Hannah Moriarty
Teaching and Learning
Protein Synthesis Stations LAP
Dr. Letina Jeranyama
2/1/14
LAP: Protein Synthesis Stations:
I.
Content: Describe what it is you will teach. What is the content?
This specific lesson will be a review for all of the material we have learned this unit.
Each station focuses on a different topic we learned this unit. These stations will help the
students to determine which areas of this unit they feel comfortable explaining and what
areas they need to work on. One station will focus on the vocabulary we learned this unit.
Students will be asked to match one card displaying a vocabulary word to its definition
on another card. The next station focuses on answering questions about transcription and
translation along with a guided reading packet. The third station focuses on decoding
different DNA sequences, the next stations asks students to put different note-cards with
the steps of protein synthesis in order. Finally the last asks students to out different facts
into a Venn-diagram comparing DNA vs. RNA. These stations help student focus on
different aspects of this unit and help students to learn which areas they need to focus on
or study for the upcoming end of the unit assessment.
II.
Learning Goal(s): Describe what specifically students will know and be able to do
after the experience of this class.
After this class students will have a better knowledge on DNA, RNA and protein
synthesis. This lesson has been made to help students prepare for their upcoming end of
the unit assessment. Students will be broken up into groups and they will be required to
rotate from station to station. At each station the students will partake in a different
activity that focuses on a different area that has been covered throughout this unit. These
stations should serve as a review for each student and help them to determine which areas
they feel comfortable with and what areas they need to review more extensively for their
upcoming end of the unit assessment.
III.
Rationale: Explain how the content and learning goal(s) relate to your Curriculum
Unit Plan learning goals.
This lesson will be the last lesson of the protein synthesis unit. This lesson will come
after the “Say it with DNA” lesson where students are asked to work as translators to
translate DNA nucleotides to mRNA and tRNA nucleotide bases. This lesson will take
place the day before the end of the unit assessment or quiz. This lesson will help students
to determine which areas of this unit they feel confident being tested on and which areas
they need to focus on. This also helps me as a teacher determine which lessons seemed to
resonate better with the students and which lessons I need to either work on making more
informational or do away with altogether. This lesson will also serve as a mini-review
and help the students to study, something most of them wouldn’t do on their own. This
way I can be sure that the students are reviewing for their upcoming quiz in at least one
way.
IV.
Assessment: Describe how you and your students will know they have reached your
learning goals.
I will assess if my students have met their learning goals throughout this lesson in various
ways as well as assess their knowledge on this unit as whole. Students will be required to
answer a warm-up question about a topic they feel confident about and a topic from this
unit they are still confused on. At each station the students will be required to fill out
some type of worksheet or guided notes that they must turn in. This will help me to assess
which students are having trouble with this unit and what areas. As a class we will review
the answers to eat station at the end of class to help the students strengthen their
understanding on the topics at hand. Finally each student will be asked to fill out an exit
ticket asking them if they are still confused about the same topic they were feeling less
confident about in the beginning of class and what we together can do to rectify this
situation.
V.
Personalization and equity: Describe how you will provide for individual student
strengths and needs. How will you and your lesson consider the needs of each
student and scaffold learning? How specifically will ELL students and students with
learning disabilities gain access and be supported?
I.E.P:
My students with I.E.Ps will receive similar accommodations to my students who are
E.L.Ls as well as the rest of the class. Each student will receive oral and written
instructions as to what they need to do at each station. At each station the students will be
required to fill out worksheets or a guided-notes sheet to help them gain a deeper
understanding of the information at hand. Also, each station is designed to have hands-on
visuals that make the task at hand more enjoyable and easier to understand. Each station
is designed to help the students review for their upcoming quiz and help me to determine
who is truly struggling. We will go over the correct answers to each station as class at the
end of the lesson to help answer any lingering questions. Also, the exit tickets are used to
determine who needs further instruction even after this activity.
E.L.L:
My students who are E.L.Ls will receive similar accommodations to my students who
have I.E.Ps as well as the rest of the class as a whole. All students will receive oral and
written instructions at each station. The students who are level one E.L.Ls will receive
the worksheets or guided notes they are required to answer in Spanish. These students
will also be working in groups with students who speak both English and Spanish. These
stations are designed to be hands-on manipulatives that use numerous visuals. This will
help students of various academic and linguistic abilities comprehend the material at
hand. We will also go over each station at the end of class to answer any linger questions
and the exit ticket will give students the opportunity to voice any concerns the may have.
