Unit Planning Matrix – 9/10 Biology, The Cell Part II



Unit Planning Matrix – 9/10 Biology, The Cell Part II.

Week 1 -Transport

|Monday/Tuesday -100 minutes | |

|a. What the students will do |List requirements for transport in the block/barrier models. |

| |Students will listen to a lecture about barriers, where characteristics of barriers that we came up with in class linked to the cell |

| |membrane. Lecture will also include characteristics of the substances trying to enter the cell membrane such as size, lipid solubility|

| |and polarity. |

| |Analyze the cell membrane as a barrier and describe characteristics of substances that can and cannot pass through the membrane in |

| |small groups. |

| |Students will watch a Power Point presentation about diffusion and osmosis. |

| |Describe how concentration gradients influence diffusion |

|b. Student learning objectives |1. Students will describe what constitutes a barrier and describe characteristics of barriers. |

| |2. Students will transfer their understand of common barriers to analyze the cell membrane as a barrier. |

| |3. Students will be able to determine whether or not substances can pass through a barrier based on their size, lipid solubility and |

| |polarity. |

|c. Resources |Block/Barrier models |

|d. Justification for teaching ideas/skills |One principle in understanding any system is to know how things enter and exit the system. The cell is a system whose health is |

| |partially dependent on what it can get from the outside environment. Thus an understanding of how substances are transported into and |

| |out of the cell will aid in students’ understanding of the cell as a system. |

| Justification for instructional strategies |It is a conceptual challenge to understand how substances are transported across the cell membrane. This is primarily because it |

| |requires conceptualizing of cells and molecules that cannot be seen. However, it is not impossible to understand these processes. By |

| |giving the students a tangible model on which to base their understanding, students can then use this model to understand the cell |

| |membrane and transfer processes. Students will also need instruction in factors that influence what can transport through a cell. To|

| |aid in the understanding of this abstract process, students will first listen to a lecture to give them a knowledge base, and then get |

| |into small groups where they work a particular transport question where they’re asked if a substance would transport or not. The small|

| |group work is used to help student collaborate on to enhance their understanding of transport, and the single problem they work on is |

| |to give them situated practice solving real problems involving the cell and transport of a particular substance. |

|e. Evidence of student understanding |Students will fill out a transport worksheet in small groups with several scenarios, asking whether or not transport will occur, and if|

| |so, in what direction. Collecting and examining these sheets will give the teacher a good sense of whether students understand the |

| |central concepts from the day. |

|Wednesday/Thursday -100 minutes | |

|a. What the students will do |Students will engage in a lecture where we review information and concepts from earlier in the week that will be important for the lab |

| |(Inquiry: building a knowledge base) |

| |Students will observe a demo of diffusion and osmosis using dialysis tubing (full of normal saline) and a high salinity solution. |

| |Students will be asked to hypothesize about what would happen if the tubing were placed in a sugar or oil solution (Inquiry: crafting |

| |predictions). |

| |Students will break into groups and test their hypothesis using either sugar or oil solutions. There will be a pre-written procedure |

| |for this process (Inquiry: conducting an investigation). |

| |Students will record results of experiment in their lab notebook and analyze the results using prior knowledge established earlier in |

| |the week (Inquiry: analyzing data). |

|b. Student learning objectives |1. Students will know how size and concentration influence diffusion and osmosis. |

| |2. Students will use the scientific method to test their hypotheses about diffusion. |

| |3. Students will demonstrate proper safety protocols for the experimental period. |

|c. Resources |Dialysis tubing, sugar water solution, salt water solution, oil solution, lab notebooks, weigh scales. |

|d. Justification for teaching ideas/skills |Diffusion and osmosis are abstract concepts, however, they take place all around us. An understanding of diffusion and osmosis can be |

| |transferred from the experimental situation to the cell, to the lungs, to the kidneys, to atmospheric sciences and many other |

| |disciplines. |

| Justification for instructional strategies |Because diffusion and osmosis are abstract concepts, it is necessary to see the affects of both in a tangible way. Through |

| |experimenting with the affects of different solutions on the weight of saline filled dialysis tubing, students will be able to see how |

| |molecules are transported across barriers is a selective and predictable way. |

|e. Evidence of student understanding |I will be circulating the room during the lab to monitor student progress. One way that I will gather evidence of understanding is |

