I.Ý Research Articles:

 

Citation:Ý Lopez, R. & Schultz, T.Ý (2001).Ý Two Revolutions In K-8 Science Education.Ý Physics Today, 54, p. 44-49.

Summary:Ý This article focuses on the idea that science education should be for all Americans.Ý It gives a brief overview of the development of science education in the classroom.Ý In recent years a new methodology of teaching science has started.Ý Constructivism is the basis of this new methodology.Ý The idea is that in order to learn science, students need to do science through hands-on activities and labs.Ý Also involved in this new methodology is the use of curriculum materials and national standards.Ý In order to implement these new ideas, teachers need to have a background in science, need to have materials/supplies for the classroom, support from administration, and new forms of assessment that address hands-on activities.Ý Workshops and classes that teach these new methods are available through Teacher Scientist Allowance (TSA). These new methods do not follow some of the more traditional views of education.Ý Therefore there are several people who are against this revolution in science education; some of them include parents, teachers, and textbook publishers.Ý

Connection To Literacy:Ý This articles connection to literacy is that it addresses a new learning theory and instructional ideology.Ý It talks about the advantages and explains the use of a more constructivist model in the classroom.

Significance:Ý It is significant to me because as a science teacher I also believe that hands-on activities will be important in my classroom.Ý The article gives me ideas of how to apply these techniques in my class as well as resources to learn more about this methodology.Ý

 

Citation:Ý Warloick, P. & Stephenson, ,P.Ý (2002).Ý Reconstructing Science In Education:Ý Insights and Strategies For Making It more Meaningful.Ý Cambridge Journal of Education, 32, p. 143-151.

Summary:Ý Students in UK go through 12 years of science required by the curriculum.Ý However, most students still lack in the understanding of basic scientific ideas that can be applied to everyday life.Ý This seems to be the case regardless if the students were considered to be successful students or not.Ý Another concern is that students are tuning out from science as early as year 6.Ý Possible reasons for the above concerns are that there is too much stress content.Ý Secondly, there is no continuous learning, that is, students learn specific things in each grade that do not necessarily connect from year to year.Ý A third reason is that teachers are making science dull.Ý And a last idea is that maybe it is due to science pedagogy being based too much on rationality instead of discussion and analysis.

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ In order to change this, science needs to be taught relating more to students' lives.Ý Developing science literacy from students pre-existing knowledge is important.Ý Applying social constructivism in the classroom could possibly help change the focus to discussions on science based on personal experiences.Ý

Connection To Literacy:Ý It is important to see not only if students understand concepts being taught in the classroom, but also if they are learning how to apply these concepts to everyday life.Ý If students are not seeing the connection, then there may be something wrong with the way it is being taught.Ý It is important to rethink the pedagogical methodologies being used in classrooms.

Significance:Ý This is important to any teacher because education cannot just keep going without people stopping to think how effective it is.Ý One of the important ideas behind education is that it prepares students to live in the real world.Ý If they are not learning this in classrooms, then maybe they are being taught in the wrong manner and we as teacher need to change our teaching methods.

 

Citation: Heselden, R. & Staples, R.Ý (2002).Ý Science teaching and literacy, part 1: Writing.Ý School Science Review, 83, p. 35-45.

Summary:Ý This is the first part of a three article series aiming to persuade science teachers that accommodating literacy in science lessons is critical.Ý It states that incorporating literacy is a positive development rather than just extra unnecessary curriculum.Ý The idea is that there are some core literacy aspects across all subject matters, and then there are other literacy techniques specific to different subject areas.Ý Teachers need to realize this and teach the subject specific ones to their students.Ý The article goes on to explain different literacy skills in writing specifically that could be used in science classrooms.Ý

Citation:Ý Heselden, R. & Staples, R.Ý (2002).Ý Science teaching and literacy, part 2: Reading.Ý School Science Review, 83, p. 51-62.

Summary:Ý This article emphasizes the idea that reading is a scientific activity.Ý Science has a literacy of its own which science teachers should teach in the classroom.Ý Reading scientific material is different from the reading that students learn in English class.Ý Therefore it is important to provide time in class for science reading specifically.Ý When giving a reading assignment in class, it is critical to ask what you as a teacher want the students to gain from the reading.Ý Once you know the purpose of the reading assignment, provide an activity and texts that will achieve this purpose.Ý The article gives ideas on how to use reading in the science classroom, such as shared reading, DART, KWL grids, QADS, and EXIT.

Connection To Literacy:Ý It is important for subject matter teachers to realize that reading and writing should also be a part of their lessons.Ý Each subject matter has a unique reading and writing style to it, and teachers need to leave time to address this in the classroom.Ý Many teachers may think that reading and writing should be taught in English classes only, but in reality literacy should be addressed in all classes, regardless of the subject matter.

