Unit 3, Lesson 3: Organelles

1. TITLE OF LESSON

Unit 3; Lesson 3—Organelles

   

2. CURRICULUM AREA & GRADE LEVEL

9^th grade Biology

50 minutes

 

3. STUDENT INFORMATION

A. English Language Learners

All ELL students are CELDT level 4. There are 4 in period 5 and 6 in period 6 for a total of 10 ELL students.    

B. Students with Special Education Needs

There are 4 students with IEPs or 504s in period 4 and 4 in period 6 for a total of 8. Learning disabilities include ADHD (2), anxiety (1), autism (2), specific learning disability (e.g. reading comprehension/memory retention) (2), and mild cerebral palsy (1). 

4. RATIONALE

A. Enduring Understanding

Cells are the smallest basic unit of life. All living things are made of cells. All new cells come from preexisting cells. There are two main categories of cells: prokaryotes and eukaryotes. An example of a eukaryote is an animal cell, or a plant cell. Eukaryotes have many organelles inside them, each with an important function to maintain cell homeostasis (and thus, life).

 B. Essential Questions

What are organelles?

List several organelles and their functions.

Why do different cells have different characteristics, structures, and functions? Give some examples.

How are “organelles” similar to “organs”?

Compare and contrast animal and plant cells.

 

C. Reason For Instructional Strategies & Student Activities

My classes are composed with freshmen. Most of them don’t like biology, as evidenced by an informal poll on the first day of class. They dislike reading, and, as a result, rarely read outside of homework assignments. Therefore, my classes are very hands-on and activities-based. In addition, I design my intros, presentations, and activities to be fun, engaging, and thought-provoking. The use of multiple resources and teaching styles will help my diverse class understand the key points of this unit, regardless of whether they learn through visual, auditory, and/or kinesthetic modalities. This strategy will also help the ELL students and students with special needs in my class.

 

In this lesson, students will draw cell models of animal and plant cells, labeling and identifying the function of each organelle. They will also create a poster of a cell “metaphor”, such as a city, to better understand how organelles function inside a cell. The combination of activities will engage students in different ways to help my diverse classes each learn the objectives, despite their unique learning differences.

 

     

5. CONTENT STANDARD(S)

1. Cell Biology: The fundamental life processes of plants and animals depend on a variety of chemical reactions that occur in specialized areas of the organism’s cells.

e. Students know the role of the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus in the secretion of proteins.

g. Students know the role of the mitochondria in making stored chemical-bond energy available to cells by completing the breakdown of glucose to carbon dioxide.

j. Students know how eukaryotic cells are given shape and internal organization by a cytoskeleton or cell wall or both.

 

11. Investigation and Experimentation: Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the concept in the other four strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations.

            d. Formulate explanations by using logic and evidence.

g. Recognize the usefulness and limitations of models and theories as scientific representations of reality.

             

6. ELD STANDARD(S)

·         Listening & Speaking: 1 (Intermediate): Listen attentively to stories and information and identify important details and concepts by using both verbal and nonverbal responses.

·         Listening & Speaking: 7(EA): Respond to messages by asking questions, challenging statements, or offering examples that affirm the message.  

                 

7. LEARNING GOAL(S) – OBJECTIVES (all cognitive; some psychomotor (lab))

After being presented with content on organelles and examine cells under a microscope, students will be able to describe the function of the nucleus and major organelles by creating a poster that is a “metaphor” for a cell in groups (“Cell City Activity”).

 

8. ASSESSMENT(S)

A. Diagnostic/Entry Level:

3 students will be called on randomly to share their answers with the class. In addition, before launching into new content about cells, I will ask them to share with the class what they’re conception of an organelle is (from their vocab), and which cells have them (eukaryotes, plants, animals).

B. Formative – Progress Monitoring:

Students will asked to share their answers every 2-3 slides when presented with content on organelles. I will circulate as students look at cells under a microscope and sketch drawings of their findings. I can check for understanding by assessing whether they’re cell models are labeled correctly. I will also check their organelle worksheets, colored diagram of a cell with labeled organelles, and Venn diagrams of differences and similarities between plants and animal cells (attached). Over the next week, I will close each class by randomly calling on 3 students and ask them questions about organelles, animal cells, and plant cells.

