Exploring ELA and
Biology Connections
• Part of your job as a developing student is to learn the
differing types of compare/contrast and classification skills
necessary in life. Whether conducting informal
compare/contrast and/or grouping tasks in your personal life
or performing more formal compare/contrast or sorting
activities for academic purposes, each distinct
compare/contrast/classification task calls for particular
strategies and rhythms.
• Even when performing academic compare/contrasts and/or
classifications, the nature of the process is shaped by each
individual task (i.e. analyzing literary characters to
understand similarities and differences and connecting literary
characters to archetypal patterns greatly differs from the
comparing, contrasting, and classifying of differing biological
entities).
• When performing compare/contrast within an English
Language Arts class it becomes imperative that you pay
close attention to literary details – be an active
investigator and not a passive reader. Carefully
consider all features of the text-in-question and be sure
to go beyond the literal and superficial – instead reach
for deep insights and inferences. Use any appropriate
graphic organizers if needed (i.e. Venn Diagram).
• When analyzing and classifying literary features, one
must first consider all needed information regarding
both the literary excerpt and the associated category for
classification. Then carefully determine if the literary
feature fully connects with the literary category.
• Compare/contrast the characters of Atticus Finch and Bob Ewell
from To Kill a Mockingbird. Then determine the archetype with
which both characters can connect.
In order to
effectively
answer the
question,
you must
first pull
details from
the text
concerning
the
charactersin-question.
Atticus Finch
Loving
father, hero
of Maycomb,
professional,
modest,
honest, hardworking…
Hero,
Trickster
Bob Ewell
Singleparent,
descended
from
established
Maycomb
family…
Father
Abusive
father,
disgrace of
Maycomb,
unemployed,
dishonest,
lazy…
Shadow
In order to
classify each
character in
terms of
archetypal
figures, you
must utilize
both what you
know about the
characters and
the various
associated
archetypes.
• When performing compare/contrast within a Biology course it is
imperative that you pay close attention to biological details –
be an active investigator and not a passive biological observer.
Carefully consider all features of the biological phenomenon
or structure in-question and be sure to go beyond the
superficial – instead reach for depth of hypothesis. Use any
appropriate graphic organizers if needed (i.e. Venn Diagram).
• When analyzing and classifying biological organisms and
processes, one must first consider all needed information
regarding both the scientific entity and the associated category
for classification. Then carefully determine if the biological
phenomenon fully connects with the scientific category.
Like complex carbohydrates, proteins are biomolecules that
serve many functions and can be chemically broken down
and restructured. Both proteins and complex carbohydrates
The first portion of the question
are which of the following?
A)
B)
C)
D)
Polymers of smaller subunits
Sequences of sugars
Lipids of large molecules
Nucleotides of DNA
provides you with important
information regarding the
commonality of complex
carbohydrates and proteins.
The second portion of the
example above asks for both
entities to be classified based on
their commonalities. Using your
prefix knowledge, you should
know that poly means “many” and
that polymers have many parts.