Lesson Plan 1
Biology
Shawn P. Schwartz
30 Students
OBJECTIVE:
Students will be able to identify the different stages of the eukaryotic cell cycle as well as the different stages of mitosis in the proper order. Students will also be able to recognize what organelles of the cell are integral to mitosis and cell division.
MATERIALS:
-Spiral notebook
-Pen/Pencil
-Biology textbook
-Chalkboard with pre-drawn phases of the cell cycle and blanks for the different names
-Chalk
-Overhead Projector
-Transparencies with pre-drawn stages of mitosis and blanks for the different names
-Medium tip transparency marker
-Prepared example of a cell cycle rap
-Personal computer
-Projector
NOTES:
Most of the students in this class are well behaved because the teacher keeps their attention through activities and discussion. However, sometimes the students have a tendency to write profanities on the chalkboard whenever the teacher is not paying attention, so make sure to be extremely attentive so that his misbehavior does not interfere with the cell cycle lesson on the chalkboard.
STEPS:
ANITICIPATORY SET: (2 minutes) Ask the students to think about some of their favorite raps or poems. How would a rap or poem about biology sound?
1. (3 minutes) Take class attendance and get all of the students settled.
2. (20 minutes) Have students open the biology textbook to Chapter 7. Call on individual students randomly to each read aloud one paragraph in the chapter related to the cell cycle and mitosis.
3. (10 minutes) Call on the students at random to go to the chalkboard to label the different phases (Gap 1, Cells that cease division, DNA synthesis, Gap 2, Mitosis) of the pre-drawn eukaryotic cell cycle. Discuss what happens at each phase of the cell cycle.
4. (10 minutes) Turn on the overhead projector. Point to the different blanks next to the different stages of mitosis on the prepared mitosis transparency. Call on students at random to tell the name of the stage of mitosis at which the teacher is pointing (Interphase, Interphase-Prophase Transition, Prophase, Prometaphase, Metaphase, Anaphase, Telophase). Label each of the stages with a medium tip transparency marker. Discuss what happens during each stage of mitosis including which organelles are active.
5. (10 minutes) Use the personal computer and the projector hooked up to it to show the students how to navigate to http://www.ydrf.com/cd/index.html by going to the Hip Hop Circuit website and clicking on Activities, then Youth Development and Research Fund, Inc., then Album Overview & Lyrics. Show the students some examples of rap lyrics on the website.
6. (5 minutes) Explain to the students that their homework will be to write a rap or a poem either describing the different stages of the cell cycle or describing the different stages of mitosis. Tell the students that the Album Overview and Lyrics website can be used to help them create a rap or a poem.
FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITY:
Students will write a rap or a poem either accurately describing the every stage of the cell cycle or accurately describing every stage of mitosis. Every rap or poem must be at least two hundred and fifty words long. Students will receive two extra points on their next test if they share their rap or poem with the class on the day that it is due. Students will be assessed by whether their raps or poems meet the guidelines of the assignment. If the students mention every stage of mitosis or the cell cycle and their raps or poems are at least two hundred and fifty words in length, then they will receive an “A”.
LITERACY ASPECT:
In this lesson many students will utilize their reading skills by reading aloud one paragraph in the chapter related to the cell cycle and mitosis. Some students will make use of their writing skills by going to the chalkboard to label the different phases (Gap 1, Cells that cease division, DNA synthesis, Gap 2, Mitosis) of the pre-drawn eukaryotic cell cycle. Also, as a homework assignment, all students will develop their creative writing skills by writing a rap or a poem either accurately describing the every stage of the cell cycle or accurately describing every stage of mitosis.
REFLECTION/RESPONSE:
The students paid attention to the subject matter because of the usage of a variety of audiovisuals to teach them such as the overhead projector and the personal computer. However, this lesson takes a great amount of preparation, so make sure to schedule the appropriate amount of time in the morning for preparation of the chalkboard and the overhead transparencies.