Grade/Subject: 7^th Grade/Life Science

Academic Literacy Standards

Develop and use a model to describe the function of a cell as a whole and the ways parts of cells contribute to the function.

·         Science & Engineering practices: Developing and using models

·         Disciplinary Core Ideas: LS1.A: Structure and Function: How do the structures of organisms enable life’s functions?

·         Guiding Question: To develop and use an accurate model of the cell.

·         Crosscutting Concepts: Structure and Function: Understand the difference between the structure of a cell and its parts and the functions of each individual part.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.5

Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.7

Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table).

·         What is the difference between the structure and function of something?

·         How can structure enable function?

·         Recall previous knowledge about the cell.

·         Understanding the cell as a system of organelles that rely on one another.

·         Clarification of the differences between animal and plant cells.

Method: online activity with matching game

·         Differentiation between the function of something and the structure.

Method: Multiple activities showing specific functions of various organelles. Article about the structure and functions of cells.

·         Connecting real world scenarios to ideas and conceptions learned in class.

Method: Collaborative project with team members illustrating comparisons using Google Slides presentations.

Student Learning Goal:

·         Reflect on prior knowledge of the cell. Students will be able to build a plant and animal cell model, showing the differences between the two. Students will be able to explain the function of specific organelles within an animal and plat cell. They will be able to accurately label each kind of cell with the names of the individual organelles that they learned about.

Student social-emotional goal (LEARNER):

·         Students will be able to collaborate in groups to present their findings in their organelle functions project. They will interact in a meaningful and beneficial way to compile the information needed to present their ideas to the class. Throughout their explorations of the cell, organelles, and their functions, students will be expected to make connections of their previous knowledge to the activities in this lesson. The students will have multiple means of engagement with the content about the cells. They will also have multiple means of representing what they have learned regarding the cell, organelles, and their functions.

·         One barrier to learning in this lesson may be a gap in prior knowledge. This lesson begins by asking students what they have learned previously. This is under the assumption that their education was consistent with what our district and elementary districts taught them. However, there are several students who moved or came from outside places and did not receive the background knowledge expected of them.

·         Another barrier may be language proficiency. This area in which I teach has many children who are English Language Learners. This means that I will need to be checking in with them to see that they understand the new vocabulary being presented, especially with understanding the difference between structure and function.

·         Students are struggle to make comparisons to real life situations in order to understand scientific principles. This lesson will help students compare a cell and its organelles to real life situations in order to help them remember and better understand the function of the individual parts within a cell. Making these comparisons will allow the students to better understand the purpose of organelles within the individual cells.

(Whole group needs, observable patterns and trends, language & literacy subgroups, technology fluency, emotional regulation)

(For this assignment, I am going to be referencing a class that I was able to actually teach this specific lesson to last year.)

·         This classroom a general education science class that consists of resource students who have mainstreamed into general education classes. There are thirty-three students in this class, six of whom have IEPs. There are also two students in the class who are English Language Learners (EL) who would be considered to have a bridging level of proficiency when it comes to their reading levels. This means that these students occasionally struggle with understanding vocabulary words as well as making connections between activities and the material we are covering.

·         Three of the students with IEPs have Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD). These students need additional support when interpreting directions and generally take longer to complete their work. One of the students with SLD is an EL student who was mentioned above.

·         One student with an IEP is Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH). This means that the teacher has to wear a Bluetooth microphone clipped to their shirt to help the student hear what is being taught. It is also beneficial for this student to sit in the front of the classroom so they can easily see when the teacher is speaking to the students.

·         There is a student with an IEP who has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This means that this student struggles to understand social context. This manifests by continual interruptions or inappropriately timed comments throughout class. This student’s goals also state that any assignment completed may be done with the use of technology. This means he is allowed to type answers to worksheets rather than write them down.

·         The last student with an IEP has a qualifying diagnosis of Other Health Impairment (OHI). Additionally he has an ADHD diagnosis. This student reacts emotionally to most social interactions as well as academic struggles. He is easily upset by what he interprets as negative interactions with peers. He has accommodations that allow him to take exams in separate rooms from the rest of the class with assistance from an instructional assistant.

·         In addition to these six students with IEPs, there are twenty-seven general education students. Four of these students tend to be disruptive and distracting to the others in the class. However, these students are still friendly and easy to talk to and reason with. Overall this class has groups of students that work well together when doing group projects despite their tendency to be distracting and easily off task.

