‭Science Unit Planning Template‬

‭ nit Title:‬‭Cell Growth and Function‬

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‭Unit Driving Question:‬‭What causes the salmon to go‬‭from eggs to fry?‬
‭Unit Puzzling/Anchoring Phenomenon:‬‭Salmon growing‬‭from eggs in the fish tank.‬
‭NGSS PE’s:‬‭HS-LS-4, Students will be able to use a‬‭model to illustrate the role of cellular division (mitosis) and‬
‭differentiation in producing complex organisms.‬
‭Potential Student Ideas:‬‭Students may come up with‬‭different ideas for how a cell divides, students may also bring‬
‭up inheritance and genes.‬‭These ideas‬‭could be: cells‬‭grow larger, that a cell divides but they may not know if the‬
‭cells created are identical or not, students could come up with reasons that cells divide, or students could draw‬
‭connections between cells dividing and cell types (eukaryotes and prokaryotes).‬
‭Lesson Modifications for students:‬‭For English learning‬‭students lessons will always include images. Information will‬
‭be available online, on the projector, and on physical paper so students can have access to information in all formats.‬
‭Students will be given extended time to complete assignments. Students that require other accommodations will‬
‭have access to a team teacher and an academic learning center upon request.‬

L‭ esson Question‬ ‭Phenomena‬ I‭ nstructional Sequence‬ ‭Student Sheets‬ ‭Materials‬

‭What causes a‬
‭salmon to grow‬ ‭ sing photos I‬
U ‭observe salmon eggs in a fish tank. We will‬
‭from an egg to a‬ ‭will show the‬
‭fry?‬ ‭students the life‬
‭cycle of salmon,‬
‭DAY 1‬ ‭growing from‬
‭eggs into full‬
‭grown salmon. I‬
‭will also show a‬
‭short video of‬
‭salmon growing‬
‭from eggs to fry.‬
‭Engage: To start the unit off students will‬
‭then look at images of the stages of salmon‬
‭growth.‬
‭I kicked off the lesson with the schedule of‬
‭our unit plan. I wanted to contextualize what‬
‭we were doing today and give the students a‬
‭big picture idea of why we are doing what‬
‭we are doing. I gave the students the‬
‭opportunity to look at the fish tank‬
‭containing the salmon eggs. I then went‬
‭through a presentation I made that included‬
‭photos of grown salmon and a video of‬
‭salmon growing from eggs into fry. As a class‬
‭we then discussed what observations the‬
s‭ tudents made and wrote the students’‬
‭ideas on the smartboard. During this‬
‭discussion I asked students to help create‬
‭ways we can categorize our fish growth‬
‭stages.‬

E‭ xperience: The students will draw their‬ ‭Initial Model‬ ‭ riving Question‬
D
‭initial models of how a salmon egg grows‬ ‭Board, Salmon‬
‭into a salmon at the cellular level. We will‬ ‭Eggs‬
‭then lead into doing a driving question‬
‭board together.‬
‭To introduce the initial models I put‬
‭instructions on the board and on the paper I‬
‭handed out. On the board I put photos of‬
‭the lifecycle of a salmon. I asked students to‬
‭draw, label, and color a model of what is‬
‭happening to these salmon eggs as they‬
‭grow into fry. I told students that this is not a‬
‭matter of right or wrong, it is just their initial‬
‭ideas of what is happening. I mentioned that‬
‭they should try and look at it at a cellular‬
‭level using what we’ve talked about‬
‭previously but it is okay if they are unsure‬
‭what that would look like.‬
‭Explain + Argue: Students will explain their‬
‭models using labels and arrows to the best‬
‭of their ability. There will also be an area‬
‭where students can write what their drawing‬
‭is showing.‬
 ‭ e finished class with the driving question‬
W
‭board. I handed each student two sticky‬
‭notes. I told students to come up with at‬
‭least two questions they have pertaining to‬
‭what we observed with the salmon. I then‬
‭told them to put their questions on the‬
‭driving question board and attempt to‬
‭categorize them. When it came time to‬
‭discuss the board I asked students what‬
‭categories they saw and we went through‬
‭the questions.‬

T‭ he students will have their initial ideas of how a cell grows and we can begin to explore‬
‭that.‬

