SCIENCE LESSON TEMPLATE Our Plan of Action Lesson Component AKS Standard / Indicator of Achievement Science AKS 4. obtain, evaluate and communicate information from multiple sources to explain the theory of evolution of living organisms through inherited characteristics 4a. construct an explanation that describes how genetic variations, adaptations, and environmental factors influence the probability of survival and reproduction of a species None Time Allotted N/A n/A Do Now!!! Mini Lesson Topic Materials Connection Genetic Variations Teacher laptop, science journals, sticky note, video dependent worksheet, readworks document, popsicle stick “At the end of the first semester, we covered the Genetics unit. Genetics is the study of heredity and the variation of inherited characteristics. In that unit we learned about alleles, homozygous D/R and heterozygous traits, how to solve a monohybrid Punnett square, asexual and sexual reproduction, and artificial selection/selective breeding. In this unit, we are going to continue the learning with how organisms have changed over time to better survive in harsh environments. So let’s start off by reading the AKS: obtain (get, acquire) evaluate (assess, analyze) and communicate (share, exchange) information from multiple sources (lecture, videos, articles, etc…) to explain the theory of evolution of living organisms through inherited characteristics. Copy the AKS in your journals. The next slide is the indicator of achievement/standard which says: construct an explanation that describes how genetic variations, adaptations, and environmental factors influence the probability of survival and reproduction of a species. I will say… Now, let’s identify and break down the verbs in the standard in order to better understand what we are going to do. What verbs do you identify? Construct and Describe. Construct in this case means to create/make/or fabricate and describe means to tell of/recount/or give an account in words. So we are going to create an explanation that tells of… After breaking down the verbs in the standard, instruct students to copy the standard in their journals then show the learning targets for the standard. Focused Instruction Our first learning target is a knowledge target and it says I can define genetic variations in a species. Does anyone want to take a shot at defining genetic variations in a species? You should already know what genetics is because I told you the textbook definition of it not too long ago. What does the word variation mean? Variation in Life Science means different/distinct version or form of something. The word species is a group of living organisms that are similar in makeup and are capable of exchanging genes. An example of that would be us, humans also known as homo sapiens. We’re going to watch a video from the California Academy of Sciences on Natural Selection. There are video dependent questions so you must pay attention in order to answer the questions. As the video plays, stop it periodically to check on student progress and vocab. Have students write down their own definitions for the terms genetics, variation, species and natural selection on the back of their paper. Students will… Listen and pay attention to the teacher as he lectures and watch the video on natural selection. N/A 12 minutes 25 minutes Active Engagement/Guided Instruction I will say…. None Students will… None I will… None Collaboration/ You do together Students will… None I will… Once the video has been completed, distribute the readworks article to students and instruct them to read the article and annotate it using the reading strategy ‘Code the Text’. Independent/ You do alone “The article that you’re receiving will be completed for Homework and is due tomorrow but you will start working on it now in class. My advice is to read and annotate at the same time and answer the questions for homework. You will be graded on the annotation and the number of correct questions. Students will… Read, annotate and answer the questions on the readworks article I will… Give students a sticky index card and display the slide that reads: Closing and Formative Assessment 20 minutes Construct an explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic variations of traits in a population increase some individuals’ probability of surviving and reproducing in a specific environment. 8 minutes
