UKanTeach 2 Lesson Plan

Author (s): James LaRocca and Caitlin Hilliard Title of Lesson: Levels of Organization
Team Members:
James and Caitlin Lesson Source: Original lesson
Lesson #: 3 Mentor’s Name: Julie Battaglia
Date lesson will be taught: November 21st Mentor’s School: LMCMS
Subject/Grade level: 6th grade/ Life Science

Concepts/Main Idea – Biological life forms exist within a hierarchical system of organization. Biological levels of organization extend from
the molecular levels of DNA and organelles all the way to the higher ecological levels of ecosystems and the biosphere. For an individual
organism, organelles work together and make up a cell, similar cells coalesce to make up tissues, tissues form larger organs, organs work
together in organ systems, and organ systems maintain the basic functions that result in a whole organism.

Objective/s- Write objectives in SWBAT form…
The Students Will Be Able To:
1) Describe the levels of organization of biological life forms
2) Provide examples of organelles, cells, tissues, organs, and organ
systems in the human body
Evaluation Based on your objectives, draft the content of the questions you
will ask on your pre- and post-tests; at least 1 question for each objective.
Questions do not have to be multiple choice. The actual pre- and post-tests
should be copied at the end of this lesson plan.
1) List the order of the biological levels of organization from simplest to most
complex
2) Give an example of something from each level of the scale (organelle,
organ, organism, etc.)

3) What is one thing you learned from this lesson?

Updated Fall 2013

NGSS and Common Core Standards

M2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively

S7: Engage in argument

S8: Obtain, evaluate and communicate information.

S2: Develop and use models

E5: Read, write, and speak grounded in evidence

Materials list (BE SPECIFIC about quantities)
For Whole Class:
 Book (for a visual example during the Elaboration)
Per student (12):
 Set of cards with the levels of organization
 Glue stick
 A long strip of paper (e.g. receipt paper) for students to make their flowchart of
cards
Advance preparation:
Make sets of 6 cards, each containing a category of biological organization (organelle, cell,
tissue, organ, organ system, organism) with enough extra space for students to write
examples on the cards
Cut long strips of paper, such as from a roll of receipt paper, that is long enough for
students to be able to glue their cards to it and fold it up when they are done.
Include handouts at the end of this lesson plan document (blank page provided to paste a
copy of your document). List handouts in your materials list.
Accommodations: Include a general statement and any
specific student needs
The activities of this lesson are individual work and large
group discussion, but students will be encouraged to seek
help from the teacher or their neighbors if they require
assistance during the activity
We are not aware of any students that will require
accommodations in the class.
ELL/ESOL students may have difficulty with this highly-
verbal activity, but visual aids in the form of the cards will
provide a assistance in grasping the new words. Images in
the form of an accompanying power point presentation
would be an excellent addition to this lesson for helping
students better visualize the concepts discussed.
Safety: Include a general statement and any specific safety concerns
The students will be handling glue sticks and will be
encouraged to use their supplies responsibly.
Engagement: Estimated Time: _____5 min_____
What the teacher does AND how will the teacher direct
students: (Directions)
Hand out a stack of cards to each student.
Have the students arrange the cards in what they believe
to be the correct order from smallest to largest.
Have them write down their order on a piece of paper.
Collect the paper (this will serve as the pre-test).
Instruct the students to leave the cards on their table
They can use and re-order them throughout the lesson.
Probing Questions: Critical questions Expected Student Responses AND
that will connect prior knowledge and Misconceptions - think like a student to consider
create a “Need to know” student responses INCLUDING misconceptions:
“How would you arrange the objects on Answers will vary and will be interpreted via the
these cards from smallest to largest Pre-test
(simplest to most complex)?”
“Think about how you came up with
your list. What aspects of each object
made you place it where you did?”
Exploration: Estimated Time: _____15_____

What the teacher does AND what the teacher will direct Probing Questions: Critical questions Expected Student Responses AND
students to do: (Directions) that will guide students to a Misconceptions - think like a student to consider
“Common set of Experiences” student responses INCLUDING misconceptions:
Engage the students in a Soctratic discourse over the <See script> <See script>
subject of biological levels of organization.

The dialogue should roughly follow the attached script,

with adaptations when needed for further probing.

Encourage the students to use and consider the order of

their cards throughout the discussion and to re-organize
the order of the cards as needed.

Encourage the students to write down examples of each

level on the front of the cards throughout the discussion.
Explanation: Estimated Time: ____5______
What the teacher does AND what the teacher will direct
students to do: (Directions)
At the end of the Socratic discourse, briefly go over the
correct order of the levels of organization
Remind the students to make sure and include examples on
each of the cards, asking the class for examples if anyone
seems to be having trouble thinking of some.
Have the students glue their cards to the provided paper in
the correct order, so that they can have a chart that they
can look to for the final evaluation and for any future use.
Clarifying Questions: Critical questions
that will help students “clarify their
understanding” and introduce
information related to the lesson
concepts & vocabulary
“What is the correct order for the
cards?”
“What are some examples of
organelles/cells/tissues/organs/organ
systems/organisms?”
Expected Student Responses AND
Misconceptions - think like a student to consider
student responses INCLUDING misconceptions:
“organelles, cells, tissues, organs, organ systems,
organisms.”
Many potential answers. Example:
“organelles – mitochondria; cells – blood cells;
tissue – heart tissue; organ – heart; organ system
– circulatory system; organism – human”
Elaboration: Estimated Time: ____5______

What the teacher does AND what the teacher will direct
students to do: (Directions)
Continue the Socratic discourse with the section of the
script titled: “The Book Riddle”
Probing Questions: Critical questions
that will help students “extend or
apply” their newly acquired
concepts/skills in new situations
<see script>
Expected Student Responses AND
Misconceptions - think like a student to consider
student responses INCLUDING misconceptions:
<see script>

Begin by posing the riddle to the class, “how is an organism

like a book?”