Accommodations/adaptations/intervention (TEACHER, LEARNER, INSTRUCTION, MANAGEMENT)

Student is DHH. He has cochlear implants so that he is able to hear while at school but can often time miss instruction. If he is distracted by a fellow student it can be easy for him to not realize that the teacher is talking. Due to occasional missing information, it can take him longer to complete the work that needs to be done. Additionally, he can occasionally miss information relating to due dates.

In order to ensure participation and understanding, the instructor will do the following:

·         During instruction time, student will be seated at the front of the class to be closer to the teacher.

·         Teacher will wear Bluetooth microphone that connects directly to hearing aid so that he can hear what is being said.

·         Teacher will constantly ask check questions to ensure comprehension.

·         Teacher will check that the student is looking before beginning instruction. Sometimes this can be accomplished by making eye contact. Other times this may need to be done by tapping the desk to get him attention before beginning instruction.

Student was recently diagnosed ASD at the beginning of the school year. He was attending a private school before this year and had no formal diagnosis. They were becoming overwhelmed and frustrated with the inability to handle him and his behaviors. Therefore he and his teachers are constantly having to adapt to changes and different goals that have been set due to new understandings of his needs. Student struggles with social interactions and occasionally speaks at inappropriate times during class. He is unable to assess the reactions of the other students when he speaks out of turn or discusses things that are off topic. Student often times refuses to complete work and does not stay organized in order to keep track of his work.

In order to help him succeed in class several accommodations and specific adjustments have to be made in class:

·         Because of his lack of social skills, he struggles to find groups to work with on projects. Therefore, the instructor will help to assign a group of students who can work easily with him.

·         Teacher needs to ask student at the end of each class to see his planner and check that he has his homework written down. This is part of his goals set to keep him organized.

·         Because this student often refuses to do work, he is allowed to use technology to type his responses to worksheets and other work that needs to be done in class.

·         If this student is struggling in class to complete an assessment, he may go to another room with an instructional assistant to complete the assessment.

Content in this lesson will be presented in a number of ways:

·         Phenomenon engaging activity will be presented via projector for students to observe and comment about in groups.

·         Students will view interactive models on their Chromebooks using a website given to them via Google Classroom.

·         Students will see multiple examples of cells represented in diagrams with labels, videos, as well as 3D models that will be shown to them by the teacher in class.

·         Students will be able to work together to creatively make real world connections to the material they are learning. They will do this using Google Slides and creating a presentation with their groups.

·         Students will engage with the material through worksheets showing illustrations of cells and their organelles.

·          Students will have an article with information they need about the cells.

·         Students will have a worksheet where they will be cutting out functions and matching them to specific organelles.

·         Students will have a website where they can match organelles to specific kinds of cells.

·         Students will have groups that they will be working with where they are creating a slide show presentations to make real world connections

Multiple means of Expression (practice & assessment)

·         Students will be able to show their prior knowledge with their “do you know cells well” worksheet. This will give them an opportunity to reflect on what they know going into this topic.

·         Students will be able to complete the online activity and show that they have matched all the organelles with the correct cells by creating a Google doc listing all the appropriate organelles with the correct type of cell.

·         Students will be able to show their matched functions with the appropriate organelles with the organelle card sort activity.

·         Students will be able to show their knowledge gained from the cell article by filling in the Building Blocks of the Cells worksheet.

·         Students will be able to show their work as a group by creating a Google slides presentation giving real world examples of organelle comparisons.

·         Students will take a multiple choice quiz after learning about organelles and their functions.

·         Students will raise their hands and share things that they remember about cells when called on by the teacher.

·         Students will be respectful of others when grabbing the materials needed to cut out or color their cell models.

·         When working in groups, students will share the work among each other as equally as possible. They will be able to talk as a group but respect the other groups that are working around them and not be disruptive.

·         The instructor will ensure that students who have IEPs or other specific needs are paired with groups that will work positively together.

·         When giving presentations, students will act professional and not be laughing or goofing around while sharing information. When watching presentations, students will quietly listen to their other classmates and have any questions written down to ask afterwards.

What is your learning map sequence?

1.      Students will receive a worksheet asking them to write down and draw what they can remember about previously learned things regarding cells. They will quietly and independently fill out what they can remember.

2.       Instructor will randomly call on students to name some of the items that they can remember about Cells. Students may raise their hands and share what they remember. Students may add things to their work sheet that they do remember as the discussion continues.

3.      Students will use Chromebooks and their Google Classroom to retrieve a link for a website in which they will build a plant and animal cell. They will match up the organelles with the proper kind of cell. For example: Cell walls will only be found on the plant cell.

4.      Students will click and drag the proper organelles into the Venn diagram on the website after playing around with the virtual cell.

