ARISE
Teaching Unit Template
Title of Unit/Module
Bacterial Transformation with pGREEN
Developed by:
Bacterial Transformation Group ARISE summer 2007
Appropriate Course(s)/Grade(s):
Grades 9-12
Brief Summary of the Unit
Students isolate DNA from various plant and food sources and perform PCR for
the promoter to an herbicide resistance gene, then run these samples on an
agarose gel to visualize the DNA and interpret which plants have been genetically
engineered and which foods contain genetically modified ingredients.
Students will be asked to use evidence to support an assigned role and viewpoint –
either for or against genetic modification.
Grade Span Expectations
(possible GSEs)
LS1
LS1
LS1
LS2
LS2
LS3
LS3
(9-11)
(9-11)
(9-11)
(9-11)
(9-11)
(9-11)
(9-11)
Content Standards
(possible standards from Benchmarks for
Science Literacy)
2a
2b
2c
5a
5b
6a
7a
See appendicies for full text of benchmarks.
See appendicies for full text of GSEs.
Prior Knowledge:
Temperature, Fluorescence, Molecular Motion
DESIRED RESULTS
What essential questions will be considered?
Students will be able to explain how the structure of DNA allows for genetic
manipulations which have practical purposes.
How can specific man-made changes in DNA alter organisms?
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Students will understand that:
Students will be able:
DNA is universal
DNA can be manipulated
DNA from one organism can be
expressed in another completely
different organism.
Genotype determines phenotype
Differences between prokaryotic and
eukaryotic genetic material
Advantages and disadvantages of use of
bacterial cell use.
Use micropipettor
Follow sterile techniques
Safely handle living microorganisms
Form a testable hypothesis based on
prior knowledge.
Collect data from the experiment
ASSESSMENT
Performance tasks
What will the students produce to provide evidence of understandings and
skills learned?
Be able to answer questions about their transformation experience and modified
bacteria, and report back on what other organisms are modified in the world we
live in.
Other evidence of learning (quizzes, tests, prompts, observations, lab reports,
work samples, etc.)
Formative: Lab notebook from each student including hypothesis, all procedures,
data (drawn pictures of plates), places for error, and conclusions.
Reading Comprehension worksheet from each student
Written questions and potential hypotheses to use for the lab
Participation in class brainstorming sessions
Summative: Lab report for each student, including introduction, hypothesis,
methods, results, conclusions and discussion
Homework written worksheets
Student Self-assessment and Reflection:
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LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND INSTRUCTION
Features of Inquiry*
How is this feature included in the unit?
1, Formulating questions and
hypothesizing
From observations students will work together to formulate
a testable hypothesis
2. Planning and Critiquing of
Investigations
Students will reflect back on their experimental procedure
looking for sources of error and how these affect their
results.
Students will perform experiments to address their specific
hypothesis in a logical manner with appropriate controls
3. Conducting Investigations
4. Developing and Evaluating
Explanations
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When interpreting the results of their experiments
students will evaluate the validity of their hypothesis,
making new theories, asking further questions, and
determining areas of error and problems
3
Instructional Sequence/Calendar – see separate page for calendar
DAY 1 Introduction to unit.
1. Do you know anyone who is diabetic? Do they take Insulin?
2. Where does it come from? Bacteria
3. Show pictures of Bunny, fish, bacteria etc. How did they get this way?
4. We are going to make altered Bacteria, flow chart or whiffle ball prop
How do we distinguish between the bacteria that get the plasmid and those that don’t?
To modify bacteria we need to know some basic techniques, sterile technique, pipetting,
Homework: Do reading about simple cell system (maybe about insulin, advance not to take it from
other animals)
DAY 2 Techniques
1. Review what they will be doing
2. Why do we need to wash our hands before and after?
3. Why do we wear gloves and tie our hair back?
Lab activity: Learn micro pipetting with colored water (from DNA learning center, on wiki)
Homework:
DAY 3 Pre-Lab
1. Step by step procedures
2. Go over rubrics for lab report and expectations on homework
Lab exercise: Steps 1-3, labeling all tubes (leave plates in fridge), aliquoting CaCl with .
Homework: Make predictions for each plate and make hypothesis, Questions 1 and 2 in assignment
DAY 4 Transform (Friday)
1. Get them going quick
2. Follow lab protocol, labeling plates as you go
** Will need entire class period to complete lab exercise.
Lab exercise: Complete protocol, finish to end
Homework:
DAY 5 Recording Results
1. Count colonies
2. Finish questions and extra questions for assignment
3. Where do you see places for error? What went wrong?
Homework: Complete post-lab questions and work on lab report
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Complete lab report for later submission
DAY 6 Finding real world applications
1. Take students to computer lab
2. Have research practical applications of genetic transformation
3. Prepare for Socratic seminar discussion/oral presentation/poster etc. by
filling in research guide
Homework: Fill in worksheet on applications of transformation
Technology and Other Resources Needed
Web resources:
Harvest of Fear: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/harvest/
Key arguments pro and con GM foods, flash animation of how to genetically modify
a plant, a look at GM foods currently under production, links to pro- and anti-GM
websites, video on GM salmon.
