Educator Guide: Where Bacteria Live On Our Tongues

Tongue-dwelling bacteria

Tongue-dwelling bacteria (different types labeled with different colors) form a thick film around a human tongue cell (gray structure at center).

S. Wilbert et al/Cell Reports 2020

About this guide

In this guide, students will learn about bacterial communities on the human tongue and use existing knowledge of interspecific interactions to create metaphors about relationships in the students’ own communities. In an activity, students will practice note-taking and summarizing skills.

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This Guide Includes:

Taking a bacterial census

Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “Here’s where bacteria live on your tongue cells,” which maps how bacteria build communities on human cells. A version of the story, “Where bacteria live on our tongues,” can be found in the April 25, 2020 issue of Science News.
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