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Solórzano
YAL Lesson Plan for The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
1hour, 50 minutes ( 110 minutes total including time for evaluations and other paperwork)
Time
15
5
Activity/materials
Some quick observation activity
Each participant will get a leaf (there’s plenty
around the Q Center. I’ll collect them on Thursday
evening or Friday)
● Pencils (colored pencils)
● Leaves (varied)
● pencils
● pens
● paper (use what’s at the Q center?)
Discuss/ Process
Description
Individually. In small groups, then
whole group
Observe this leaf. (Have several at
the tables) Take down your
observations in any form on the
paper provided (we’ll use up all the
notepaper provided by the Q center).
Opening Warm up
Frontloading
Frontloading
Have people share their observations
to their table, then ask...
What do you notice about people’s
observations (what they observed, the
way the observed, how they observed
it?)
Common Core
● Range of Writing
○ Write routinely over extended time
frames (time for reflection and
revision) and shorter time frames
(a single sitting or a day or two) for
a range of discipline-specific tasks,
purposes, and audiences.
Speaking and Listening:
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative
discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse
partners on grades 11–12 topics,texts, and issues, building on
others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and
persuasively.
a. Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched
material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by
referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic or
issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas.
b. Work with peers to promote civil, democratic discussions and
decision making, set clear goals and deadlines, and establish
individual roles as
needed.
c. Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that
probe reasoning and evidence; ensure a hearing for a full range of
positions on a topic or issue; clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and
conclusions; and promote divergent and creative perspectives.
d. Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives; synthesize
comments, claims, and evidence made on all sides of an issue;
resolve contradictions when possible; and determine what
additional information or research is required to deepen the
investigation or complete the task.
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Dzoga-Borg
Solórzano
YAL Lesson Plan for The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
2
Define “Observe/Observation”
iPad will be connected to the projector and one of us
can take notes throughout,
10
10
Darwin’s notebook
Frontloading
Ask 5 people, “How would you
define observe?”
○ Determine the meaning of symbols, key
terms, and other domain-specific words and
phrases as they are used in a specific scientific
or technical context relevant to grades 9–10
texts and topics.
Darwin is famous for his theory On the Integration of Knowledge and Ideas (Literature)
●
Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source
Origin of the Species.
material in a specific work (e.g., how Shakespeare treats a
Darwin’s actual handwriting will be projected. People
theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later
will have copies of the typescript.
The following excerpts are from his
author draws on a play by Shakespeare).
notes taken while on his famous Voyage (In this case, Darwin’s original writings. If this were a complete
of the Beagle
8 minutes for reading/looking/noticing.
unit, students could read portions of The Origin of the Species.)
2 minutes for discussion in the group.
What do you notice about what he
observed, how he observed it, the way
he records his observations?
Frontloading/beginning gathering data
● Determine a theme or central idea of a text
Read from Chap 2 The Measure of the Morning
Whole
group,
model
the
reading,
and analyze in detail its development over the
(Introduces the scientific notebook, scientific
model
the
seeing,
encourage
taking
course of the text, including how it emerges and
language…) in the Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
notes
is shaped and refined by specific details; provide
an objective summary of the text.
● What do you notice about
● Determine the central ideas or conclusions
how
the
notebook
is
People should have their own copy of the book.
of a text; trace the text’s explanation or
introduced?
depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or
First: Read Calpurnia’s lists (the list at the beginning
●
What
changed
in
concept; provide an accurate summary of the
of the chapter p. 24 and the list at the end of the
Calpurnia’s notebook at the
text.
chapter p. 34)
end of Chapter 2?
● Follow precisely a complex multi-step
Then go to other selected sections of the chapter.
procedure when carrying out experiments,
● What do you notice about
taking measurements, or performing technical
Observation?
tasks, attending to special cases or exceptions
defined in the text.
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YAL Lesson Plan for The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
5
15
10
Make a list: What should a good scientific
notebook have in it?
iPad with projector
Participants should copy this down on their own
paper.
Read from Field Notes on Science and Nature
● Introduction
● The Pleasure of Observing
● Untangling the Bank
● Why Sketch?
And from The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
● Chapter 1 (Grasshoppers p. 9-12, then 1620)
● Chapter 8 Microscopy has the scene where
she looks in the microscope at the pond
water and sees all the microscopic creatures.
Quote, “Plato said all science begins with
astonishment.” He tells her to sketch what
she saw….we could excerpt this just this
section…
Set up the experiment.
Set up the notebook.
Experiment:
Plant chromatography
Supplies:
● Leaves (I will collect these at the center)
● plastic cups (I will bring these)
● straws (Ms. Borg)
Whole group
Speaking and Listening listed previously.
Give each group a different chapter to
look at.
We may also jigsaw the jigsaw. So
each group is responsible for a
chapter, but maybe within each group
people are responsible for 1-3 pages,
depending on the length of the chapter.
Jigsaw
As part of your notes:
● What more do you notice
about the kinds of
observations and the
qualities of those
observations going on in
your chapter?
● What do you notice about
these notebooks? Is there
anything we should add to
the list?
Key Ideas and Details
○ Determine the central ideas or conclusions
of a text; trace the text’s explanation or
depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or
concept; provide an accurate summary of the
text.
○ Follow precisely a complex multi-step
procedure when carrying out experiments,
taking measurements, or performing technical
tasks, attending to special cases or exceptions
defined in the text.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
● Synthesize information from a range of
sources (e.g., texts, experiments,
simulations) into a coherent understanding
of a process, phenomenon,or concept,
resolving conflicting information when
possible.
What is the goal of the experiment?
○
What should we be on the look out
for?
What should we put in our notes?
Whole group decide on format.
○
Translate quantitative or technical information
expressed in words in a text into visual form
(e.g., a table or chart) and translate information
expressed visually or mathematically (e.g., in an
equation) into words.
Assess the extent to which the reasoning and
evidence in a text support the author’s claim or a
recommendation for solving a scientific or
technical problem.
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YAL Lesson Plan for The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
●
●
●
20
5
5
8
alcohol (Ms. Borg)
tape (Ms. Borg)
coffee filters cut into strips (I will bring
these)
Conduct Experiment
(The leaf experiment takes 10 minutes for the color
to appear on the coffee filter strips)
Present/Discuss observations and notebooks
Project the decided format.
The experiment will be done in small
groups.
Conduct experiment in small groups.
Document observations in notebook
individually
During down time waiting for the
experiment to “work” ...add to your
initial observation of your leaf. Now
that you are more observant, what
questions do you have about it?
In small groups
Present findings
Small groups present to larger group
Lead short discussion on what they might bring back to What have we done today that you
the classroom and how they might use it.
could bring back to your classroom?
○ Follow precisely a complex multi-step
procedure when carrying out experiments,
taking measurements, or performing technical
tasks, attending to special cases or exceptions
defined in the text.
Same Listening and Speaking
Same Listening and Speaking
Same Listening and Speaking
Pass out evaluations.
Pass out cpdu stickers or whatever...
110
Calpurnia and her grandfather were ordinary citizens interested in science. There is a growing movement around citizen scientists. Here are a few resources
around current research projects using citizen scientists.
Project Squirrel
http://projectsquirrel.org/index.shtml
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YAL Lesson Plan for The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
Bee Spotter
http://beespotter.mste.illinois.edu/
Scientific American
Listing of citizen science projects
http://www.scientificamerican.com/citizen-science/