‭Lesson Question‬ ‭ henomena‬

P I‭ nstructional Sequence‬ ‭Student Sheets‬ ‭Materials‬
‭An onion root cell‬ ‭Engage:‬‭To connect this to the prior lesson I‬
‭ hat does a cell‬
W ‭undergoing‬ ‭will start the lesson off by telling the class‬
‭do while an‬ ‭mitosis.‬ ‭that we are going to begin the process of‬
‭organism is‬ ‭exploring our questions. “A lot of you had‬
‭growing?‬ ‭questions on the growth of the salmon. Now‬
‭given our resources at hand we cannot put‬
‭DAY 2‬ ‭the salmon eggs under the microscope and‬
‭observe it growing. Is there something we‬
‭could possibly use to substitute the salmon‬
‭egg?” Students can then give ideas of what‬
‭we can do, this will get the students thinking‬
‭about different ways to approach an‬
‭experiment. “Thank you all for your ideas on‬
‭this, I will be sure to keep them in mind for‬
f‭ uture experiments we do! We are currently‬
‭limited to what we have on hand which are‬
‭onion cell slides and chicken embryo slides.”‬
‭I will also ask the students to turn and talk‬
‭and try to come up with “how does this help‬
‭us answer our questions from yesterday?”.‬
‭Based on the DQB I will have different‬
‭approaches. At this point students may or‬
‭may not know the term mitosis and that‬
‭would ideally be brought up during the DQB.‬
‭Students did not come up with the term‬
‭mitosis.‬‭If students are not familiar with‬
‭mitosis, I will adjust the question to be‬
‭“What does it look like when a cell grows?”‬
‭Experience: Students will use microscopes to‬ ‭Onion WS‬ ‭ icroscope,‬
M
‭view an onion root cell undergoing mitosis.‬ ‭Onion cell slide,‬
‭Students will document images and‬ I‭ will be creating a‬ ‭chicken embryo‬
‭descriptions of the cells they see in different‬ ‭different worksheet‬ ‭slide‬
‭phases.‬‭I will introduce this activity by‬ ‭that I will upload‬
‭dividing students into groups of 2-3.‬ ‭when I make it.‬
‭Students will then work in their groups to‬
‭observe onion cell slides as well as chicken‬
‭embryo slides. The intent with this is for‬
‭students to see growth in both plants and‬
‭animals. I will ask students to take notes of‬
‭their observations and take photos or draw‬
‭noteworthy cells.‬
‭Potential questions to ask during lab:‬
‭●‬ ‭What are we seeing?‬
‭●‬ ‭What similarities do we see between‬
‭the chicken and the onion?‬
 ‭●‬ A
‭ re the cells we see doing anything‬
‭special? Do they all look the same?‬

E‭ xplain + Argue:‬ ‭ ILL ADD‬

W
‭Students will then go back to their desks and‬ ‭WORKSHEET HERE‬
‭with their groups they will create models of‬
‭what they think cell division (or mitosis)‬
‭looks like. I will provide them with a‬
‭worksheet that they can cut out the phases‬
‭and place them in the order they think is‬
‭correct. This is how I will introduce the‬
‭phases of mitosis.‬

‭ lternative: In their groups students will‬

A
‭draw their models on whiteboards to be‬
‭discussed.‬

T‭ he ideal end of class will involve students‬

‭explaining their models and discussing as a‬
‭class why they put them in the order they‬
‭did.‬

I‭ like the quote “seek to understand” for this‬

‭as I would like for students to see each‬
‭others’ thought processes and not judge‬
‭right or wrong.‬

S‭ tudents have observed cells dividing and created their initial ideas of what mitosis looks‬
‭like.‬
L‭ esson Question‬ ‭ henomena‬
P I‭ nstructional Sequence‬ ‭Student Sheets‬ ‭Materials‬
‭How do cells grow‬ ‭We see living‬ ‭Engage:‬‭This lesson will rely on the results of‬
‭and divide?‬ ‭things growing all‬ ‭the day prior. I will start by showing a short‬
‭around us.‬ ‭time-lapse video of a salamander growing‬
‭DAY 3‬ ‭from a single celled organism into a full‬
‭I feel that‬‭this‬ ‭grown salamander.‬‭“We’ve now observed‬
‭video‬‭would do a‬ ‭cells at different stages of growth, as well as‬
‭good job of‬ ‭a single cell growing into an organism we‬
‭showing students‬ ‭know as a salamander”.‬
‭the growth of an‬
‭organism as a‬ ‭Alternatively this lesson could begin with a‬
‭phenomena at‬ ‭continuation of yesterday's modeling. The‬
‭the cellular level.‬ ‭lesson would start off with students sharing‬
‭the models their group drew the day prior‬
‭and explaining their reasoning.‬