Significance:Ý These articles are very helpful to me because they give me ideas of certain writing and reading activities I could use in a science classroom.Ý I realize there are certain literacy techniques mostly used in science, for example: reading scientific articles, performing and writing laboratories, doing experiments, and the science textbooks are very different from other subject textbooks.Ý Therefore I would like to learn ways to teach students these literary skills.

 

Citation:Ý Meltzer, J. & Okashige, S.Ý (2001).Ý First Literacy, Then Learning.Ý Principle Leadership, October, p. 16-22.

Summary:Ý This article addresses the fact that most content area teachers do not teach skills necessary to obtain understanding from their texts.Ý There is a need for improving content area literacy.Ý There are four components necessary for successful content area literacy improvement.Ý The first is addressing student motivation by making connections between texts and students' lives, having students interact with texts, and creating responsive classrooms with discussions and participation requirements.Ý The second component is to include research based literacy strategies.Ý By this they mean incorporating silent reading, required logs, exchanging ideas, developing ideas, and most importantly having a student centered classroom.Ý The third component is to support reading and writing across the curriculum by practicing content specific vocabulary and seeing how the texts are structured and formatted specifically in your content.Ý The last component involves organization and leadership to support successful learning by clearly communicating goals, purposes, and expectations.Ý Using all these components in a science classroom would mean making reading, writing, and discussing a daily priority.Ý The use of various texts, scientific journals, essays, websites, and science fiction helps expand students understanding.Ý Laboratories, visuals, and films also support comprehension.Ý Students should also practice \science by developing hypothesis, predictions, writing lab reports, and constantly discussing their findings and thoughts.

Connection To Literacy:Ý Science texts can be very difficult for students to understand.Ý Therefore it is important for teachers to allow students to practice using the texts in the classroom. There is a need for improvement of subject specific literacy in general.Ý

Significance:Ý I think this article is important because it specifically gives four ideas on how to address subject matter literacy.Ý Many teachers may know there is a need to address this in the classroom, but they do not know how to go about addressing this issue.Ý This article suggests important ideas to incorporate in your classroom in for order to achieve improvement in literacy.

 

II.Ý Lesson Plan Critiques:

 

URL: http://askeric.org/cgibin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Science/Biology/BIO0037.html

Summary of Lesson Plan:Ý Teacher describes a number of different genetic diseases caused in pregnancy.Ý A slide show including information about characteristics of disease, causes and conditions is shown as students take notes.Ý Students will then rank the diseases by severity and decide in which situations they would ask for an abortion.Ý This is done in groups and class discussion.

Positive Aspects:Ý I like the idea of discussing abortion issues in the classroom. ÝIt is an important discussion that students should be exposed to.Ý However, because it is a touchy subject, it has to be done in the right way.

Development Areas:Ý Students should be exposed to abortion issues, all sides of arguments for and against abortion before asked to come up with their own opinion on if they would have one or not under certain circumstances.

How I would adapt this lesson for my classroom:Ý I would provide students with articles that address multiple opinions on abortion issues first.Ý Also, I might not make students work in groups because some students may get offended about the discussion.Ý I might ask student to do an independent writing on the topic so every individual would feel comfortable expressing his or her opinion.

 

URL:

http://askeric.org/cgibin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Science/Biology/BIO0201.html

Summary of Lesson Plan:Ý This lesson is an introduction to viruses.Ý Students view a PowerPoint presentation and fill out a worksheet as they view the presentation.

Positive Aspects:Ý Students get experience using computer skills and PowerPoint.

Development Areas:Ý Needs more connection to the studentís life.Ý We deal with viruses in our everyday lives with colds and other diseases.Ý Students could be exposed to virus concepts based on what they see and experience so they can relate more to it.

How I would adapt this lesson for my classroom:Ý I like the lesson plan I came up with for an introduction to viruses.Ý It also uses a PowerPoint presentation, but I think my lesson will be more engaging and thought provoking.Ý Lesson plan included below.

 

URL:

http://askeric.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Science/Biology/BIO0041.html

Summary of Lesson Plan:Ý This is a lab in which students soak an egg in different solvents, observe how the egg changes, and record and analyze data.Ý The purpose is to help students understand the concept of osmosis and movement across the plasma membrane.

Positive Aspects:Ý Students get to do science while learning about it.Ý They practice using tools for experimentation, collect data and analyze it.

Developmental Areas:Ý Besides just explaining what happened in the experiment, students should be asked to make connections with the concepts being taught in class and with scientific error in laboratory experiments.

How I would adapt this lesson for my classroom:Ý First off I would ask students to make predictions on the different solvents and how the egg will change.Ý I would also further develop the assessment part of this lesson.Ý I would ask more questions to develop studentsí thoughts on movement in and out of cells.Ý Also ask them what other experiments they can come up with to demonstrate osmosis and what are possible errors in the lab they performed and the lab they come up with.