C. Summative:

Students will take a multiple-choice test at the end of the Unit 3 to be assessed for their understanding. The questions will include material on eukaryotes, organelles, and comparing and contrasting animal and plant cells. In addition, for this lesson, students will be assessed on their abilities to create a poster of metaphor for a cell to illustrate the function of each organelle (e.g. If the cell were a city, the nucleus would be the town hall). They will also be assessed on their abilities to write a 1 paragraph “Quick Write”, comparing and contrasting plant and animal cells. These “Quick Writes” will be randomly shared with the class (3), and I will also check them individually.

              

9. EXPLANATION OF DIFFERENTIATION FOR ELL & STS W/ SP ED NEEDS

A. English Language Learners

1.) Content: Students are arranged into groups of 4 according to current grade so those who need help with note-taking can look at the notes of a partner next to them. I pause to ask for questions to ensure everyone is ready before I advance a slide.

2.) Process: Students are arranged into groups of 4 according to current grade so those who need help have others who can provide peer-tutoring (worksheets, labs, poster activity). I circulate as they look through the microscope to provide assistance. Finally, I check for understanding frequently through random Q&A. Students have frequent opportunities to hear other student explanations, as well as being randomly assessed.                                      

3.) Product: Following oral instruction of the “Cell City Analogy” poster, students are given a handout with guidelines and written instructions (attached). Students can rely on others and see me for to aid in producing posters of their cell metaphor. I circulate to assist them while they write their “quick-write”. I also circulate and check notebooks periodically before they are due to make sure the notes are being taken correctly and content written is accurate. Before the test, students can see me outside of class for individual tutoring. During the test, students may ask me to read a question orally, or ask me for a definition of a non-vocab word that they don’t know (e.g. “abundance”).

       

          

A. Students with Special Education Needs

1.) Content: Students are arranged into groups of 4 according to current grade so those who need help with note-taking can look at the notes of a partner next to them. I pause to ask for questions to ensure everyone is ready before I advance a slide.

2.) Process: Students are arranged into groups of 4 according to current grade so those who need help have others who can provide peer-tutoring (worksheets, labs, poster activity). I circulate as they look through the microscope to provide assistance. Finally, I check for understanding frequently through random Q&A. Students have frequent opportunities to hear other student explanations, as well as being randomly assessed.                                      

3.) Product: Following oral instruction of the “Cell City Analogy” poster, students are given a handout with guidelines and written instructions (attached). Students can rely on others and see me for to aid in producing posters of their cell metaphor. I circulate to assist them while they write their “quick-write”. I also circulate and check notebooks periodically before they are due to make sure the notes are being taken correctly and content written is accurate. Also, I have supplementary handouts and additional worksheets that can be distributed, if needed. Before the test, students can see me outside of class for individual tutoring.

                                     

10. INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

A. Intro:

Students summarize their notes on prokaryotes versus eukaryotes from the day before. We will then review the definition of vocab words: eukaryote and organelle.

B. Instruction: I will instruct them to open up a fresh page in their spiral notebooks for note-taking. I will then present content on organelles, plants, and animal cells, periodically stopping to ask questions and check for understanding (ppt attached). These questions include:

§  What 3 organelles make up the nucleus?

§  Which one is the DNA?

§  Which one makes Ribosomes?

§  Which organelle makes proteins?

§  Where do they make the proteins?

§  Where do the proteins go to get packaged and shipped?

§  Which organelle makes sugar from sunlight?

§  Which organelle makes energy from sugar?

§  What organelles are only in plant cells?

§  What is the difference between a cell membrane and a cell wall?

C. Guided Practice: I will circulate and assist students as they draw models of a plant and animal cells by looking at cells in a microscope and following the directions on the lab worksheet (attached).                                     

D. Independent Practice: Students will be instructed to work in pairs to complete a Venn diagram to compare and contrast plant and animal cells.                                       

E. Closure: I will instruct students to present their poster and rationale to the class. Each student not presenting will be provided with a handout for peer-feedback. Students will be asked to share their feedback constructively.

