The following instructional plan is part of a GaDOE collection of Unit Frameworks, Performance Tasks, examples of Student Work, and Teacher Commentary. Many more GaDOE approved instructional plans are available by using the Search Standards feature located on GeorgiaStandards.Org. Subject Area: Life Science Interdisciplinary Culminating Task Labradoodle, Inc. Grade Level: 7 th Standards (Content and Characteristics): S7L3. Students will recognize how biological traits are passed on to successive generations. a. Explain the role of genes and chromosomes in the process of inheriting a specific trait. c. Recognize that selective breeding can produce plants or animals with desired traits. S7CS1. Students will explore the importance of curiosity, honesty, openness, and skepticism in science and will exhibit these traits in their own efforts to understand how the world works. a. Understand the importance of and keep honest, clear, and accurate records in science. b. Understand that hypotheses can be valuable, even if they turn out not to be completely accurate. S7CS3. Students will have the computation and estimation skills necessary for analyzing data and following scientific explanations. a. Analyze scientific data by using, interpreting, and comparing numbers in several equivalent forms, such as integers, fractions, decimals, and percents. b. Use the mean, median, and mode to analyze a set of scientific data. c. Apply the metric system to a scientific investigation that includes metric to metric conversion. (i.e. centimeters to meters) d. Draw conclusions based on analyzed data. e. Decide what degree of precision is adequate, and round off appropriately. f. Address the relationship between accuracy and precision and the importance of each. S7CS4. Students will use tools and instruments for observing, measuring, and manipulating equipment and materials in scientific activities. a. Use appropriate technology to store and retrieve scientific information in topical, alphabetical, numerical, and keyword files, and create simple files. b. Use appropriate tools for measuring objects and/or substances. c. Learn and use on a regular basis standard safety practices for scientific investigations. July 2008 Page 1 of 7
S7CS5. Students will use the ideas of system, model, change, and scale in exploring scientific and technological matters. a. Observe and explain how parts can be related to other parts in a system such as predator/prey relationships in a community/ecosystem. b. Understand that different models (such as physical replicas, pictures, and analogies) can be used to represent the same thing. S7CS6. Students will communicate scientific ideas and activities clearly. a. Write clear, step-by-step instructions for conducting particular scientific investigations, operating a piece of equipment, or following a procedure. b. Write for scientific purposes incorporating data from circle, bar and line graphs, two-way data tables, diagrams, and symbols. c. Organize scientific information using appropriate simple tables, charts, and graphs, and identify relationships they reveal. S7CS7. Students will question scientific claims and arguments effectively. a. Question claims based on vague attributions (such as Leading doctors say... ) or on statements made by people outside the area of their particular expertise. b. Identify the flaws of reasoning that are based on poorly designed research (i.e., facts intermingled with opinion, conclusions based on insufficient evidence). c. Question the value of arguments based on small samples of data, biased samples, or samples for which there was no control. d. Recognize that there may be more than one way to interpret a given set of findings. S7CS8. Students will investigate the characteristics of scientific knowledge and how that knowledge is achieved. Students will apply the following to scientific concepts: a. When similar investigations give different results, the scientific challenge is to judge whether the differences are trivial or significant, which often requires further study. Even with similar results, scientists may wait until an investigation has been repeated many times before accepting the results as meaningful. b. When new experimental results are inconsistent with an existing, well-established theory, scientists may pursue further experimentation to determine whether the results are flawed or the theory requires modification. c. As prevailing theories are challenged by new information, scientific knowledge may change. S7CS9. Students will investigate the features of the process of scientific inquiry. Students will apply the following to inquiry learning practices: a. Investigations are conducted for different reasons, which include exploring new phenomena, confirming previous results, testing how well a theory predicts, and comparing competing theories. b. Scientific investigations usually involve collecting evidence, reasoning, devising hypotheses, and formulating explanations to make sense of collected evidence. July 2008 Page 2 of 7
c. Scientific experiments investigate the effect of one variable on another. All other variables are kept constant. d. Scientists often collaborate to design research. To prevent this bias, scientists conduct independent studies of the same questions. e. Accurate record keeping, data sharing, and replication of results are essential for maintaining an investigator s credibility with other scientists and society. f. Scientists use technology and mathematics to enhance the process of scientific inquiry. g. The ethics of science require that special care must be taken and used for human subjects and animals in scientific research. Scientists must adhere to the appropriate rules and guidelines when conducting research. M7D1 Students will pose questions, collect data, represent and analyze the data, and interpret results. f. Analyze data using appropriate graphs, including pictographs, histograms, bar graphs, line graphs, circle graphs, and line plots introduced earlier, and using box-and-whisker plots and scatter plots. g. Analyze and draw conclusions about data, including a description of the relationship between two variables. M7P1 Students will solve problems (using appropriate technology). b. Solve problems that arise in mathematics and in other contexts. c. Apply and adapt a variety of appropriate strategies to solve problems. M7P4 Students will make connections among mathematical ideas and to other disciplines. a. Recognize and use connections among mathematical ideas. b. Understand how mathematical ideas interconnect and build on one another to produce a coherent whole. c. Recognize and apply mathematics in contexts outside of mathematics. ELA8LSV1 Teacher Conferences, Small-Group, and Student-to-Student Interaction b. Asks relevant questions. c. Responds to questions with appropriate information. e. Displays appropriate turn-taking behaviors. h. Responds appropriately to comments and questions. i. Volunteers contributions and responds when directly solicited by teacher or discussion leader. l. Employs a group decision-making technique such as brainstorming or a problem-solving sequence (e.g., recognizes problem, defines problem, identifies a possible solution, selects optimal solution, implements solution, and evaluates solutions). Enduring Understanding: Many traits of an organism are inherited from its biological parents. Genes and chromosomes determine the expressions of inherited traits. Selective breeding is used to enhance a desired trait. July 2008 Page 3 of 7
