how the body can remove harmful pathogens.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is immunity?
Q2.Put these steps in the correct order to explain how a vaccine works.
Q3.Which type of blood cell remains in the blood after the first exposure to an antigen and provides immunity?
Q4.What happens if a person is reinfected with the pathogen they were vaccinated against?
Q5.True or false? Memory cells are lymphocytes.
Q6.Why is it difficult to make a single vaccine against influenza?
To help you plan your 11 biology lesson on: Immunity and vaccination, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 11 biology lesson on: Immunity and vaccination, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 biology lessons from the Defences against pathogens, the human immune system and vaccination unit, dive into the full secondary biology curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.