How are germs and diseases spread? That's just what these middle schoolers are trying to uncover for their next science report. After the kids meet an uncle with Hepatitis C they realize that the way the body works is a lot like a video game. In gathering information for their report the kids find out how diseases are spread and how the immune system works to fight off those diseases.

Here is a straightforward message for your students: "Protecting yourself from HIV and AIDS is your own responsibility." AIDS: Facts for Kids puts to rest unnecessary fears about HIV infection, then focuses on the real dangers of uninformed or irresponsible behavior.

Beginning with the basics, students learn about HIV and how it disables the immune system, leaving the infected person vulnerable to an array of diseases. Students learn that we don't catch HIV from a sneeze, a water fountain, a telephone, a swimming pool, or other casual contact with an HIV-infected person. HIV is transmitted in two ways: by having sex with an infected person or by allowing infected blood to get mixed with our own.

This program offers straightforward advice to students:

-Don't have sex

- Don't use illegal drugs

-Guard against any activity - like piercing a friend's ears - that might result in the mixing of blood