 

URL:

http://www.pacificnet.net/~mandel/Science.html

Summary of Lesson Plan:Ý This lesson is designed to further enhance the students understanding of Mendelís Laws and to do Punnett Squares for a monohybrid cross using M&Mís as the subjects for the cross.

Positive Aspects:Ý I think students should perform hands on activities related to genetic crosses because it is a hard concept to grasp.Ý It is good that students get to make predictions of monohybrid crosses and get practice filling out Punnett Squares.Ý Plus in this lesson students could probably eat the M&Mís afterwards.

Developmental Areas:Ý The lab could be a little more technical for high school students.Ý Maybe use different subject than M&Mís, because the possible combinations are little hard to understand with the M&Mís.

How I would adapt this lesson for my classroom:Ý Ideally I would do a longer lab in which students do actual genetic crosses with fruit flies that have different characteristics.Ý This would be extended lab, lasting several weeks.Ý If I had to adapt the lab above though I would use green peas and lentils, representing the traits for seed color (green pea would be dominant G and lentil would be recessive g).Ý Students then randomly select 10 pairings of the seeds multiple times.Ý Then they determine phenotypic and genotypic ratios and construct a Punnett Square with results.ÝÝ This would be explained much better in the lesson plan.

 

URL:

Ýhttp://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/AEC/AEF/1996/rogers_cell.html

Summary of Lesson Plan:Ý Students view slides of cells and make drawings of them.Ý They are assigned to groups and given certain cell parts to research.Ý Each group is responsible for teaching the class the about their cell organelle function and location in the cell.Ý The class also constructs a giant cell.

Positive Aspects:Ý Students get to do research themselves on their organelles instead of teacher just lecturing about it.Ý Students also get to use light microscopes to have more direct experience with visualizing cell structure.

Development Areas:Ý Microscope slides could be used more interactively by having studentís compare and contrast cell types.Ý Also, it seems like a lot of work in one 55-minute lesson.

How I would adapt this lesson for my classroom:Ý I would break this up into two lessons.Ý In the first lesson I would do the activity where students get in groups to research and present their cell parts.Ý However I would have the class make a giant animal and a giant plant cell so they could see which organelles are found in each cell type.Ý The second lesson plan would be designed to further develop the differences between animal and plant cells.Ý Students would look at slides of both animal and plant cells, compare and contrast what they see under the microscope and then learn about the differences between plant and animal cells.Ý

 

III.Ý Constructed Lesson Plans

 

1.Ý Viruses

Biology- 10th Grade

30 students

55-minute classÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ

 

Objective:Ý The purpose of this lesson is for students to get an introduction to disease.Ý In light of current diseases and antibiotic failure it is important to understand the major groups of viruses and bacteria, about their structure, function and origin.Ý This leads to understanding how they affect a hostsí body and how to treat and prevent diseases.ÝÝ This lesson is based on a PowerPoint presentation.Ý Students will be engaged by seeing pictures of several current diseases.Ý Then they will be asked to compare and contrast a series of electron micrograph pictures of viruses and bacteria.Ý Since HIV is a disease that affects millions of Americans and people around the world, they will view the structure of the HIV virus to better understand the structure of viruses and how they attack cells.Ý Students will then apply their knowledge in the development of their own virus model.

 

Materials:Ý PPT presentation ñ diseases, viruses/bacteria, HIV, antibodies; computer and projector, virus handout, paper, drawing materials, textbook

 

Steps:

1.Ý Use PowerPoint presentation to show examples of diseases, making sure to say the name of the disease that each picture represents.

2.Ý Ask students if they know what causes these diseases.

3.Ý Have students get in groups of four.Ý Tell them you will first show them some slides.Ý When you are done, you would like them to discuss (in their groups) what the pictures may be, and the last slide you want them to compare and contrast the two figures.Ý

4.Ý Use PPT presentation to show electron micrographs of viruses and bacteria.Ý Last slide of this set should have both a virus and a bacteria picture side by side so students can compare and contrast.Ý (You may want to ask the class as a whole if they have any idea what these slides may be).Ý Tell them to discuss within their groups.

5.Ý Monitor and encourage students.

6.Ý Ask students to share their comparisons.

7.Ý Acknowledge students observations.Ý Go over the idea that some of them looks like cells.Ý Tell the students that one of them is a bacterium.Ý The smaller ones are viruses.Ý Tell students they are going to start by taking a closer look at viruses.Ý

8.Ý Introduce HIV virus.Ý

9.Ý Handout sample virus and tell students to fill out the components on their handouts as you go over it.Ý

10.Show PPT slide of HIV virus and explain the components of a virus.

11.Ý Show pictures in PPT of virus entering a cell and HIV infecting human white blood cells.Ý

12.Go over step by step: how the virus binds and enters the cell, release of RNA into cytoplasm, reverse transcriptase, HIV protein, replication, spread.