T‭ o elicit students' ideas I will begin with a‬

‭turn and talk. I will ask the students to‬
‭discuss “what reasons would a cell divide?”. I‬
‭will give the students time to develop their‬
‭answers and we will then discuss this as a‬
‭class.‬
‭Student ideas:‬
‭●‬ ‭It is likely that students will say cells‬
‭divide so that organisms can grow.‬
‭●‬ ‭Students will hopefully bring up‬
‭healing injuries. If not I will ask‬
 s‭ tudents “what happens when we‬
‭get a cut on our hands?”.‬
‭●‬ ‭Students may also bring up cell‬
‭division for reproductive reasons, this‬
‭is a topic that is discussed in second‬
‭semester but I could briefly address‬
‭now.‬
‭Experience:‬ ‭ ell Division WS‬
C L‭ aptop (School‬
‭I would like to solidify student ideas of‬ ‭New Mitosis‬ ‭Issued)‬
‭mitosis here and bring up the phases of‬ ‭Worksheet‬
‭mitosis. This is going to be a worksheet that‬
‭we work on as a class. My mentor‬
‭introduced me to this POGIL activity.‬

S‭ tudents will work through the activity, this‬

‭worksheet is divided into sections where‬
‭students work on questions, stop, we discuss‬
‭the questions as a class, then repeat.‬

‭Adjustments I will make:‬

‭●‬ ‭Students will work with their table‬
‭partners on questions 1-9.‬
‭●‬ ‭As a class we will go through and‬
‭discuss the questions.‬
‭●‬ ‭As a class we will answer questions‬
‭10 and 11. (For these questions‬
‭students would normally answer on‬
‭their own and check a key)‬
‭●‬ ‭Students then do questions 12-20‬
‭with their table partners, and we‬
‭discuss those questions.‬
 ‭●‬ Q ‭ uestion 21 will be used as part of‬
‭the exit ticket‬
‭●‬ ‭Question 22 brings up content that is‬
‭not relevant to the upcoming lessons‬
‭so I would be omitting it‬

T‭ his activity also helps us build off mitosis‬

‭and introduce the cell cycle.‬
‭Explain + Argue:‬ E‭ xit Ticket is at the‬
‭I feel this is a good point for a formative‬ ‭end of the Google‬
‭assessment. My intention is to give students‬ ‭Slides.‬
‭an exit ticket this day. My school recently‬
‭began implementing an advisory hour on‬ ‭ 2/6 update- exit‬
1
‭Wednesdays, which is the day this lesson will‬ ‭ticket delayed until‬
‭take place. This advisory hour shortens the‬ ‭final lesson due to‬
‭class periods by 10 minutes for all hours‬ ‭shipments and‬
‭except for 4th hour. Timing may be difficult‬ ‭shortened class hour‬
‭to adjust between the 2 hours I am teaching‬
‭for GLT2.‬

T‭ he exit ticket will be to model mitosis and‬

‭explain the applications of mitosis. I would‬
‭also like to include a question related to the‬
‭worksheet we worked on as a class.‬

S‭ tudents will now have solidified their understanding of mitosis and now know the‬
‭phases. Students were also introduced to the cell cycle.‬
‭Lesson Question‬ ‭Phenomena‬ I‭ nstructional Sequence‬ ‭Student Sheets‬ ‭Materials‬
‭Engage:‬
‭ hat do living‬
W ‭There exists living‬ ‭So this activity ended up taking place last‬
‭cells look like?‬ ‭bacteria that are‬ ‭Thursday as there was a hiccup in the‬
‭microscopic in‬ ‭delivery schedule. We are receiving a‬
‭ AY 4 (and‬
D s‭ ize.‬ ‭shipment of living organisms for the‬
‭technically 5)‬ ‭students to observe with microscopes on‬
‭this day. Since the slides contain living‬
‭organisms the lab is time sensitive.‬

T‭ his portion is going to take place over the‬

‭course of 2 days (Thursday and Friday).‬

S‭ o the engage will be a discussion of what‬

‭we have learned up to this point. I feel that‬
‭this experiment is more relevant to the early‬
‭parts of this lesson but I think I can use it as‬
‭an application of knowledge.‬

T‭ o lead this discussion I will have questions‬

‭prepared:‬
‭●‬ ‭What did we discover when we‬
‭looked at the onion cells?‬
‭●‬ ‭Can we address any questions on our‬
‭driving question board?‬
‭●‬ ‭Do we have any questions we could‬
‭add to this board?‬
E‭ xperience:‬ ‭ ell Organelles‬
C
‭I will start off by introducing the organisms‬ ‭Worksheet‬
‭to the students. We will go over proper care‬ ‭Lab Assignment‬
‭of the microscopes and what we need to do‬
‭to ensure the organisms survive. I will‬
‭instruct the students to form groups of 2-3‬
‭and observe the organisms under the‬
‭microscope. Students will take photos or‬
‭draw the organisms they see. I will give‬
‭students a handout that will allow them to‬
‭write their observations down. I plan to‬
‭create questions on a printout that connects‬
‭the lab to our previous conversations.‬
‭(update - this is an activity my mentor‬
‭teacher has set up a certain way so I ended‬
‭up not being able to implement the‬
‭printout)‬