Using leading questions, help the students to deduce that a

book is composed of structural levels that are very similar
to the biological levels of organization that they just looked
at in the Explore section.

Encourage the students to look for other objects,

interactions and concepts that follow a similar
organizational structure.
Evaluation: Estimated Time: ______3 min____
Critical questions that ask students to demonstrate their understanding of the lesson’s performance objectives.
Formative Assessment(s): In addition to the pre- and post-test, how will you determine students’ learning within this lesson : (observations, student
responses/elaborations, white boards, student questions, etc.)?

1) List the order of the levels of organization in biological life forms from simplest to most complex, and give an
example of something from each level of the scale.

[Include a word bank]

2) What is one thing you learned from this lesson?

Summative Assessment: Provide a student copy of the multiple choice quiz (a blank page provided at the end of this document for you to paste your quiz).
 Enter Question
Name: _________________

1) Write down the order that you have arranged the cards from simplest to most complex.
 Exit Questions
Name: ___________

1) List the order of the levels of organization in biological life forms from simplest to most complex and give an example of
something from each level of the scale.

Word Bank: tissue, organelle, organ, cell, organism, organ system

Biological Level of Organization Example

2) What is one thing you learned from this lesson?

 Card Template

organelle organ

Cell organ system

tissue organism
 Script for lesson
 [What instructor says]
o [Desired responses from students]

Exploration:
 “Who remembers what we looked at last time?”
o Cells, parts of cells, organelles (continue probing until they get to organelles)
 “And these ‘organelles,’ what do they do?
o Maintain functions of the cells?
 “What does that mean?”
o The make the cells work
 “So these organelles make up our cells, and our cells make up our bodies?”
o Yes
 “But is that all there is to it? I mean, the mitochondria are responsible for respiration in the cell, so is there an animal cell that helps us to breathe? How
do we breathe?”
o We breathe with our lungs
 “So, then what is the lung? Is it just one big cell?”
o No, it’s an organ
 “Okay, what do organs do?”
o Maintain body functions, breathing, eating, pumping blood, etc.
 “Do these processes just require a single organ?”
o No, they require multiple organs to complete the process (e.g. digestive system)
 “What are some specific examples of these processes?”
o Circulatory system, digestive system, respiratory system, etc. (continue prompting the students for more examples to get more students involved)
 “So, looking back at your cards, where do you think these processes fit in?”
o Organ Systems, in between organs and organisms, etc.
 “Now let’s go back to those cells. Is an organ made up of cells?
o Yes
 “If you take an organ, for example, a heart, and you cut off a piece of it, do you have just one big cell?”
o No
 “So what do you have?”
o A group of cells
  “Now, different cells can have different functions based on where they are in the body (such as muscle cells, nerve cells, or skin cells). When similar cells
are working together to complete a function, such as forming the cardiac muscles, what do you think we might call these groups of similar cells?”
o A tissue (if they don’t get to it right away, encourage them to look back at their cards).
 “So, we have this group of cells that are all performing the same function, in this case making up the muscle tissue for the heart. And that tissue, along
with others, makes up the heart; an organ.”
 “Given what we’ve just gone through, look at your cards and consider whether or not you want to change the order of your cards. What are some
observations you’ve made about this hierarchy of biological organization?”
o <Answers will vary based on what students have learned from the activity. Ideally someone will point out that the levels are each built up by the
interactions of members of the next lower level. If not, lightly prod them in that direction.>

Elaboration - The Book Riddle:

 “Here’s a riddle for you: how is a living organism like a book?”
o <Don’t accept direct answers, let the students think about it for a few seconds before jumping to the next line>
 “Let’s consider what a book is. In its most basic, physical sense, what is a book?”
o A bunch of pages of paper
o <if students respond with “a story” or “a collection of information” point out that those are more conceptual ideas, and ask for what a book
physically is.>
 “And on those pages, full of information, how is that information arranged? What do we call these large blocks of information?” <use visual example
here>
o Paragraphs
 “And these paragraphs are made up of…?”
o Sentences
 “And each sentence is a collection of…?”
o words
 “And words are some meaningful arrangement of….?”
o Letters
 “Right! So, what does that all mean? Can someone trace those steps back up for us?”
o Letters make up the words, which make up the sentences, which make up the paragraphs, which make up the pages, which make up the book.
 “Does that seem familiar to you guys? What does this sound like?”
o The biological levels of organization
 “Exactly! So a book is made up of structural components in the form of pages, paragraphs, sentences, words, and letters, just like an organism is made
up of organ systems, organs, tissues, cells, and organelles.”
 “As you leave today, consider other aspects, objects, interactions, and concepts of your daily lives that are similarly arranged and categorized in this style
of parts working together to make higher levels of complexity; the same way that letters of the alphabet are used to construct books and organelles are
used to construct the bodies of organisms.
o <If students attempt to bring up alternative answers to the riddle, acknowledge them, but redirect the conversation to the desired answer
without going into why their answer may/may not work>