LITERACY LESSON PLAN
Ashley Williams
Subject: Regents Living Environment
Grade: 10
Unit: Cells Pt. A and the Origin of Life
Title: Life of a Cell
Duration: 45 min
*N.B. This lesson is an enrichment of the Single-celled Organisms and the Origin of Life content
lessons. It works very well between those two lessons, and serves as a good review of the physiology
of single-celled organisms, as well as a good introduction to the Origin of Life content.
*N.B. This lesson can be used in tandem with the Organelle City! project lesson. The creative writing
piece assigned for homework is similar to the homework assigned during that project and can be
easily adapted to follow up this literacy lesson.
Aim: How does a single-celled organism live?
Objectives:
SWBAT describe the processes that enable single-celled organisms to function.
SWBAT critically interpret a text based on their previous content knowledge.
DAY 1
Do Now/Silent Reading (15min):
Student reading levels will have been identified based on previous data from student records,
diagnostic assessment from the beginning of the year and formative assessment throughout the
progress of the class. Based on this assessment, students will be grouped and assigned an
appropriate text. The number of groups and group size will depend on the size of the class and the
distribution of skill levels. That considered, groups should be no smaller than three students and no
larger than five students. Some groups will be reading the same text.
Level
ABOVE
AT
BELOW
Text
"Small organism; No Small Feat." Science NOW: 30 April 2007.
"Single-celled organisms found at ocean depth." AFP: February 2005.
Selections from:
Single-celled Organisms. Elaine Pascoe. Power Kids Press: August 2003.
*N.B. Each level of text discusses single-celled organisms to a varying degree of detail and depth.
The above- and at- level texts are much more specific than the below-level text which is primarily
review of the previous day's content lesson. As a result, students in the above- and at- level groups
may have more content-related questions during the group work on the reading comprehension
worksheet, as well as the homework assignment. To aid in this, it may be useful to refer students to
their previous days notes and sections of the textbook that can help them.
The teacher will project a list of critical vocabulary words and names of types of single-celled
organisms on the board. Students will have notes on the definitions of these vocabulary words and
the characteristics of these organisms from the previous Single-celled Organisms and the Origin of
Life content lessons. The teacher should instruct the students to refer to the projection while reading
their assigned text.
Vocabulary
prokaryotes
eukaryotes
nucleus
flagellum
cilia
psuedopod
cell membrane
cytoplasm
organelles
vacuole
mitochondria
chloroplasts
digestion
respiration
photosynthesis
Types of Single-celled Organisms
Paraneima
Euglena
Paramecium
Amoeba
Video (5min):
After all students have completed the reading assignment, teacher will call the class back together
and show a short video to review the content of the previous lesson on single-celled organisms. This
video specifically reviews the critical vocabulary and types of single-celled organisms that had been
on the previous projection, and is consistent with the previous day's content lesson.
Video: "Single-celled Organisms"
Source: Teacher's Domain
URL:
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resources/tdc02/
sci/life/stru/singlecell/index.html
Duration: 3m 43s
During the video, the teacher will handout the appropriate reading comprehension worksheets to the
students. If students have any questions, the teacher should ask them to first speak with their group,
and then raise their hand during the group work session if the question remains.
Group work (25min):
Teacher will then instruct the students to work in groups on the reading comprehension worksheet
that was handed out during the video. Each student should complete his or her own worksheet. The
worksheet will be collected and checked for accuracy and completion by the teacher at the end of
class. During this time, the teacher should walk around the classroom to observe each groups project
and to answer any questions. Particular attention should be paid to the below grade-level reading skill
groups. If groups finish early, teacher should give that group the homework handout and instruct them
to brainstorm for their individual creative writing pieces as a group, and if time permits, begin working
on the assignment.
All reading comprehension sheets will ask these four questions, which refer to the video:
 How does the actual size of the unicellular organisms you are looking at compare with that of a
familiar object?

What do these unicellular organisms have in common? How do they differ from one another?

What characteristics do these unicellular organisms share with multicellular organisms such as
insects, birds, squirrels, and humans?

How do unicellular organisms get their nourishment? How do they get water? How do they get
oxygen? How do they get rid of wastes?
(Source: "Single-celled Organisms." Discussion Questions. Teacher's Domain.
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resources/tdc02/sci/life/stru/singlecell/index.html)
The reading comprehension sheets will also have questions that require the students to apply their
particular article's content to the information they learned in the previous content lesson, and was
reviewed in the video. At the end of each reading comprehension sheet the student will be asked to
evaluate the article on accuracy, as well as one fact that the student found most interesting.
Homework:
Write a 1 page creative piece from the perspective of a single-celled organism. Describe the
components and processes that enable you to live. You should include:
o Where you live
o How you move
o What you "eat"
o How you make energy
o How you reproduce
To receive a grade higher than an 80 you should also include a self-portrait. You should draw label
the critical components of your body that you discuss in your creative piece.