Lesson Plan : Collaborative Frankenstein Lesson
Teacher Name: | Jennifer Miller |
Grade: | Grade 9-10 |
Subject: | Science |
Topic: | Introduction to human anatomy of major organs and current events of genetic mutations that will relate to a collaborative Frankenstein theme. |
Content: | Anatomy Terms: Heart, Stomach, Small Intestine, Large Intestine, Pancreas, Liver, Gallbladder, Lungs, Kidneys, Urinary Bladder, Thymus, Brain, Spinal Cord, Spleen, Thyroid, and Adrenals Current Events: 1. Fruit fly study of gene instertion that extends life spans by thirty percent. 2. Gene mutation in toddler that inhibits production of myostatin protein, causing increased muscle growth. |
Goals: | 1. Create an awareness of biological current events that can be accessed easily through various online news sources. 2. Share two new biology topics and personal opinions of these topics. 3. Introduce or Review basic human anatomy through an activity. |
Objectives: | 1. Students will read the two articles and develop personal opinions or thoughts for the topics briefly discussed. Through the reading process of these two articles, students will learn cooperatively when sharing information obtained through the readings. Sharing of personal opinions/thoughts will provide acceptance of diverse ideas and opinions. 2. Students will develop cognitive thinking skills by reading descriptions of human organs and develop communication skills by describing these decriptions and the placement of the organs on the poster to partners in a cooperative group. |
Materials: | Two posters with coordinated organs that are velcroed onto the human figure, two articles obtained from MSNBC.com and NYTIMES.com, and large index cards used from written opinions/thoughts. |
Introduction: | Pictures of genetic mutations that relate to the two articles and cause interest. |
Development: | 1. The reading strategy used for the articles will be Group Summarizations. Students will judge ideas important and make generalizations about information read as a group. The second reading strategy used will be Jigsaw, where the students will give each other the pieces of information read using their generalizations. The writing phase of the lesson incorporates a modified quick-write. The students write a paragraph in response to the two current events articles. 2. The anatomy introduction and/or Review will use a vocabulary strategy called Word Puzzles. This strategy will be modified in which the students will be given the definition of the organ with it's respective function and any other clues/ interesting facts. The students then, using a word bank will figure out which organ is described and choose the picture that corresponds to the organ. The students then find the location of the organ on the human figure and place it in the appropriate place. |
Practice: | 1. Students will be seperated into two groups where they will read the assigned article and make notations of the information read. One person from each group will then briefly describe the information for the other group. Students will then write a short paragraph on the information, only to include their personal thoughts/opinions/ or questions about information presented. These written comments will be shared by volunteers. 2. The second part of the lesson will include a written description of each organ represented on the human figures. There will be two groups, one figure per group. The students will divide the teams and half will read and describe the given description to the other half. The other half of the group will identify the organ and place it accordingly on the figure. Each group has their own figure and set of organs that velcro onto the figure. |
Accommodations: | Students with any learning disability, at-risk label, or struggling with reading will be advantageous with this lesson. This is due to cooperative learning within the groups. The interesting topics, pictures, and review activity will keep students engaged on the objectives and tasks given. |
Checking For Understanding: | |
Closure: | In order to finish the lesson, students will be allowed to present their opinions on the level of helpfulness and/or engagement of the activity. The activity will be assessed by the students and by the professor. |
Evaluation: | |
Teacher Reflections: |
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