13.Ý Ask students if they know why someone with AIDS becomes so susceptible to infections.Ý Explain that it disables the immune system.

14.Ý Ask students if they know how the body protects itself from viruses.

15.Ý Show animation of antibody and briefly explain how it works.Ý (They will learn more about them during the immune system section).

16.Ý Review: What are some characteristics of a virus?Ý How do they enter and infect a cell?Ý Why are viruses so successful?Ý

17.Ý Assign homework:Ý Describe how the HIV virus enters a cell, what it does when it enters, and how this affects the individualsí immune system in 1-2 paragraphs.

18.Ý Tell students that next class period will be dedicated to a project where they will create their own model of a virus.Ý The design should include information on the origin of the virus, its components, how it reproduces, the host it infects and how it infects it, the effects of the virus on its host, and how to treat it.Ý Time will be given during class for them to look up the needed information in their textbooks and other sources you will bring to class.Ý They will present their models to the class.

 

Assessment:Ý I would assess students on their homework paragraph(s).Ý This should address what they learned about how a virus enters a cell and what happens then on.Ý I would also later assess students on the completeness of their models.Ý Since they are allowed to use their notes and textbook students should be able to include all components of the virus.Ý Using knowledge from other classes and the section in the book on HIV, students should be able to get some historical information.Ý The models should be combination of pictures and words.Ý On the unit test they would also have to match up words to a picture of a virus and describe in a short answer how viruses infect a host and how it can be cured.

 

Literacy Aspect:Ý The literacy aspect of this lesson is focused on the understanding of viruses and how they infect an individual.Ý It is a part of a one-week unit on viruses and bacterial as pathogens.Ý In the past and in the present our society has been affected by several diseases (smallpox, plagues, HIVÖ).Ý It is important for students to understand how diseases occur and how they can be treated.Ý In this first lesson students will use visual and auditory learning skills.Ý Students will be shown a picture of a virus and the cycle of a virus in the cell, and at the same time they will be listening and taking notes about these aspects.Ý Students will look more in depth into the smallpox virus by designing their own model of the virus and researching certain aspects of the virus.Ý

 

Debriefing:Ý This should be a good introduction to viruses.Ý The pictures of the diseases in the beginning may be ìgrossî to some students, but it should be a good way to get their attention.Ý This lesson will be followed by an introduction into bacterial infections, and then a lesson on how both can be pathogens.Ý I hope this will be interesting to students because it directly relates to everyone.Ý People catch colds all the time and there is a severe problem with AIDS that students should address.Ý Creating their own virus should add some fun to the lesson as well.Ý

 

Virus Handout:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.Ý Story of Vertebrate Evolution

Biology- 10th Grade

30 students

55-minute class

 

Objective:Ý The purpose is for students to become familiar with vertebrates, comprising all the groups (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals).Ý The students should understand how vertebrates are organized, how they have evolved and adapted.Ý Throughout the lesson students will identify all major groups of vertebrates and list the order in which the groups evolved.Ý As a result of this lesson students will observe key adaptations that enabled fish to dominate the oceans, describe how amphibians adapted for life on land, and the adaptations for complete terrestrial life.

 

Note: This lesson is intended as an overview of vertebrate evolution, the students have already had a unit on evolution itself.

 

Materials:Ý large chain or snake model, craft paper, drawing materials, rulers

 

Steps:

1.Ý Use a large chain or snake to model the flexibility and strength or the vertebral column.Ý Bend model side-to-side, front to back to show the range of movement.

2.Ý Have students bend their own vertebral columns to determine their flexibility.Ý

3.Ý Place model on floor and demonstrate the s-shaped movement that a snake, fish or salamander makes while moving.Ý

4.Ý Have a student walk across the room while the other students observe the motion of arms and legs.Ý (Generally people swing the left arm forward while right leg is forward.Ý This is the human version of alternating opposite side muscles).

5.Ý Ask students what good a backbone is and list answers.Ý Then ask what a backbone supports or protects.

6.Ý Tell studentís jawless fish were the first vertebrates, with fossils dating 500 million years ago.

7.Ý Ask students what they think jawless fish can eat? Compare to what jawed fish can eat.

Lampreys and hagfish are only surviving jawless fish.

8.Ý Ask students to recall the fish they have seen (on TV, in books, while fishing, in aquariums or as pets).Ý How do fish differ (size, shape, color)?Ý How are they similar (scaled skin, aquatic habitat)?

9.Ý Explain to students that in order to survive as predator's fish had to adapt to be able to pursue their prey, so jawed fish evolved.

a.       Larger fish began to develop.

b.      Sharks= have skeleton composed of cartilage.

c.       Bony fish= have skeleton made of bone, makes them heavier, which is compensated with a swim bladder.