| |through questioning students during the lab. |

|Friday -50 minutes | |

|a. What the students will do |Students will present their results from the experiment using posters (Inquiry: presenting findings). The posters will describe the|

| |different scenarios in which diffusion and osmosis occurred. Students will also be responsible for describing why diffusion and |

| |osmosis occurred in their experiment. |

|b. Student learning objectives |1. Students will use experimental evidence to describe how size and concentration affect diffusion. |

| |2. Students will be able to describe when and why diffusion occurs. |

|c. Resources |Poster paper, colored pens. |

|d. Justification for teaching ideas/skills |One of the primary step in inquiry is to present your results. In this part of the class, students will present their results and |

| |in this way, make their thinking clear to the class and hopefully reemphasize their thinking to themselves. |

| Justification for instructional strategies |It is important that the class feel united in their search for understanding. After every member of the class has conducted an |

| |inquiry investigation about diffusion and osmosis, it will be important for them to share their results with each other. In this |

| |way, we are all sharing in the building of knowledge. |

|e. Evidence of student understanding |Student understanding of diffusion and osmosis will be demonstrated in their poster presentation and from viewing their lab |

| |notebooks. In the presentations, I will look for consideration of concentration, size and lipid solubility in presentations of |

| |experimental results and conclusions. |

Week 2- Energy Flow/Specialization

|Monday/Tuesday -100 minutes | |

|a. What the students will do |Students will listen to a lecture about energy and its various forms. |

| |Students will brainstorm a list of familiar objects that consume energy. |

| |Students will identify the forms of energy that are used or produced in each object. |

| |Students will trace the flow of energy through each object by drawing a picture of their object and labeling the various areas that |

| |either use or produce energy. |

| |Students will break into small groups to discuss the question, “Do cells use energy?” |

| |Students will present group ideas to the class through an informal statement of their answer to the question. |

| |Students will read part of their textbook that describes the various physiological processes in cells. |

| |Students will use their knowledge of cell anatomy and physiology to create a list of areas in the cell that either use or produce |

| |energy. |

|b. Student learning objectives |1. Students will be able to recognize various forms of energy. |

| |2. Students will be able to identify processes that require energy in common objects. |

|c. Resources |Bring overheads of various objects that use and produce. |

|d. Justification for teaching ideas/skills |In order to understand the cell and why it operates the way it does, you need to understand energy flow. Energy is one of the main |

| |requirements for systems to operate whether they are biotic (the cell) or abiotic (volcanoes). Much is the cell is geared toward |

| |the production and consumption of energy. Thus, to understand the purpose of the cell, one must understand the flow of energy |

| |through a cell. |

| Justification for instructional strategies |At the beginning of this class, it will be necessary to build a knowledge base about energy. Once we can all understand the basics |

| |of energy, we’ll be ready to analyze systems that use energy. I like to start with familiar system such as cars, animals etc, |

| |because this gives students a way to apply new knowledge to a familiar situation. Group work will be essential in this process. |

| |First, because it will bring out any misconceptions about energy in a safe environment. Second, it will allow other students or the|

| |teacher to correct and resolve any misunderstandings about energy flow. The last part of the class involves introducing a question|

| |to the class. This question will guide the rest of the lesson on energy. It will also be the reason we explore future activities |

| |in this lesson. |

|e. Evidence of student understanding |During class and group discussions, I will look for evidence for students understanding of energy, energy forms and energy use. |

| |This will be demonstrated in small group discussions and during interactive lectures. For a homework assignment, student will need |

| |to use their textbook or any other resources available to them and list at least three areas of the cell that use energy, and three |

| |that either take in or produce energy. |

|Wednesday/Thursday -100 minutes | |

|a. What the students will do |Students will compile and consolidate their lists of sources and sinks of energy in the cell. |

| |Students will watch a movie about cell functioning and then compare ideas from the movie with the sources and sinks of energy |

| |described in their homework. |

| |Students participate in a lecture where we draw a picture of a cell on the board and each group of students writes one area of the |

| |cell where energy is created or received, and one where it is used. |

|b. Student learning objectives |1. Students will be able to identify areas of the cell that produce (or receive) and consume energy. |

| |2. Students will be able to describe the mitochondria’s/chloroplast’s role as energy producer in the cell. |

| |3. Student will use multiple sources of data (textbook, class and movie) to enhance their understanding of energy flow in cells. |

