Lesson Plan 1 (Day 1)
Grade: 7th Grade
Subject: Science
Topic: Elements and Algae (Would you eat that?)
Standards (MD VSC): 7.4.A.1.e.
Standard 4.0 Chemistry- Students will use scientific skills and processes to explain the
composition, structure, and interactions of matter in order to support the predictability of
structure and energy transformations.
Objective- Cite evidence to explain that all living and non-living things can be broken down into
elements.
Objective: Students will be able to explain by using a diagram, that all living and nonliving
things are made up of elements.
Engage: Students will make a list of all the foods that they have eaten within the last 24 hours.
Students should be encouraged to put their listing into some type of organizer (by meal, by type
of food, how healthy it is, how much they like it, etc.). We will share our list as a class, and
make a list on the board of the most common and most interesting foods. We will discuss as a
class why foods are important to us, and where they come from. (ADD- materials used to eat
(cups, plates, forks, knives)).
Explore: Students will create a list of different items (some constant among the entire class,
others random). Students will research to determine what things are made up of elements.
Throughout this process, students will also be classifying the items as living or nonliving, using
observations to support their reasoning’s.
http://www.webelements.com/
Explain: Students will come together as a class and share their data. They will come to a class
conclusion answering the following questions: Is everything living made out of elements? Is
everything Non-living made out of element? Students must provide data arguing their side,
which comes from their “Explore” research. They will discuss what it means to be “living” and
“non-living,” and they will create a general conclusion about the role of elements within
different items.
Elaborate: Students will discuss items that were once living, but are no longer living, “Are things
that are no longer living still made up of elements?”
Evaluate: Students will create a diagram explaining how all living and non-living things are
made up of elements, atoms, protons, neutrons, and electrons. Their diagrams must have
captions and pictures.
Lesson Plan 1 (Day 2)
Grade: 7th Grade
Subject: Science
Topic: Elements and Algae (Would you eat that?)
Standards (MD VSC): 7.4.A.1.e.
Standard 4.0 Chemistry- Students will use scientific skills and processes to explain the
composition, structure, and interactions of matter in order to support the predictability of
structure and energy transformations.
Objective- Cite evidence to explain that all living and non-living things can be broken down into
elements.
Objective: Students will be able to justify why we eat elements by choosing a specific type of
seaweed, and creating an infomercial about the pros and cons of eating different elements.
Engage: Provide students with a couple pictures of seaweed, but do not tell them what it is.
Have students described to the best of their ability, using the pictures and their prior
knowledge, what is it? Where can you find it? What it is used for? What is its importance within
its habitat? Etc.
Explore: Students will work in stations to view several different slides of seaweed through a
microscope. Through these stations, students should draw a picture of their slides, describe in
as much detail as possible (quantitative and qualitative data) what the slide looks like, and
determine if their slide is something that is living, non-living, or other (if they choose other,
they must explain what they mean- dead, was once living, etc.).
Once students are done looking at the slides of their seaweed, students will use their laptops at
their station to help them research their organism. They will have to find fun facts about their
organism, including its habitat location, and what elements it is made up of, and what
that/those elements are most known for.
Explain: Students will report out to the class the summary of findings from one station (must
make sure that there is a representative for each station). We will make a chart as a class to
compare each sample. We will talk about how our findings were predictable, what variables
are major factors in our results, and weather seaweed is living or non-living, weather it is made
up of elements, and weather it is okay for us to eat (pros and cons).
Elaborate: Students will pick one of the types of seaweed and create a poster summarizing that
organism.
Evaluate: Students will make an infomercial about eating elements. This infomercial should
mention how seaweed and elements are related, and the pros and cons of eating elements.
Lesson Plan 2:
Grade: 7th Grade
Subject: Science
Topic: Microalgae vs. Macroalgae (Big vs. Small)
Standards (MD VSC): 7.3.B.1.b
Standard 3.0 Life Science- The students will use scientific skills and processes to explain the
dynamic nature of living things, their interactions, and the results from the interactions that
occur over time.