                                                          

11. STUDENT ACTIVITIES

A. Intro (5 min):

Students will open up a fresh page in their spiral notebooks for note-taking. 3 students will share their definition of the words: eukaryote, prokaryote, and organelle.               

B. Instruction (15 min): Students will take Cornell-style notes on the presentation about organelles, animal cells, and plant cells (attached ppt presentation). Students will answer questions periodically to check for understanding.

 C. Guided Practice (45 min): Draw models of plant and animal cells with organelles labeled by looking at cells in a microscope and following the lab directions (attached).                                     

D. Independent Practice: Students will create posters of the “Cell City Analogy”. Students will then work in pairs to complete a Venn diagram to compare and contrast plant and animal cells. If time, students will complete a worksheet to help remember the location and function of each organelle.                                        

E. Closure: Students will present their posters to the class. Class will critique each poster, using a handout for guidance. Students will write a 1 paragraph “Quick Write” comparing and contrasting plant and animal cells. In addition, students will be assessed for understanding at the end of the unit (3 weeks) by a multiple-choice test.

 

12. RESOURCES

·         PowerPoint presentation “Organelles”

·         Lab for examining plant and animal cells.

·         Venn diagram for differences and similarities between plant cells and animal cells

·         Cell City Analogy

·         worksheets

·         Link to my blog for more resources on Cells (Unit 3).

http://www.drrichardsbiology.blogspot.com/p/unit-3-cell.html

·         Link to resources in Google Docs:

https://docs.google.com/folder/d/0BxAJgJ5OqE-GQkRKVllVOXJKTkE/edit

                                                                                                                                    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14. RUBRIC

 

Design Component & Criteria	Approaching	Meets (includes the criteria for Approaching)	Exceeds (includes the criteria for Approaching & Meets)
Title, Curriculum Area & Grade Level 5%	Provides a title that is related to the lesson activity	& addresses the unit it belongs to and in what curriculum area and grade	& describes where it fits within a unit plan.
Student Information 10%	Identify the names of the students that need differentiation (both ELL & Students w/ Sp Ed needs)	& describe each of the students readiness level, learning profile and interests	& includes prior successful differentiation strategies for each student.
Rationale 10%	Describes the rationale for teaching this lesson (big ideas, enduring understandings, essential questions) …	& addresses how the instructional strategies and the student activities are suited to meet the standard and objective of the lesson…	& explains how the assessment is a valid and reliable way to assess student learning.
Standards and Objectives 20%	Both CA Content and ELD Standards are identified and each is addressed in an objective that contains a condition, verb, and criteria	& each objective is labeled by the type (cognitive, affective, psychomotor or language) and the number of the standard it addresses	& identifies which of the six facets of understanding it is designed to address.
Assessment 10%	Provides an assessment for each objective and articulates if it is diagnostic, entry-level, formative or summative assessment	& clearly communicates to students about the expectations (rubric)	& provides a sample of student work.
Differentiation 10%	Describes the students differentiation strategy for the individual students…	& labels the strategy (lesson content, process or product) and the way it addresses the students identity and developmental needs (readiness, interest or learning profile)…	& provides how the strategy will be assessed for effectiveness and altered if needed.
Instructional Strategies 15%	Provides an into, through and a beyond activity for lesson…	& describes in detail the steps the teacher will take to implement the lesson and any need materials (i.e. graphic organizer, ppt, model, rubric)…	& provides script for teacher and times for each activity.
Student Activities 15%	Describes what the students will do during the into, through and beyond activity of the lesson…	& each activity is student centered with multiple opportunities for the instructor to check for understanding…	& provides times for each activity.
Resources 5%	All instructional materials needed to implement the lesson are listed/described.	All instructional materials that are needed to implement the lesson are provided, such as power point, graphic organizer, sample student work, assignment rubric, quiz...	& all materials listed for the unit are listed and/or provided.
Self-Evaluation (10% will be deducted if not included)	Provides a copy of the rubric with the lesson plan…	& highlights or circles the evaluated criteria for each lesson component…	& provides evidence for each criteria marked.