|c. Resources |Cell movie. |

|d. Justification for teaching ideas/skills |Energy is a primary theme in many subject areas. It is also a theme in our everyday lives. Many objects that students use daily |

| |require energy, including them. The flow of energy in cells can be used as a model for understanding the flow of energy in other |

| |biotic and abiotic objects. It will also enhance students’ understanding of their bodies energy needs. |

| Justification for instructional strategies |The primary objective of today’s class will be to compare student ideas about energy to multiple sources. This will be accomplished|

| |by comparing student ideas from the homework to a movie and in-class lecture on energy flow through cells. As the class compares |

| |their ideas about energy in cells to these multiple sources, they will be participating in knowledge building and refining together.|

| |I believe that the skill of working as a class to build understanding will reinforce the need for teamwork when trying to understand|

| |a difficult concept. It will also prepare them for their culminating project for the unit where they will also work in groups. |

|e. Evidence of student understanding |Evidence of understanding will come from multiple areas in this lecture. First, I will review student homework and look for |

| |evidence that they were able to understand the characteristics of objects that produce or consume energy. Second, I will observe |

| |students’ comparisons of their ideas to the movie, and look for evidence of knowledge refining. Lastly, during the lecture about |

| |energy flow in cells using a diagram, I will look for students’ concrete knowledge about sources and sinks of energy in cells. |

Specialization

|Friday -50 minutes | |

|a. What the students will do |As a class, survey the different types of organs in our body. Then, students will give their ideas about the function of these |

| |particular systems in the body. |

| |Students will do an in-class reading jigsaw in groups using an article that describes the various cells from each organ systems and |

| |how they are specialized. The goal of the group work will be for each member to answer the question, “How is your cell specialized |

| |for its specific purpose in the body?” After individual sharing is complete, groups will create posters about how cells are |

| |specialized. At the end of the day, student will participate in a lecture where we look at real pictures of specialized cells and |

| |try to find evidence of specialization in the pictures. |

|b. Student learning objectives |1. Students will be able to identify four different types of cells in the body. |

| |2. Students will be able to list one way that a cell is specialized for its particular function in the body. |

| |3. Students will be able to reason why each specialized cell is structured differently than the other cells. |

|c. Resources |Large picture of human body, overhead of the different types of cells in the body, poster board. |

|d. Justification for teaching ideas/skills |Part of the fun of science, is to use your skills in order to gather data or problem solve. In this circumstance, students already |

| |know about the energy needs of cells and the anatomy and physiology of cells. Now is there chance to reason about how cells are |

| |specialized based on their function in the body. By knowing about how various organs work (muscles, nerves, skin) and comparing |

| |this to their knowledge of the cell, student should be able to reason about cell specialization (with some help from the instructor |

| |and jigsawed readings). Once they have done this, they will feel empowered with their ability to use their skills to understand |

| |something new. |

| Justification for instructional strategies |The beginning of the class will involve eliciting student ideas about different organ systems in the body. Rather than lecturing |

| |about this, I think it will be useful to instead use the knowledge that is already present in the room. Using a reading jigsaw has |

| |many documented benefits in the classroom. First, it gives students an essential role in their group and second it places them in |

| |an expert position in their group, which can enhance their motivation to work. Form a time standpoint, the jigsaw also allows a |

| |large amount of information to be covered in less time than it would be during a normal lecture. The last part of the day will |

| |involve looking at real pictures of cells and trying to diagnose how they are specialized. I think that this brings a realism and |

| |practical-ness to the lecture. |

|e. Evidence of student understanding |I will look for evidence of student learning primarily in student poster presentations of specialization. Since I will have kept |

| |track of which students researched a particular cell, I will be able to look at the posters and determine how well each student |

| |understood their cell. |

Week 3 –Homeostasis/ Review from the Unit/Begin Formal Performance Assessment

|Monday/Tuesday – 100 minutes | |

|a. What the students will do |Student will address the question in class, “What do cells need to survive” in-class during a facilitated lecture. Once we have a |

| |list of cell needs, students will listen to a lecture about the biological limits of cell needs such as limits on temperature, waste|

| |disposal, and reproductive frequency. At this point the lecture will transition to the idea of homeostasis in general systems. |

| |Students will then break into small groups and discuss requirements for homeostasis in themselves. Each group will then report |