Objective: Based on data from readings and designed investigations, cite evidence to illustrate that the
life functions of multicellular organisms (plant and animal) are carried out within complex systems of
different tissues, organs and cells. - Extracting energy from food - Getting rid of wastes - Making raw
materials
Objective: Students will be able to explain the similarities and differences between microalgae
and macroalgae through a facebook response.
Engage: Have students define the prefixes “Micro-“ and “Macro-“ using nonverbal
communication. Then, have students to create their own words using Micro- and Macrocorrectly, and acting out their similarities and differences through actions, pictures, or very
minimal words.
Explore: Provide pairs of students with a class set of pictures. The pairs should work together
to put their pictures into some type of category(s). The students will each have a work sheet to
record their reasoning’s for where and why they placed each picture into a certain category. As
students go, meet as a class and discuss how they have grouped their pictures, then provide
them with clues. As you provide a clue, have students justify how the clues are correct:
*There are autotrophs and heterotrophs
*There are single cells, colonies, and multicellular algae
*You should have two main categories (but you might have subcategories within)
*Some float around while other are attached to the ocean floor
Explain: Provide students with “one” correct answer for organization, however mention that
there may be several correct organizations, and that it is all dependent on your justification
(which is why we kept record of where we placed our organisms and why). Name different
functions of the microalgae and have students identify the major parts of the microalgae, and
then do the same for the macroalgae. Allow students to ask questions and discuss the
similarities and differences between the two.
Elaborate: Discuss jobs that are dependent on this type of classification, and why it is useful to
know the difference between microalgae and macroalgae.
Evaluate: Students will show their understanding of micro and macroalgae by creating a
facebook discussion board, showing a conversation between the two types, and comparing
them to one another.
Lesson Plan 3
Grade: 7th Grade
Subject: Science
Topic: Kingdoms and algae (Which Kingdom Shall I Rule?)
Standards (MD VSC): 7.3.A.1.a
Standard 3.0 Life Science- The students will use scientific skills and processes to explain the
dynamic nature of living things, their interactions, and the results from the interactions that
occur over time.
Objective: Provide examples and explain that organisms sorted into groups share similarities in
external structures as well as similarities in internal anatomical structures and processes which
can be used to infer the degree of relatedness among organisms
Prerequisites: Students should already have a basic understanding of the 6 different Kingdoms
(Animals, Plants, Fungi, Protista, Bacteria, Archaea).
Objective: Students will be able to explain the difference between Algae and a Flower/Plant.
Engage: Students will watch the “Teacher Feature Lesson 4- Classification” video (3min 30sec).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DLHgQ2pAnE
Once this video is complete, provide students with a series of different pictures or items. They
will divide their desks into the 6 different kingdoms (students may need a 7th group to
represent nonliving things- depending on the items given), and they will classify their objects.
For each object, students should argue why that object belongs there and not somewhere else.
We will take a tour around the room to look at other groups classifications. Students will be
able to write down any disputes on a scrap sheet of paper, and once they have returned to
their seats, we will discuss out findings as a class.
Explore: Now we are going to throw a twist into the group. What about Algae/seaweed?
Students will explore the characteristics of different types of algae and will discuss if Algae is
living or non-living, and then try and classify Algae/seaweed into one of the 6 kingdoms.
Through this process, students should make their own definition of seaweed (what is
seaweed?). Their definition should include its characteristics and preferred habitats, and
required nutrients, and how algae and seaweed are connected to one another.
Explain: Students will be able to use their computers to look up specific details about each of
the algae/seaweed slides that they looked at. As students research, they should take notes on
the different misconceptions about seaweed. We will complete a chart on the seaweeds that
we research about, and will report our findings as a class. Students will be able to ask questions
and determine the correct kingdom in which seaweeds fall under.
http://www.seaweed.ie/algae/seaweeds.php
http://www.oceanlink.info/biodiversity/seaweeds/seaweeds.html
https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Seaweed
***Main points that they students should understand before moving on***
· Seaweeds are a group of algae, and have some special characteristics viz. macroscopic, multi-cellular,
benthic, and marine.
· Diversity of algae is extremely high and incomparable with that of seaweeds.
· Algae could be both unicellular and multi-cellular, whereas seaweeds are necessarily multi-cellular.
· All the seaweed species are autotrophic, whereas some algal species rely on other external food
materials.
