Mississippi Science HAP.12.5

ScienceGrades 9–12Human Anatomy and Physiology

The Standard

HAP.12: Students will investigate the structures and functions of the respiratory system, including the cause and effect of diseases and disorders.

Research and analyze the causes and effects of various pathological conditions (e.g., asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, and COPD).

2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Respiratory System

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students research asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, and COPD using reliable health sources. They compare what causes each condition, what changes in the lungs, and how breathing is affected.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students can explain why narrowed airways in asthma and fluid-filled air sacs in pneumonia both cause shortness of breath. They can tell a long-term cause, such as smoking, from an immediate trigger, such as pollen.
Common Misconceptions: Students may assume every cough is an infection or that antibiotics treat asthma. They may mistake an asthma trigger for the underlying condition or think all breathing problems start in the airways.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: Compare asthma and pneumonia. Name one asthma trigger and one cause of pneumonia, then explain how each condition makes breathing harder.

Lesson moves

Tape wide and narrow straws to a syringe tip, then compare how hard it is to push air through each.
Give students asthma and pneumonia fact cards and ask, 'Why can both cause shortness of breath for different reasons?'
Have students match cards for four lung conditions with their causes, affected structures, and symptoms, then defend each match.
Read a local air-quality alert and use a public health fact sheet to identify which pollutants can worsen asthma or COPD symptoms.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to HAP.12.5, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

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