- Sample Lessons
- Lesson One
Lesson Plan 19
Biology
Shawn P. Schwartz
30 Students
OBJECTIVE:
Students will apply their knowledge acquired from two guest speakers to writing a three hundred-word essay on either the pros or cons of genetic engineering. Students will try to persuade the reader of their essays to agree with their stance on genetic engineering.
MATERIALS:
-Spiral notebook
-Pen/Pencil
-Two guest speakers (A representative of Genentech for a pro genetic engineering discussion and a representative of the True Food Campaign for a discussion of the cons of genetic engineering such as genetically modified organisms in food)
-Overhead projector
-Transparency with an example of a persuasive essay
-Personal computer
-Projector
NOTES:
Debates can promote arguments among students. Try to explain to the students that neither side is necessarily correct or incorrect and that all opinions should be valued. Also, make sure that the students stay on task and only ask the guest speakers questions related to the discussion.
STEPS:
ANITICIPATORY SET: (2 minutes) Ask the students to think about some of the results of genetic engineering. Can the students think of both positive and negative aspects of this scientific achievement?
1. (3 minutes) Take class attendance, get all of the students settled, have students pass up homework, and introduce students to the guest speaker form Genentech and the guest speaker from the True Food Campaign.
2. (10 minutes) Allow the representative of Genentech to present his or her material that lists some of the positive aspects of genetic engineering. Make sure that all of the students take notes.
3. (10 minutes) Allow the students to ask the guest speaker from Genentech some questions and discuss the pros related to genetic engineering.
4. (10 minutes) Allow the representative of the True Food Campaign to present his or her material that lists some of the negative aspects of genetic engineering. Make sure that all of the students take notes.
5. (10 minutes) Allow the students to ask the guest speaker from the True Food Campaign some questions and discuss the cons related to genetic engineering.
6. (5 minutes) Ask every student who agrees more with the representative from Genentech to raise his or her hand and write down the names of those students. Ask every student who agrees more with the representative from the True Food Campaign to raise his or her hand and write down the names of those students. Make sure every student has taken a side of the argument.
7. (10 minutes) After every student has picked a side, tell all of the students that they must write a three hundred-word, persuasive essay arguing the points of the opposing side. Therefore, all of the students who agreed with the representative from Genentech must write a persuasive essay that presents the negative aspects of genetic engineering and all of the students who agreed with the presenter from the True Food Campaign must write a persuasive essay that presents the positive aspects of genetic engineering. Then, turn on the overhead projector and show the students the transparency with an example of a persuasive essay. Use my personal computer and the projector hooked up to it to show students how to navigate to http://www.homeworkplanet.com/ by going to the Hip Hop Circuit website and clicking on Resources, then Student Tools. Show the students that they can use the resources such as the thesaurus and the multiple languages dictionary to help them write their essays.
FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITY:
Students will write a three hundred-word, persuasive essay that presents an argument based on the pros or cons of genetic engineering. This activity will allow students to directly tie in the aspect of social justice to their lesson on the positive and negative aspects of genetic engineering by making them think about how it benefits or harms society as a whole. Students will also be forced to argue the points of the side that they disagree with to teach them how to approach arguments without bias. Students will be assessed by whether their essays meet the guidelines of the assignment. If the students’ essays meet the criteria of being three hundred-words long, using proper sentence structure and development, as well as demonstrating original thought, then their assignments will receive an “A”.
LITERACY ASPECT:
In this lesson all students will take notes on the presented material, which will require them to use their listening and writing skills. Also, as a homework assignment, every student will utilize their writing skills by writing a three hundred-word persuasive essay that presents an argument based on the pros or cons of genetic engineering.
REFLECTION/RESPONSE:
The students paid attention to the subject matter because of the usage of the personal computer to teach them as well as the presentations of the guest speakers. However, this lesson takes some preparation because the teacher must make sure that the presenters from Genentech and the True Food Campaign are available at the same time, as well as will have ten-minute presentations prepared that focus on educating high school students.