· Algae inhabit both freshwater and marine waters, while seaweeds inhabit only seawaters.
· Marine algae can distribute over shallow as well as deep waters, while seaweeds mostly inhabit
shallow waters.
From: http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-seaweed-and-vs-algae/#ixzz2Z1rreeiK
Elaborate: Have students look up and research other types of algae that are not considered
seaweed. Are these organisms easier or harder to classify, compared to seaweed?
Have students create a venn diagram comparing and contrasting plants and algae to one
another.
Evaluate: Have students pretend that they are a seaweed plant. Have them write an
autobiography about themselves (as a seaweed plant) and describe what it is like always being
confused as a “plant.” They can take to role of either side (they like being considered plants, or
they don’t like being compared to plants) but either way, they must provide support and details
to prove that they are only “simple plants” and what that really means.
Lesson Plan 4:
Grade: 7th Grade
Subject: Science
Topic: Photosynthesis and Algae (My Recipe for Energy)
Standards (MD VSC): 7.3.E.1.c.
Standard 3.0 Life Science- The students will use scientific skills and processes to explain the
dynamic nature of living things, their interactions, and the results from the interactions that
occur over time.
Objective: Investigate and describe the processes that enable plants to use the energy from
light to make sugars (food) from carbon dioxide and water.
Objective: Students will be able to justify if algae is a heterotroph or autotroph but explaining
how algae obtains its food, either through a picture with captions, or through an informative
paragraph.
Engage: Have students discuss with a neighbor, how they get their food. Where does it come
from? Try and break it down to its beginning resources. Make a class list, and highlight
common findings, along with outliers.
Explore: Provide students with a sample of algae and allow them to determine its
characteristics. What parts of the algae inform the researcher how it eats/makes food. Provide
students with other examples of organisms, and have students use those other organisms to
compare and contrast the algae. How do you know it is living or not? How can you tell if it
makes its own food or not? How can you determine, based on its body parts, what kind of food
it relies on?
Explain: Have students read a guided reading about algae. Allow them to make a diagram as
they read, to track their findings about algae and how/what they consume. As a class, talk
about how an alga compares to or differs from other organisms common to us.
Elaborate: Provide students with a sample of algae and allow them to create the best living
quarters for the algae. Have students design an experiment to determine how algae obtain
their food. They get to choose what nutrients are given or not, what type and how much light is
given or not, and what things will be done to/for the algae throughout the experiment.
Evaluate: Students will create a picture with captions, or an informative paragraph that shows
how algae gets its food. In their product, the students must explain/prove if algae are
autotrophs or heterotrophs.
Lesson Plan 5:
Grade: 7th Grade
Subject: Science
Topic: Food Chains and Algae (Starting from the Bottom…)
Standards (MD VSC): 7.3.E.1.f.
Standard 3.0 Life Science- The students will use scientific skills and processes to explain the
dynamic nature of living things, their interactions, and the results from the interactions that
occur over time.
Objective: Provide evidence that supports the premise "In the flow of matter system the total
amount of matter remains constant even though its form and location change."
*Food chains and food webs
Objective: Students will be able to state the importance of algae within a food chain. They
must state its niche and how/if other organisms rely on algae for survival.
Engage: Students will write a journal entry explaining the things that they rely on the most.
There is no limit to the number of things, but they must write for the entire time given (4
minutes).
Explore: Students will complete the following food web – webquest:
http://coolclassroom.org/micro_test/web_lessons/FW/real_FWlesson.html
Explain: The class will work in groups to build a food web using a series of different organisms.
The groups will be given animal cards with their diets listed, and the groups are responsible to
building and adding to the class web. The other groups are the checkers, and we can’t continue
until we have a class approval. Once the food web is built, the students must justify why they
know they are correct using the words autotroph, heterotroph, primary producer, primary
consumer, secondary consumer, and tertiary consumer.
Elaborate: Students will research a coastal bay, and explain the role of algae within that bay.
They must be specific, and create an accurate food web for their bay (including algae).
Evaluate: Students will write through the viewpoint of a fish. They will tell a tale of a time
when the algae was SOO prominent in the water. Through their creative story, the student
must explain how the algae affected the lifestyles and qualities of living within the bay.