VI.
Activity description and agenda
a. Describe the activities that will help your students understand the content of
your class lesson by creating an agenda with time frames for your class. Be
prepared to explain why you think each activity will help students on the path
toward understanding.
i. Warm-Up Question:
 What is one part of protein synthesis you feel comfortable with
explaining?
 What is one area of protein synthesis you don’t feel comfortable
explaining?
 This will help me to determine what areas to focus on and where
students seem to be struggling
ii. Stations:
 Venn Diagram station DNA vs. RNA
a. Students will place facts into a Venn Diagram on a poster
board comparing DNA vs. RNA
b. They will fill out their own copy as well
 Vocabulary matching station
a. Students will match different cards with vocabulary word to a
card with correction definition and fill out a sheet matching
these different words to their correction definition
 Guided-reading station
a. Students will read a paragraph summarizing protein synthesis
as a group and answer 10 questions on the key steps regarding
transcription and translation
 Decoding mRNA station
a. Students will decode mRNA and tRNA nucleotide bases that
match with their corresponding DNA strand
 Protein Synthesis Sequence of Events station
a. Students must put note-cards with the different sequence of
events that takes place in protein synthesis in the correct order
and copy these six steps down onto their guided notes sheet
iii. Review Stations:
 We will go over the answers to each station as a class so students will
be able to correct any errors they may have made
 I will ask them to make these corrections in a different color pen so I
can determine where they initially struggled
 They will then turn these worksheets in
iv. Exit Ticket:
 Do you still feel confused about the same area of protein synthesis that
you did before? If so how can we fix this?
 This will help me to determine which students need more help
preparing for their upcoming assessment
b. What particular challenges, in terms of student learning or implementing
planned activity, do you anticipate and how will you address them?
The issues I see are students asking me questions to help them complete each station. I
really want this lesson to focus on their own knowledge of the subjects at hand. Since
they are in groups I do want them to talk to one another about the different material but
not to ask me for help. I will rectify or avoid this issue by explaining to them right away
that this is a review to help them see what they know, the only thing they are graded on is
completion so they need to work together to do their best.
VII.
List the Massachusetts Learning Standards this lesson addresses.
3.1 Describe the basic structure (double helix, sugar/phosphate backbone, linked by complementary
nucleotide pairs) of DNA, and describe its function in genetic inheritance.
3.2 Describe the basic process of DNA replication and how it relates to the transmission and
conservation of the genetic code. Explain the basic processes of transcription and translation,
and how they result in the expression of genes. Distinguish among the end products of
replication, transcription, and translation.
3.3 Explain how mutations in the DNA sequence of a gene may or may not result in phenotypic
change in an organism. Explain how mutations in gametes may result in phenotypic changes in
offspring.
VIII. Reflection
a. In light of all areas of planning, but especially in terms of your stated purpose and
learning goals, in what ways was the activity(ies) successful? How do you know? In
what ways was it not successful? How might the activity be planned differently
another time?
I chose to do this activity on a Friday, since class is cut short on Friday due to mentoring
I felt as if this activity was somewhat rushed. If I were to do this lesson again I would
make sure that I did it on a day that were able to use the whole class period. I would also
make less vocabulary words in the vocabulary matching station. Many of the students
seemed somewhat overwhelmed by all of the cards and had a hard time completing that
station in the allotted time they were given. Overall I feel as if the lesson went well and I
like the idea of stations for reviewing. It’s a good way to get students up and moving
around and talking to one another about the information at hand. It is also a different way
for them to visualize this information and it helps them to gain a deeper understanding of
the areas they feel confident with and what they need to work on.
b. What did you learn from the experience of this lesson that will inform your next
LAP?
This lesson has helped me realize the importance of stations. Stations are a fun,
interactive and educational way to expose students to the information at hand and have
them inquire with one another. I will definitely continue to use stations in the future but I
need to focus on keeping each activity more concise and to the point for the sake of time
and to keep the students attention. I want to incorporate stations into my classes more
frequently and not just as a way to review.