10.Ý Ask students why they think vertebrates start to invade land?Ý What is favorable about land?

11.Ý Explain that amphibians evolved from bony fish.

a.       Adapted legs for support.

b.      Developed lungs because air has more O2 than water.

c.       Needed higher metabolism, so heart went through changes.

d.      Still tied to water because eggs are not watertight.

12.Ý Ask students what they think reptiles evolved from.Ý Explaining that they evolved from amphibians for complete terrestrial life.

a.       Legs were better positioned for getter support.

b.      More changes in heart and lung, for full-time life on land.

c.       Internal fertilization and watertight eggs.

d.      Dry skin prevents water loss, a key adaptation to the very hot and dry climate that existed on earth at that time.

e.       Dinosaurs were the main reptiles that dominated Earth at that time.

13.Ý Explain how global temperatures cooled all of a sudden which caused dinosaurs to become extinct and mammals began to take over.

a.       Bodies are insulated by fur, key adaptation to the colder temperatures. (Birds had feathers for insulation so they survived and continued to evolve when temperature dropped).

b.      Three kinds of mammals: monotreme, marsupial, placental.

14.Ý Divide class into 6 groups to create a phylogenic tree our of rolled up newspaper and craft paper.Ý One group should create the tree, while the other 5 groups make diagrams and labels of the vertebrate groups and their characteristics.

15.Ý Have students (in their groups) make a chart comparing monotremes, marsupials and placental mammals.Ý Chart headings:

Type of mammal/Example/Reproduction Type/Food source for embryo/Food source for young

16.Ý If time allows have short discussion on: Why do species diversify? Why do they adapt to new environments?Ý (Include ideas about food competition/supply, taking advantage of places that have been evacuated or new places in general, and survival of the fittest).

17.Ý Assign homework:Ý Students are to write a 1-2 page story called "A History of Vertebrates".

 

Assessment:Ý Since this lesson is an overview of vertebrate evolution, that is students were previously exposed to these ideas, I would assess students on class participation during the lecture.Ý Since some students may be shy and not speak up in front of the whole class, I would also assess students based on the class project and the homework writing assignment.Ý The group activity assessment would be based on participation of each individual and creativity used to develop their vertebrate group for the phylogenic tree.Ý The homework would be assessed on accuracy of information and amount of detail provided in the story.

 

Literacy Aspect:Ý The literacy aspect of this lesson focuses on the idea that life on earth as we see it today has evolved from previous life forms.Ý Students should understand that key adaptations occur throughout thousands of years in order for species to survive and adapt to new environments and conditions.Ý I hope to activate prior knowledge students gained in evolution lessons.Ý Working in groups also allows students to get to know each other better, and for those students who do not like speaking in front of the whole class, they get to actively participate in the group.Ý Plus making posters is always a way to make things fun for students.

 

Debriefing:Ý The one thing I might think of including in this lesson is a video on dinosaurs.Ý I know there are several out there, I just donít know of any specific one right now.Ý Movies on dinosaur life and extinction are always fascinating to watch; students usually really enjoy learning about dinosaurs.

 

 

3: A Journal of Discovery

Biology- 10th Grade

30 students

90-minute class

 

Objective: The purpose of this lesson is for students to see and feel what it is like to be a scientist.Ý In order to do this, students will pretend they are discoverers' themselves.Ý The objective in this activity is for students to find their own scientific eye and make their own "discoveries", or imagine what they would discover if they were explorers like Columbus, James Cook or their accompanying scientists.

 

Materials: drawing materials, paper, reference books

 

Steps:Ý

1.Ý Explain to students that when explorers like Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, or James Cook set sail to explore new lands, they took different kinds of explorers along with them.Ý They were scientists.Ý For example, James cook brought Joseph Banks on his 1768 expedition to explore the South Pacific.Ý Banks was a noted botanist at twenty-five, he had a passionate interest in plants and animals. Among Cook's large retinue were other naturalists as well as two artists.Ý Together, these scientists would bring back not only new maps, but also information about the plants, minerals, and animals of the South Pacific.

2. Take students on a mini fieldtrip to a nearby park (or some other close by neighborhood feature).Ý Have the whole class explore the specific area. Begin by creating a grid for the area and having students locate their found items on it. The location of each specimen would be indicated by placing its number on the grid where it was first seen. Have students make observations of the areas in their notebooks.