| |their ideas to the class. After this, we will list the requirements for homeostasis in cells based on the class’s understanding of:|

| |the requirements for life, cell transport, energy flow and specialization. |

|b. Student learning objectives |1. Student will diagnose the needs of cells based on their knowledge of the needs of all living organisms and on the cells needs for|

| |transport, energy and specialization. |

| |2. Students will know that cells require a certain amount of energy, metabolism, reproduction and waste disposal to maintain a |

| |balanced internal environment. |

|c. Resources |No extra resources required for this class. |

|d. Justification for teaching ideas/skills |The concept of homeostasis governs many living systems. The cell is perhaps on of the smallest units in which to understand this |

| |phenomenon. However, characteristics of homeostasis in cells can be transferred to many other living systems. In this way, |

| |learning about cell homeostasis is giving students a model for understanding other living systems. |

| Justification for instructional strategies |I think that the most logical way to understand homeostasis is to begin with an understanding of the needs of cells. Student will |

| |have already studied this, so the beginning of class will be primarily used to solicit students’ knowledge about this. The next |

| |step in this logical progression involves placing limits on the various needs of cells. Once I have made this suggestion, I think |

| |that it will be appropriate to transition to the idea of homeostasis. By this time, student will have enough background information|

| |to understand the concept. To test whether students understand the concepts discussed in class, they will break into small groups |

| |and apply ideas from the lecture to themselves in answering the question, “What do I need for homeostasis?” The last transition of |

| |the class will be to apply our understanding of homeostasis to cells. At this point, students will have spent the day building |

| |their knowledge about the subject area. This last part will be an opportunity for them to apply their knowledge and will |

| |demonstrate to me whether or not they can transfer ideas about requirements for life and homeostasis in themselves to the cell. |

|e. Evidence of student understanding |To determine whether students have understood the day’s lesson, I will observe them during small group work and assess their |

| |understandings during facilitated lecture where they are applying their ideas about homeostasis to cells. |

|Wednesday/Thursday – 100 minutes | |

|a. What the students will do |During the first part of the day, students will address the question, “How do characteristics of homeostasis change when the |

| |environment changes?” First, students will answer this question in regard to themselves. To do this, students will break into |

| |groups. Each group will have a scenario where their body is placed in the desert, the water or the Arctic. Each group will then |

| |have to identify how their needs for homeostasis would change. We will review each group’s answers as a class, and then groups will|

| |address the same question as above, but with situations that refer to cells. Scenarios include: cell when you have a fever, cells |

| |when you are exercising, cells when you are sleeping etc. Each group will then present their answer to the scenario to the class. |

| |The last part of the day will be spent reviewing the topics of transport, energy flow and specialization for the unit using concept |

| |mapping. To being this activity, we will brainstorm important vocabulary and concepts from the unit. After this, students will |

| |individually work on creating concept maps that organize ideas and vocabulary from the unit. |

|b. Student learning objectives |1. Student will understand how altering the environment of a system can affect homeostasis. |

| |2. Students will display their understanding of transport, energy flow and specialization through the creation of concept maps. |

|c. Resources |No extra resources are required for this lesson. |

|d. Justification for teaching ideas/skills |Two important parts of understanding homeostasis are first, that characteristics of homeostasis are different in different |

| |environments and second, being able to predict characteristics of homeostasis depending on the environment. An understanding of |

| |these two concepts will give students a situated understanding of homeostasis, and begin to help them relate systems to the |

| |environment that they are responding to. |

| Justification for instructional strategies |The importance of student group work and linking familiar situations to new situations has been justified in previous part of the |

| |matrix. A new instructional strategy introduced here is the use of concept maps. Concept mapping is a great way for students to |

| |organize large concepts and their constituent parts in a visual way. For this reason, I think that concept mapping is an idea way |

| |to wrap-up a unit. In addition, the concept map will also be a way for me to see how students organize information from the unit, |

| |helping me to resolve inaccuracies in student understanding. |

|e. Evidence of student understanding |The concept map will be handed in at the end of class. I will review each student’s map and look for evidence that students 1) |

| |included all of the main concepts from the class 2) link correctly constituent parts to their larger concept or idea. |