‭Potential Questions:‬
‭●‬ ‭Were you able to observe mitosis‬
‭taking place?‬
‭●‬ ‭Are these unicellular or multicellular‬
‭organisms? (these terms were‬
‭introduced to students prior in the‬
‭semester).‬
‭●‬ ‭I personally have not done this‬
‭experiment so when the organisms‬
‭arrive I will look to make sure my‬
‭questions can apply, “Are these‬
‭organisms eukaryotic or prokaryotic?‬
 ‭ ow do we know?” (these terms‬
H
‭were introduced prior in the‬
‭semester)‬
‭Explain + Argue:‬ ‭ 2/7 update -‬
1
‭My mentor would like a checkpoint quiz for‬ ‭checkpoint moved to‬
‭students, likely to occur on Thursday or‬ ‭Monday (likely to‬
‭Friday. I plan to work with him on that so‬ ‭replace exit ticket)‬
‭that it can fit in this lesson and touch on the‬
‭topics he would like the students to know.‬

‭ ow students have a deeper understanding of cell division and are introduced to the cell‬
N
‭cycle.‬

‭Lesson Question‬ ‭Phenomena‬ I‭ nstructional Sequence‬ ‭Student Sheets‬ ‭Materials‬

‭Engage:‬
‭ hat causes a‬
W ‭ evisiting the‬
R ‭This lesson will take place the Monday‬
‭salmon to grow‬ ‭salmon eggs‬ ‭following the organism lab. My mentor has‬
‭from an egg to a‬ ‭growing into fry.‬ ‭told me that some students may take 3 days‬
‭fry?‬ ‭to complete the observations of the living‬
‭organisms so I potentially will have to plan‬
‭ AY 5‬
D ‭for class time to complete that.‬
‭(technically 6)‬
I‭ will start this day off with two “turn and‬
‭talk”’s. The first will be “what observations‬
‭did we make with the living organisms?”. We‬
‭will discuss that as a class, I will record‬
‭student input, and then have a second turn‬
‭and talk about “what connections could we‬
‭ ake to the salmon eggs growing”. We will‬
m
‭then discuss that as a class.‬

‭ ue to the lab taking longer than anticipated‬

D
‭I will have to adjust this. Class will begin with‬
‭time for students to finish their labs, and‬
‭should take about 20 minutes. I will then‬
‭lead us quickly into our final models using‬
‭the lab as our engage.‬

‭ ody Systems‬
B
T‭ he experience portion will be a final class‬ ‭Final Model‬
‭consensus model of “What causes a salmon‬
‭to grow from an egg to a fry?”. I will have‬
‭students come up and draw this model on a‬
‭paper on the whiteboard. The goal will be‬
‭that all students must agree on everything‬
‭and be able to explain why they agree or‬
‭disagree. I anticipate this being a bit rowdy‬
‭with 30+ students per class but it should be‬
‭a fun time.‬

‭Questions to have on hand:‬

‭●‬ ‭What would be a good starting point‬
‭for our model?‬
‭●‬ ‭Can you explain why you chose that?‬
‭●‬ ‭Can someone draw that for us?‬
‭●‬ ‭What should we label this?‬
‭●‬ ‭Does anyone disagree with this‬
‭addition?‬
 ‭●‬ A
‭ re we comfortable with this being‬
‭our final model? Should we add‬
‭anything else?‬
‭Since this day is going to have a checkpoint‬
‭the class will make a final consensus model,‬
‭however this may be cut short and‬
‭continued the next day.‬
‭Explain + Argue:‬
‭This will be mixed in with the experience a‬
‭bit as I am unsure how to break the two‬
‭apart for this. The explain and argue will be‬
‭part of the class consensus model. Ideally,‬
‭we also explain + argue the DQB and what‬
‭questions we can answer. The grand finale‬
‭however will be answering our initial‬
‭question.‬

‭Things to ask:‬
‭●‬ ‭Do we feel equipped to answer our‬
‭initial question?‬
‭●‬ ‭What processes are occurring as our‬
‭salmon egg grows?‬
‭●‬ ‭What is happening to the cells?‬

I‭ will record this discussion on the smart‬

‭board for students to reference during the‬
‭conversation.‬
‭Students will instead be taking a checkpoint‬
‭quiz as a formative assessment.‬