Name: Erica Rawls
Class/Subject: Accelerated Biology (3rd hour)
Date: Wednesday, 20 February, 2013
Content Standards:
o SBG Biology Learning Standard2: Structure and Function
o 2.2 Analyze the interaction of complementary structures within microorganisms.
o ISBE Standard 12.B: Know and apply concepts that describe how living things interact with each
other and with their environment.
o 12.B.4a Compare physical, ecological and behavioral factors that influence interactions
and interdependence of organisms.
Student Objectives:
o Students will read/use a dichotomous key to classify organisms according to defining
characteristics.
o Students will read/analyze a cladogram to answer questions about species’ evolutionary
characteristics.
Materials/Resources:
o Dichotomous key worksheet and answer sheet (obtained from internet by Darin Hennigman)
o Cladogram worksheet (created by Darin Hennigman)
o A SmartBoard or projector
I collaborated with my cooperating teacher in creating this lesson; he found the worksheets online and I
worked through the mini-lab/problem sets to create an answer key for each. I also came up with the
idea for the Start of Class activity. Additionally, I modeled my Closure based on what my coop has done
in the past.
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Instructional Strategies:
Greet students at door as they come into class
Visual representation (pictures projected on board)
Worksheet/problem sets for practical application of concepts (individual practice)
Group work (students work together to achieve learning objectives)
Teacher-lead demonstration of how to use a dichotomous key
Class Discussion on students’ critical reaction of lesson
Use seating chart to call on students if I don’t remember their names
Application to “real world”
Modifications:
One student in this class has the option to use an extra day to complete homework assignments if
needed
Collaboration:
My cooperating teacher and I discussed the week’s lesson plans and decided that Wednesday would be
the best day for the dichotomous key/cladogram activities. My cooperating teacher provided the
worksheets for the activities (I made copies), and I created an answer key for both assignments. We also
collaborate with the other teachers in the science/biology department and share ideas for activities and
lessons to use in each unit. I made a quiz and a reading comprehension assignment that the other
biology teachers decided to use for their classes as well. Currently, my coop is starting a different unit
than the other biology teachers; we are doing Classification and Microbiology and the other biology
teachers are starting Evolution. My coop and I will start evolution around the same time that the other
teachers will be starting classification/microbiology, so we will swap materials at that time.
Additional Help:
As I start to take over more and more classes, I will need additional help in planning the weekly schedule
and deciding what lessons and activities to do (and when). I will continue to seek help and advice from
my coop and make sure that I say on top of planning so that I don’t fall behind. I will also continue to
collaborate with my coop and the other biology teachers to obtain ideas and materials for future units. I
will also need to continue to get advice on classroom management, specially how to handle situations
when students are not paying attention in class.
Focus:
This mini-lab activity and homework assignment are a part of the Classification unit that we started last
Thursday. The students took notes on Classification and taxonomy and were introduced to cladograms.
Students will get additional practice with cladograms from the homework assignment and will get firsthand experience on how to classify an organism during the dichotomous key activity. These activities
will reiterate the concepts that the students learned during the lecture (Thursday) on Classification. The
class will then transition into the Microbial unit on bacteria and viruses, both of which were introduced
in the Classification lecture.
I have strong content knowledge in the subject due to the many related classes that I took at U of I.
Specifically, I took an Evolution class in Integrative Biology in which we often dealt with dichotomous
keys and cladograms. I got a lot of practice using and analyzing both of these tools and so have a deep
understanding of their function and significance in biology.
Start of Class
To introduce the concept of using a dichotomous key to classify organisms, I will put 2-3 pictures of
creatures that have distinct, identifying characteristics on the SmartBoard. I will then ask the students
to think about what each creature has in common but also what is different about each of them, or
what distinguishes one from the others. During this time I will take attendance and take care of any
administrative duties and make any announcements.
Introduction of Lesson
I will introduce the lesson by stating the learning objectives. I will tell the students that they are going to
complete a mini-lab in which they learn how to classify organisms using a dichotomous key. I will define
a dichotomous key as a modeling method used for categorizing species using logical choices. I will then
refer back to the pictures on the board and ask the students what the similarities are and what defining
characteristics distinguish each creature from the others. This will lead into the procedure for the minilab.
Lesson Instruction
I will tell the students that they will receive a worksheet containing pictures of 16 different organisms.
Their job will be to find out what distinguishes each organism from the others, similar to what they did
during the Start of Class activity. I will tell the students that they will use a dichotomous key on the
bottom/back of the worksheet as a guide in classifying the organisms. I will then work through the first
two classifications with the students so that they can get a better understanding on how to use the
dichotomous key. I will then group the students into pairs to work on classifying the remainder of the
organisms. I will announce that students will need to complete and turn in this mini-lab activity before
the end of class. After students turn in their answer sheets, I will give them an assignment to begin that
they will need to complete for homework. This assignment will give them practice on how to read a
cladogram, a concept they learned during note taking the previous week.
Assessments/Checks for Understanding
I will first check for student understanding during the lesson instruction. I will do this while I work
through the first few classifications with the students as a whole class. I will show the students how to
do the first classification and then ask students to tell me the steps to take in working through the next
classification. If the students are able to correctly classify the second organism, I will know that they
understand the procedure and I will let them work on their own. If the students struggle classifying the
second organism, we will classify additional organisms as a class until the students pick up the
procedure. Before letting the students work on their own, I will ask if anyone has any questions or
needs clarification on any of the concepts.
As another check for understanding, I will grade the answer sheet from the mini-lab as a formative
assessment. If students get 60% or more of the classifications correct, I will mark this as a “complete”
grade and I will know that the students met the learning objectives. Students that get less than 60% of
the classifications correct will receive an “incomplete” and will need to come in before or after school
for help and to make up the assignment. I will follow the same procedure to grade the homework
assignment; students that answer at least 60% of the questions correctly will receive a “complete” and
will have met the learning objectives, and all other students will receive an “incomplete” and will need
to come in before or after school for help and to make up the assignment. These three
assessments/checks for understanding will indicate whether or not the students met the learning
objectives for the lesson.
Closure/Wrap-Up/Review
To conclude the lesson, I will provide practical application to the “real world” or students’ lives. For
example, they may come across some sort of spider or snake and need to find out if it is venomous; they
may use a dichotomous key to classify the creature and determine whether or not it is venomous. I will
also ask students to share a critical reaction. This will include whether or not the students enjoyed the
activity; if they found it too hard or too easy; if they found the topic interesting; what they learned or
would like to know more about; etc. This will help me to determine the effectiveness of the lesson and
how engaged the students were in learning the material. If there is time left at the end of class, I will
show students a video clip about cloning or a clip from Monsters Inside Me or Infested, which deal with
topics that we will cover or have already covered during the classification/microbial unit.