3. Come back to class and discuss some of the observations made.

4. Suggest that students are scientists invited to accompany an explorer on a journey of discovery. Initiate a discussion about what kinds of things they, as scientists, might look for on their trip. (Examples: trees, leaves, rocks, birds, flowers, fruits, mammals, insects, soil)

  1. Ask students to consider how they, as scientific observers, will record (in words and drawings) what they see. Encourage them to consider the advantages of having each member of the group collect the same types of information.
  2. Have students work in teams to compile a useful observation form. Then bring the class together to create the final model. It might include any or all of the following items:
    1. The name of the observer
    2. The item observed
    3. A description of the habitat
    4. A description of the item (texture, size, color)
    5. The date found
    6. A space to draw the specimen -- with labels and annotations
    7. A place for other remarks, including interviews with inhabitants of the area

5.Ý When the class has developed a model form, duplicate it so that everyone has a copy.Ý Explain to students that they are to apply their observational skills to their own neighborhood to "discover" something they may have seen hundreds of times. The difference is that this time they are going to look at familiar surroundings with a scientist's eye.Ý If some students find it difficult to imagine what a stranger may see when entering their neighborhood, tell them they also have the option of imagining a whole new place.Ý Therefore the students would be making up an imaginary new location, but still would be "looking" at it with a scientific eye.Ý

6.Ý If students are having difficulty starting this activity, you may find it helpful to model this activity.Ý Walk students through the process of filling out an observation form if they were newcomers to that classroom.Ý Model what an observer with a scientific eye may record when entering a classroom environment for the first time. Then encourage them to record their own scientific observations of their neighborhood or their imaginary location. Some students may benefit from working in pairs, although each student should contribute an individual observation form to the journal.

7.Ý Monitor the students as they work on their projects.Ý Walk around seeing if anyone needs help or suggestions.

8. After students have filled out their observation forms, have them share their discoveries in a brief oral presentation. Then bind the forms together to make a classroom Journal of Discovery.

Assessment:Ý I would assess students based on how they spend the time given in class to work on the activity and on the final outcome of their projects.Ý Since everyone will be required to present their discoveries to the class, I will have an opportunity to listen to everyone's project.Ý Giving them a chance to orally present will hopefully give me more insight to how much thought and work each person gave to this activity.Ý This way, students will be assessed both by their written work and their oral presentation.Ý This gives students of multiple learning backgrounds a chance to succeed in this activity.Ý For example, those that may have had difficulty expressing their ideas on paper will have a chance to do so during the oral presentation and vice versa.Ý This assignment obviously has no right or wrong answer.Ý I want to see that the students put thought into what it is to be a scientist and hopefully have fun while practicing the process.

Literacy Aspect:Ý The literacy aspect of this lesson is for students to practice and develop a scientific eye.Ý In order to study and understand science, students should understand the process behind it.Ý In order to understand the process behind, there is nothing better than performing the process yourself.Ý Students will do this be pretending they are explorers themselves.Ý They will do team work in the beginning by brainstorming as a class about what a discoverer would take notes on.Ý Then they will work individually or in pairs with their imagination.Ý They will have to write and present their projects to the class, giving them literacy and oral development.

Debriefing:Ý Some students may have difficulty with the imagination part, being it imagining their own neighborhood or inventing a whole new place.Ý This activity may work better as a take home assignment, where students are allowed to observe when actually in the environment (instead of having to imagine it).Ý The idea though is that students are asked to describe something that is very familiar to them (they are in their own neighborhoods everyday).Ý Maybe if some students are having a real hard time imagining, I could suggest to those students to look outside the window or within the classroom and observe something there.

 

4. The Cell

Biology- 10th Grade

30 students

55-minute class

 

Objective: The objective is for students to become familiar with cells, their parts and functions. The students will visualize plant and animal cells.Ý The students will be given a list of cell parts and individual groups will be assigned a specific organelle.Ý Students should use research skills to obtain information on their designated cell part.Ý The students should understand the functions of each part of a cell and be able to identify differences between plant and animal cells.

 

Materials: textbook and other sources for students to look up information about cell organelles, butcher paper, drawing materials, paper, glue, scissors, tape

 

Steps:

1.Ý Start by asking whom in the class likes fast food, like McDonalds or Burger King.Ý

2.Ý Ask students what they think is involved in getting an order out to a customer.Ý Write some of the ideas on the board.Ý The point is to show students that there are many important jobs to be done in order to get an order out: someone to cook hamburgers, someone to make the French fries, someone to prepare the drinks, someone to prepare the sandwiches, someone to take the order and payment, etcÖÝ

3.Ý End by explaining to students that this is much like what a cell works like.Ý There are many cell parts that must function together for the cell to work efficiently.

4.Ý Show students the two large pieces of butcher paper you previously cut and attached to the wall.Ý (Each paper should be about 3x4 feet.Ý One should have animal cell written on it and the other plant cell).

5.Ý Tell students they will be working on an activity today in which they are going to design a plant and animal cell.Ý

6.Ý Divide the class into six groups.

7.Ý Assign each group one of the following cell parts:

…        Nucleus

…        Endoplasmic reticulum and ribosomes

…        Mitochondria and ATP

…        Chloroplast and chlorophyll

…        Cell membrane and cell wall

…        Cytoplasm, protoplasm and vacuole

8.Ý Tell students that each group is responsible for researching their own cell part(s).Ý They can use their textbooks and other resources you brought into class.