DNA Learning Center – DNA Interactive: http://www.dnai.org/ Web resource
for restriction enzymes, gel electrophoresis, PCR.
Bioinformatics - http://bioinformatics.dnalc.org/gmo/animation/index.html
Identify the sequence and size of PCR product produced in the
“Detecting GM foods by PCR” laboratory exercise.
For further research:
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Appendices:
Grade Span Expectations for the Genetically Modified Foods Unit
LS1 (9-11) 2
Students demonstrate an understanding of the molecular basis for heredity by…
2b Explaining how DNA may be altered and how this affects genes/heredity (e.g.
substitution, insertion, deletion)
LS2 (9-11)
Students demonstrate understanding of equilibrium in an ecosystem by…
3b Describing ways in which humans modify ecosystems and describe and predict the
potential impact
LS2 (9-11)
Students will evaluate potential bias form a variety of media sources in how information is
interpreted by…
5b Applying additional scientific data to develop logical arguments concerning
environmental issues
LS3 (9-11)
Students will demonstrate their understanding of the degree of relationships among
organisms by…
6a Using given data (diagrams, charts, narratives, etc.) and advances in technology to
explain how our understanding of genetic variation has developed over time.
LS4 (9-11)
Students demonstrate an understanding of how humans are affected by environmental
factors and/or heredity by…
9b Providing an explanation of how the human species impacts the environment and other
organisms
Benchmarks for Science Literacy
1B Scientific Inquiry
By the end of the 12th grade, students should know that:
a. Investigations are conducted for different reasons, including to explore new phenomena,
to check on previous results, to test how well a theory predicts, and to compare different
theories.
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C Scientific Enterprise
c. Progress in science and invention depends heavily on what else is happening in
society, and history often depends on scientific and technological developments.
f. Scientists can bring information, insights, and analytical skills to bear on matters of
public concern. Acting in their areas of expertise, scientists can help people understand
the likely causes of events and estimate their possible effects. Outside their areas of
expertise, however, scientists should enjoy no special credibility. And where their own
personal, institutional, or community interests are at stake, scientists as a group can be
expected to be no less biased than other groups are about their perceived interests.
3A Technology and Science
a. Technological problems often create a demand for new scientific knowledge, and new
technologies make it possible for scientists to extend their research in new ways or to
undertake entirely new lines of research. The very availability of new technology itself
often sparks scientific advances.
3B Design and Systems
d. Risk analysis is used to minimize the likelihood of unwanted side effects of a new
technology. The public perception of risk may depend, however, on psychological factors as
well as scientific ones.
3C Issues in Technology
a. Social and economic forces strongly influence which technologies will be developed and
used. Which will prevail is affected by many factors, such as personal values, consumer
acceptance, patent laws, the availability of risk capital, the federal budget, local and
national regulations, media attention, economic competition, and tax incentives.
c. In deciding on proposals to introduce new technologies or to curtail existing ones, some
key questions arise concerning alternatives, risks, costs, and benefits. What alternative
ways are there to achieve the same ends, and how do the alternatives compare to the plan
being put forward? Who benefits and who suffers? What are the financial and social
costs, do they change over time, and who bears them? What are the risks associated with
using (or not using) the new technology, how serious are they, and who is in jeopardy?
What human, material, and energy resources will be needed to build, install, operate,
maintain, and replace the new technology, and where will they come from? How will the new
technology and its waste products be disposed of and at what costs?
d. The human species has a major impact on other species in many ways: reducing the
amount of the earth's surface available to those other species, interfering with their food
sources, changing the temperature and chemical composition of their habitats, introducing
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foreign species into their ecosystems, and altering organisms directly through selective
breeding and genetic engineering.
5C Cells
d. The genetic information encoded in DNA molecules provides instructions for assembling
protein molecules. The code used is virtually the same for all life forms. Before a cell
divides, the instructions are duplicated so that each of the two new cells gets all the
necessary information for carrying on.
5D Interdependence of Life
c. Human beings are part of the earth's ecosystems. Human activities can, deliberately or
inadvertently, alter the equilibrium in ecosystems.
8A Agriculture
a. New varieties of farm plants and animals have been engineered by manipulating their
genetic instructions to produce new characteristics.
c. Agricultural technology requires tradeoffs between increased production and
environmental harm and between efficient production and social values. In the past
century, agricultural technology led to a huge shift of population from farms to cities and
a great change in how people live and work.
12A Values and Attitudes
a. Know why curiosity, honesty, openness, and skepticism are so highly regarded in science
and how they are incorporated into the way science is carried out; exhibit those traits in
their own lives and value them in others.
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