Essential Question(s): Why is selective breeding important to me? How is genetic material passed from parents to their offspring? How can our knowledge of genetics be useful? Opening: The teacher will challenge students to identify the hybrid organisms included in the multimedia presentation, serving as a springboard to the genetic engineering theme of the interdisciplinary culminating task. Culminating Performance Task Description Duration Background/ Teacher Notes Materials Needed Safety Precautions Detailed Description Teacher Role? Student Role? The culminating task will involve students conducting research and making presentations to the "Board of Directors" of a multinational biotech corporation at its annual stockholders meeting. Teacher Note: The Board of Directors may be comprised of principals, assistant principals, science professors, scientists, other science teachers, math teachers, ELA teachers, etc. Send out invitations letting potential board members know the time, date, and location of the event. Three four class periods. (Research for two or three periods and presentations one period) There will be five to six teams of students. The teams are listed as follows: legal, finance, research and development, human resources, public relations, sales and marketing, production and manufacturing. Materials will vary. Use standard school safety precautions. Teacher The teacher will act as the facilitator. Introduce the scenario problem to students. Scenario Labradoodle is an international company specializing in the development and production of genetically engineered products. The company has posted record profits over the last four quarters. C.E.O., Dr. Demetrius Green, has decided to take some of the company s earnings and invest it in two new projects: Design-a-Pet and Replace-a-pet. On Monday morning during the weekly department head meeting, Dr. Green announced the launch of the two new projects. He asked the head of each department to prepare to work together to breed and care for hundreds of different kinds of genetically engineered pets. The company would need to work efficiently to keep the company July 2008 Page 4 of 7
economically viable long enough to achieve two special objectives: cloning Replace-a-pets and engineering Design-a-Pets. Each department was given a special problem to research. The department heads were also told that they would have to present their solutions to the Board of Directors by next Monday morning. The assignments are as follows: Legal 1. A group of animal rights activists is protesting the ethical values of the company due to the production of Replace-a-pets and Designa-Pets. How can the company defend its project? Finance 1. What are the factors that influence the pricing of Make-a-pet and Design-a-Pet? Research and Development 1. How do we genetically engineer different kinds of pets? (Designa-Pet) 2. How do we clone sick and dying pets of owners and give them strong, healthy pets identical to their own pet? (Replace-a-pet) Human Resources 1. What type of biotechnology background do people need to work on this project? 2. In order to staff the facility to meet the needs of the company, what biotechnology fields would you need to fill? Sales/Marketing 1. Design a new marketing campaign to market Replace-a-pets and Design-a-Pets to people. (Optional Departments) - Production/Manufacturing and Public Relations) Students 1. Explore the issues. Discuss the problem/scenario statement and list its significant parts. You will have to gather information and learn new concepts, principles, or skills as you engage in the problem-solving process. 2. List "What do we know?" 3. Develop, and write out, the problem statement in your own words. 4. List out possible solutions. List them all, and then order them from strongest to weakest. Choose the best one, or most likely to succeed. July 2008 Page 5 of 7
Technology Application Career Connections Accommodations (ELL, SWD, and Gifted) Resources 5. List actions to be taken with a timeline. What do we have to know and do to solve the problem? How do we rank these possibilities? How do these relate to our list of solutions? Do we agree? 6. List "What do we need to know?" Research the knowledge and data that will support your solution. You will need to information to fill in missing gaps. Discuss possible resources experts, books, web sites, etc. Assign and schedule research tasks, especially deadlines. If your research supports your solution, and if there is general agreement, go to (7). If not, go to (4). 7. Write up your solution with its supporting documentation, and submit it. You will need to present your findings and/or recommendations to the Board of Directors. This should include the problem statement, questions, data gathered, analysis of data, and support for solutions or recommendations based on the data analysis. 8. Presenting and defending your conclusions. The goal is to present not only your conclusions, but the foundation upon which they rest. Prepare to State clearly both the problem and your conclusion Summarize the process you used, options considered, and difficulties encountered Help others learn, as you have learned 9. Review your performance 10. Celebrate your work! Internet research and multimedia presentations, Genetic engineering, cloning, accounting, veterinarian, lawyers, etc. ELL: Make a written record of instruction and display it on chart paper. SWD: Multimedia presentation, provide time to respond, and extended time on task. Gifted: Take home position paper; role-play other side of the issues. 1. http://www.studygs.net/pbl.htm 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/economic_simulation_game July 2008 Page 6 of 7
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