9.Ý Each group should find the following information:

a.       Determine whether the cell part(s) belong in a plant cell, an animal cell or both types of cell.

b.      Write the function(s) of the cell part(s).

c.       Draw and cut a picture of your cell part for both the plant and animal cell.Ý Remind students that if the cell has more than one of their parts, they should design the appropriate number of them.Ý Also, remind students to notice the size of the cells on the wall and make sure their cell part is the appropriate size.Ý (The cell wall/membrane group will draw their structures directly onto the butcher paper).

10.Ý Have students present their cell parts and functions.Ý Remind students that everyone is responsible for the function of all the cell parts, so take good notes.Ý (The first group to present to the class should be the cell wall/cell membrane).

11.Ý Distribute handout and ask students to fill it out for homework.Ý

12.Ý IF time allows review the following concepts with the students:Ý What do plant and animal cells look like in general?Ý What are the different functions/parts?Ý What is the difference between an animal and a plant cell?

 

Sample of homework handout:

 

Cell Part:

Found in animal/plant/both

Function

1. Cell wall

 

 

2. Cell membrane

 

 

3. Nucleus

 

 

4. Cytoplasm

 

 

5. Protoplasm

 

 

6. Vacuole

 

 

7. Endoplasmic Reticulum

 

 

8. Ribosomes

 

 

9. Mitochondria

 

 

10. ATP

 

 

11. Chloroplast

 

 

12. Chlorophyll

 

 

 

Assessment:Ý Assessment of this lesson will be based on the in class activity and the homework.Ý The in-class activity will be assessed on accuracy and completion of research of each groupís organelle.Ý The student presentations will allow the teacher me to further assess if they gathered all the information asked at the beginning of the project.Ý The homework will allow me to assess if students took accurate notes on each otherís presentation and if they got the information needed to understand cell parts and functions and the differences between animal and plant cells.

 

Literacy Aspect:Ý The organization of all living things begins with the cell, the smallest unit capable of carrying out the functions of life.Ý Cells are the basic units of structure and function in living things.Ý All cells share certain characteristics: a cell membrane, cytoplasm, ribosomes and DNA.Ý However, animal cells and plant cells have some differing structures.Ý These differences relate to the various functions of each type of cell, and how each structure aids in the survival of individual organisms.Ý Students need to understand cells in order to understand further topics in biology.

 

Debriefing:Ý I hope that by having students do the research themselves they will: a) have more fun learning the material, and b) actually retain the information more effectively.Ý Depending on how long students take to do the research, the presentations may happen next class period.

 

5. Hip Hop and Science- Are They Related?

Biology- 10th Grade

20 students

55-minute class

 

Objective:Ý This purpose of this lesson is to show students that science is related to everyday life.Ý When you listen to music, watch movies, read books and magazines, watch TVÖ. science is mentioned more often than you think.Ý The idea is that students will analyze some of their favorite music lyrics and find out how it is related to science.Ý Hopefully students will see that science can be fun.

 

Materials:Ý Internet access, reserve library, stereo with CD player, Waterfalls lyric

 

Steps:

1.Ý Play the song Waterfalls, by TLC for students.

2.Ý Ask students if they know what the song is about, what the meaning behind the lyrics is.

3.Ý Handout copy of lyrics to students and ask students to read.

4.Ý Ask again if students know what the lyrics mean now.

5.Ý Explain that lyrics are about a boy who is dieing of AIDS.Ý Show what parts of lyric show that.

6.Ý Ask students how this relates to science.Ý Ask them to remember when they did a unit on diseases, viruses and bacteria.Ý Go over again the importance of studying diseases and health related issues and make connection to song.

7.Ý Tell students that now it is their turn to find a hip-hop song they like that is related to science.Ý They will be expected to do the same thing you just did: find a song, copy the lyrics, interpret the lyrics and see how it relates to science, explain the importance of studying that scientific topic, and present the song and interpretations to the class.Ý So remind students that they may want to work with a song they have on tape or cd at home.

8.Ý Take students to library and set them up at computers.Ý Have students look at the following websites for lyric ideas:

http://www.ohhla.com/

http://www.raplyricssearch.com/

http://hiphopraplyricz.com/

http://www.mathlab.sunysb.edu/~bestevez/hip_hop.html

http://www.absolute-rap-lyrics.com/

9.Ý After students have found the song they want to work with, take them back to the classroom.Ý

10.Ý Tell students to spend the rest of the class period analyzing the lyrics and finding connections to science.

11.Ý For homework students are to finish their interpretations and find a copy of the song to bring next class period.Ý They should prepare their presentations for next class meeting as well as be prepared to hand in a copy of the lyrics along with an attached explanation of how they think the song relates to science.Ý Remind them that this is for a science class, so work should emphasize on science topics.

