Biology Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Lesson
BIO Level 2-3, Secondary Students
K. Kluck
Subject: Biology
Topic: Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary
National and School Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
District Standard: Students need to understand the reading process and be able to read text at their appropriate level.
TESOL Standard: Standard 1.b. Language as a System.
Candidates demonstrate understanding of language as a system, including phonology, morphology, syntax, pragmatics and semantics, and support ELLs as they acquire English language and literacy in order to achieve in the content areas.
Strategies: Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary
Objectives: Students will be able to: Read for a variety of purposes including gathering information and summarizing a main topic. Recall and relate in own words, major ideas and their supporting details. Relate what was read to personal experience or needs. Analyze and evaluate what was read. Define new vocabulary words, and construct a summary.
Materials:

Copies of the text you want your students to read. I have provided an online article on the process of mitosis.

Copies of the vocabulary words and summarizing question.
 Copies of the “Onion Cell Mitosis” that you will work on as a class explaining the reading.
Accommodations: The ELL students will be given more time to finish reading and will be put together with the stronger students to help them with their vocabulary terms. As a class, we will go over all the terms and discuss the “Onion Cell Mitosis” worksheet. Students will have access to dictionaries.
Anticipatory Set: Follow the instructions for Part 1 of the activity to prepare students for the main lesson in Part 2.

Procedure:
1.
Tell students we are going to practice our vocabulary skills and comprehension skills today. Write this on the board:
What happens when we read and come across a word we don’t know?
How do you summarize the important information?
What is the main idea of the passage?
2.
Pass out the reading sheet. Have the students skim over the article and have them answer the questions on the board.
3.
Then assign them partners and have them read the passage together. Have the students highlight words they had trouble understanding.
4.
Then hand out the vocabulary worksheet to have them work on it after reading.
5.
Ask for volunteers to answer the last question on the worksheet along with answering a term on the vocabulary part of the worksheet.
6.
Summarize the article as a class and have the students draw pictures of each phase on the board. As a class go over what each phase should look like on the board using the students’ pictures they drew.
7.
Then hand out the “Onion Cell Mitosis” activity. Ask the class:
What do you think the circles mean?
What do you think the X’s mean?
8.
Go over the activity in class and explain each phase again. This time comparing the pictures on the worksheet to the pictures on the board.
Closure: Have students skim the reading and pick out words they didn’t understand. Have them define them and draw pictures of them for homework. They have to pick out at least five terms that they had trouble understanding.
Formative Assessment: Informal observation of the students’ work for accuracy.
Summative Assessment:
Formal review and assessment of the students’ work for the activity.
Teacher will determine if the students have understood the process by looking at their vocabulary words and pictures. The teacher would also look at the accuracy of their summaries.
Evaluation: The vocabulary worksheet will be worth 25 points. The “Onion Cell Mitosis” worksheet will be taken as a participation grade. The homework vocabulary words will be worth
15 points. Students will be graded on accuracy and effort. Students are expected to achieve 85% or better on the assignments or will be asked to redo it.

Mitosis is the process of nuclear cell division. During division, the nucleus of the cell divides, resulting in two sets of identical chromosomes, or organized DNA proteins. This process is almost always accompanied by a process called cytokinesis, in which the rest of the cell divides, leading to two completely separate cells, called daughter cells. There are four phases in the process: prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase. There are a number of reasons for this process, including reproduction and replacement of cells, and problems with it can seriously damage or kill cells. It's often confused with meiosis, but the processes differ in several ways.
Stages
Prophase
The DNA in the nucleus has already been duplicated in the previous stage of cell division, so by the time prophase starts, the nucleus contains two complete identical sets of DNA. As prophase begins, the chromatin, which are normally spread throughout the nucleus, begin to condense into an X shape, held together in the middle with a specific sequence of DNA called a centromere.
Each half of the X is one replicated half of DNA. Once they coil together into the X, they're called mitotic chromosomes. Towards the end of prophase, the material enclosing the nucleus and the cytoskeleton disappear, except in the case of some fungi, algae, and similar organisms, in which the process happens entirely inside the nuclear membrane. This is called closed mitosis.
Once the material enclosing the nucleus dissolves, or, in the case of closed mitosis, after the
DNA forms into Xs, structures called centrioles move to opposite ends of the cell and help make a spindle apparatus of microtubules, which is essentially like ropes running across the cell. The chromosomes also develop structures in the middle called kinectochores, which are later used to hook onto the microtubules.
Metaphase
As prophase finishes and metaphase begins, the rope-like microtubules connect to the kinectochores on each side of the chromosome, so that they can later pull them apart. The chromosomes align themselves with the spindle apparatus, which is spread around the cell like the vertical lines on a globe. The soon to be divided chromosomes are symmetrically positioned on the metaphase plate, which is essentially the equator of the parent cell. At the end of metaphase, each chromosome has microtubules connected to both of its halves, and they are lined up in a straight line along the equator of the cell.
Anaphase
Once the chromosomes get lined up properly, the spindle apparatus immediately pulls the two identical DNA halves apart from one another and moves them to opposite sides of the cell. These two sets of chromosomes will develop into the nuclei of two daughter cells which are perfectly identical to each other and the parent cell.
Telophase
After the chromosomes arrive at the ends of the cell, they start to uncoil and spread out again, as they were before they formed into Xs. This is basically the opposite of the beginning of prophase. While this happens, the spindle apparatus is broken down. After that, the nuclear membrane, which encases the nucleus, forms again around the chromosomes, unless it never dissolved in the first place, as in closed mitosis. Although this is the last phase, cell division is not complete until cytokinesis happens.

Cytokinesis
Cytokinesis is the next stage of cellular development, and is similar to mitosis, except it involves the other parts of the cell instead of the nucleus. During this phase, the equator-like metaphasal plate of the cell pinches together, separating the cell into two new cells. Once this is completed, there are two functioning, identical cells.
Purpose
One of the main purposes of this process is the natural growth of the parent organism. It's also done to replace cells that are worn out, damaged, or just at the end of their natural lifespan. For instance, a person continually sloughs of dead skin cells, so the body has to divide cells to make new ones. Some animals also use this process to regenerate parts of themselves, like lizards who can regrow their tails after losing them. Additionally, some animals undergo this process as part of asexual reproduction.
Problems
Problems with mitosis are devastating for cells, and can result in their death. Even if the cell doesn't die, the chromosomes can be damaged or altered, which can lead to genetic disorders;
Down syndrome, for instance, is caused by a chromosomal problem that's connected to mitosis.
Additionally, damage to the chromosomes or problems with the timing of how the cell divides can lead to growths and sometimes cancer. This can also happen if the chromosome isn't pulled apart properly

Name:
Directions: With a partner find the definition of each of these terms in the dictionary. When you and your partner are finished looking up the definition, draw a picture for each term to help you remember them. Then summarize the mitosis process.
1.
Mitosis:
2.
Cytoskeleton:
3.
Microtubules:
4.
spindle apparatus
5.
Anaphase:
6.
Telophase

7.
Metaphase:
8.
Prophase:
9.
Cytokinesis:
Summarize the process of mitosis:

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Onion Cell Mitosis
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Reference
What Is Mitosis? (2010). Retrieved October 1, 2013, from http://www.wisegeek.org/what-ismitosis.htm.