Formal Performance Assessment

|Friday – 50 minutes | |

|a. What the students will do |Students will first listen to a lecture about our culminating project and requirements for the project. The lecture will include an|

| |exploration of an example project and steps that took place in order to successfully complete the project. Next, students will |

| |brainstorm different object that could be used for the Cell Models Project. Once the class has a comprehensive list of familiar |

| |objects, student will break into group of two and begin planning their projects using Cell Models Worksheet #1. |

|b. Student learning objectives |1. Students will understand what a good finished product will look like for the Cell Models Project. |

| |2. Students will be able to identify different familiar objects that could be used to model a cell after. |

| |3. Students will begin to plan for the completion of their culminating project. |

|c. Resources |Handouts about the Cell Models Project, Cell Models Worksheet #1 |

|d. Justification for teaching ideas/skills |The culminating project is an opportunity for students to demonstrate their understanding from the unit about cell form and |

| |function. It is also a chance for students to enhance their understanding of cells through research, group work and the use of |

| |analogy. |

| Justification for instructional strategies |An essential part of introducing a project is to make the teacher’s expectations explicit. During this class period, I am using |

| |lecture, project worksheets, and an example of a finished project that meets criteria, to give students a clear picture of what I |

| |expect from them. |

|e. Evidence of student understanding |I will collect Cell Models Worksheet #1 which will describe the object that the students have chosen to model a cell after. The |

| |worksheet will also have a checklist for whether or not the group’s object can meet the criteria for the assignment. I will review |

| |this work sheet and give students feedback about the object they’ve chosen including ways that they can alter their ideas to make |

| |researching easier for them. |

Week 4- Monday/Tuesday, Wednesday/Thursday & Friday Unit Matrix combine due to specific focus on Culminating Project.

| | |

|a. What the students will do |This week will be dedicated solely to the culmination project for the unit. During this time student groups will work on doing |

| |research for their project including visits to the library, use of the internet, and exploration of various textbooks from the |

| |class. During this time students will also be continuously filling out Cell Models Worksheet #2 which will be used to record and |

| |keep track of research information and ideas about the project. At the end of the week, students will have time to individually |

| |compile their papers using class and library computers. By the end of the week, students will have completed: Cell Models |

| |Worksheets # 1 & 2 and their formal write-up of the Cell Models Project. Students who need extra time for the project will need to |

| |use time over the weekend for completion of requirements. |

|b. Student learning objectives |1. Students will utilize multiple resources in their attempts to research their object and the cell. |

| |2. Students will work in groups to gather information pertinent to their projects. |

| |3. Students understand how their familiar object is similar to cells in the areas of anatomy, transport, energy flow, specialization|

| |and homeostasis. |

| |4. Students will understand how to properly format and structure their papers to meet criteria for the project. |

| |5. Students will incorporate feedback about their research progress into their final paper about the Cell Models Project. |

|c. Resources |Textbooks, internet access, library access. |

|d. Justification for teaching ideas/skills |The learning objectives that are addressed by the culminating project are very involved. They require both concrete and abstract |

| |understandings of how cells look and function. Learning this can be very challenging, especially for the concrete thinker. One way|

| |to aid in this learning is through analogy. During the entire unit, analogies have been drawn between cell processes and other |

| |familiar processes. During this project, students are asked to take part in the same process. To aid in the amount of work that |

| |must be completed for the project, students will work in groups. |

| Justification for instructional strategies |When students select a familiar object to relate a cell to, they are working with a concrete and comfortable object. Then, through |

| |analogy, they can gradually relate that which is comfortable and familiar with that which is abstract and foreign (the cell). |

| |Through this process, the student will build powerful analogies that will allow them to not only relate to the cell, but also |

| |remember relations to the cell when they think of their familiar object. |

|e. Evidence of student understanding |To ensure that students are progressing successfully through the research project, I will review the Cell Models Worksheets after |

| |each class session, looking for whether or not students are meeting criteria for the project and for evidence of progression through|

| |the research project. I will also give students feedback if they need to alter their perspective on a particular answer, or if they|

| |are not meeting criteria for the formatting of the project. |

| |The final determination of student understanding will come from review of their papers, which will be due either on Friday or the |

| |following Monday, depending on how classes progress. In the papers, I will search for criteria that demonstrate understanding and |

| |diagnose student strengths and weaknesses from the unit. I will also compare work and feedback received on their Cell Models |

| |Worksheets with the content and structure of their paper. |

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