 

Assessment:Ý Students will be assessed on their presentations and the written part they hand in.Ý Students should choose songs that have some sort of relationship to any topic we may cover in a science class.Ý They will also be assessed on how much they develop on the science aspect of their topic as well.

 

Literacy Aspect:Ý The literacy aspect of this lesson focuses on the fact that science is related to everyday life situations and that it is expressed in several different forms.Ý It should also help students understand why we study the things we do in science.Ý Another literacy aspect of this lesson is to give students some time on the Internet.Ý Many people use the Internet on a daily basis, for work or for pleasure.Ý Students should be familiar with surfing the Internet and know that they can find all sorts of information.

 

Debriefing:Ý Students should have fun looking at lyrics of some of their favorite songs.ÝÝ It will also be fun to have students share their songs with the class and present them.Ý Some students may not be into rap, and I should probably give them the choice to pick other song types. Or an alternative assignment could be for them to look for science words within the lyrics.Ý They would then copy the sentence from the song that has the word and come up with their own meaning of the word in the song.Ý The next step would be from them to look up the scientific meaning of the word as well.Ý Regardless, I think it is good to incorporate something that the students can relate to outside of the science classroom as well as incorporating the use of Internet.

IV.Ý Resources:

ÝÝÝÝÝ

Resource:Ý Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration Video

http://ebiomedia.com/prod/viz/Viz3.html

Summary:Ý This is a great video that shows the different phases of cellular respiration and photosynthesis.Ý The graphics are really good and the short sample they give seems very detailed.

Positive Aspects:Ý The movie is divided into several 1-3 minute modules that allow you to show specific parts for what you are teaching that day.

Development Areas:Ý I have not seen the whole video because I do not own it myself, so I do not know if there are any negative aspects about it.Ý I do know a couple teachers who own and said it is great.

Classroom Use:Ý As a teacher I would show these videos when doing lessons on photosynthesis and cellular respiration.Ý The unit that covers this is considered one the hardest units for students to grasp.Ý Being able to present students with several different examples of it, including a visual one will only help in their understanding of the topic.

 

Resource: http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/

Summary:Ý An excellent website for teachers.Ý It has four components to it:

1.      Mystery Spot- online activities to encourage student inquiry,

2.      Classic Collection- information on people who have made significant contributions to science,

3.      Fellows Collection- lesson plans and science activities for the classroom.

4.      Activities-To-Go- teaching strategies

Positive Aspects:Ý I have spent most of my time looking at the sample lesson plans on this website.Ý There are some really great, innovative lessons.

Development Areas:Ý It needs to be updated.Ý The last year they added lesson plans was from 1996.

Classroom Use:Ý As a teacher if I am ever looking for an idea on how to teach a certain topic I would definitely look there.Ý There are already a few lessons I plan on using.

 

Resource: Teaching to Change the World, a book by Jeannie Oakes and Martin Lipton.

Summary:Ý This book covers several topics: the history of education, traditional learning theories, contemporary learning theories, curriculum issues, instruction, assessment, classroom management, school culture and more.Ý

Positive Aspects:Ý It covers several important topics in education.Ý At the end of each chapter the book has list of other sources that are related to the chapter topic.

Development Areas:Ý The book can be somewhat dull to read during some parts.Ý It is also hard to read sometimes with too long of passages sometimes.

Classroom Use:Ý You can read on teaching theories, classroom management and other topics, and choose to apply these skills to your classroom or not.Ý It is especially good for someone like me, a new teacher, because it gives me insight on certain skills I am trying to learn for my classroom.

 

Resource: Creative Ways of Using the Overhead Projector In Science Teaching, presented by Ralph J. Daily. (National Science Teachers Association)

Summary:Ý It is a collection of activities using the overhead projector for science teaching.Ý There are ideas for Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.

Positive Aspects:Ý It separates the activities according to the subject matters above and they have names for each one so you can fit it into certain lessons.

Developing Areas:Ý Some of the procedures are hard to follow and I donít know if I would be able to due the activity.

Classroom Use:Ý I would love to use some of the activities suggested in this packet.Ý The activities are like demonstrations that would hopefully catch the studentsí attention.

 

Resource: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/index.html

Summary: A website that has images from beyond our galaxy to within the nucleus of an atom.Ý You can see images of space, track back to Earth, and see images of what it would be like inside a leaf, inside a cell, a nucleus, proton, etc.

Positive Aspects:Ý Great images.Ý Good way to have students do an interactive activity on the Internet.Ý

Developing Areas:Ý Can be really slow depending on the type of connection your computer has.Ý

Classroom Use:Ý I plan on using this website so students can do an Internet based interactive activity to learn about cells, the basic unit of life.Ý If I ever teach astronomy also, it has some great images of space that I think students would be really intrigued by.