5.      Students will receive “Anatomy of the Cell” reading handout to read and highlight for homework.

Day 2:

1.      Students will take out their “Anatomy of the Cell” handout to use as a reference.

2.      Students will fill in the “Building Blocks of Cells” worksheet. They may work with their table buddies to double check their work.

3.      When they have completed “Building Blocks of Cells” they will each get an “Organelle Card Sort” worksheet.

4.      They will cut out the different organelles and functions in the boxes found on the “Organelle Card Sort” worksheet.

5.      With a partner at their table, students will pair up the different functions of the organelles with the organelles.

6.      They may use the “Building Blocks of Cells” worksheet at first to double check their answers. However, after the first few practices, they will be expected to match the functions to the organelles without checking their answers.

7.      After the students have discussed and practiced matching up organelles and their functions, the instructor will have them return to their seats in order to explain the upcoming group project.

8.      The teacher will explain to the students about the Google Slides presentation they are going to do called the “Organelle Function Project”.

9.      Students will be expected to create groups of three to do the project together.

Days 3-4:

1.      Students will grab Chromebooks and join their groups to work on their group project.

2.      There is a template that is shared to the students on the Google classroom where they create their projects.

3.      Students will decide on a real world theme to match items within the cells to. For example: A theme of Hogwarts would have the gate or barrier outside of Hogwarts be equal to the cell membrane of the cell. The Golgi Bodies would be represented by the owls because they are delivering messages. The nucleus or control center of the cell would be the Headmaster, etc.

4.      The teacher will walk around the room engaging with students, checking themes, and helping cement ideas or clarify ideas they might have.

5.      Team members will assign specific slides to the individuals in the group to ensure that every topic is covered.

Days 5-6:

1.      Students will submit their projects to the teacher.

2.      Each group of students will present their ideas and explain to the class why they chose the specific items that match up with the organelles within that theme.

3.      Students who are listening will be expected to write down any questions that they have for the group at the end of the presentations.

4.      Homework will be studying for a quiz about organelle functions.

Day 7:

1.      Teacher will play a fun YouTube video to engage the kids with cells. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zafJKbMPA8 (You should check this video out! The kids absolutely love it and it cracks me up every time!)

2.      Students will do a review activity with the instructor as a warm-up. The instructor may differentiate the review activity depending on the class. Some classes could do well with a Quizlet or Kahoot! quiz. However, other classes may find this to be too distracting and only work well on individual reflections.

3.      Students will take a twenty question multiple choice quiz asking them to pair up the functions for individual organelles. This quiz will also ask questions differentiating between animal and plant cells.

·         “Do You Know Cells Well”, “Anatomy of the Cell”, “Building Blocks of the Cell”, “Organelle Card Sort”, and “Organelle Functions Project” Worksheets

·         Coloring utensils for filling in diagrams.

·         Scissors for cutting out cards to sort.

·         Chromebooks for online activities and Google Slides Projects

1.      Informal assessments:

a.       Students will engage in sharing what they can remember about cells.

b.      Students will highlight their reading for main ideas to show that they were engaging with the material.

c.       Teacher will walk around the room and check that students are sorting their cards correctly.

d.      Students will ask questions about the presentations and engage with the students who are presenting.

2.      Formal assessment:

a.       Students will present their findings and ideas with their Google Slides presentations as a group.

b.      Students will take a multiple choice quiz evaluating their knowledge on the function of organelles.

What evidence of student learning have you collected?

·         The interaction between the students and the teacher in the beginning while reviewing what they already know can show that the students are engaged with the material and remembering what they have discussed before.

·         Their Google Slides project as well as their actual presentation will give the instructor an opportunity to listen to the students discuss the different functions of the organelles.

·         The quiz at the end of the unit will assess whether or not the students have retained the information about the cells and their organelle functions.

How will you analyze this evidence?

·         When we share what we know already about the cells, this will allow the teacher to know how much review needs to be done on the topic. If the students are showing that they do not remember anything in relationship to cells, the teacher may need to take an extra day of discussing the article and matching cards before the students are prepared to do the group project.

·         They will be graded by a rubric on their presentations.

·         The quizzes will show their knowledge of the material. Retakes will be allowed up to 70% on the quiz.

·         After the “Do You Know Cells Well” worksheet, the teacher may decide that the students need to spend an extra day going over the article that talks about cells, the organelles, and their functions.

·         If students show that they are not prepared for a quiz, the teacher may take an entire day to spend reviewing with students by playing review games, walking them through a slideshow presentation with basic information, having them work in groups, or creating some other form of review for the students before they need to take the quiz.