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Loretta ingram
SUMMER 1999 COMMUTER INSTITUTE ON BIODIVERSITY
Institute Project
Pupil Profile: The students that I teach are a heterogeneous group of tenth graders with reading abilities ranging from seventh to eleventh grade . My students have different learning styles. As a result, the lessons and activities will be developed to meet their special needs. The school is in an urban area and many of the student population are first and second generation Americans. In this unit, the students will read aloud for oral/linguistics, they will have discussions and debates for social/interpersonal learning, they will dewvelop and write reports and journals using verbal/linguistic strategies ; also they will create models and participate in labs for visual/concrete sequential learning.
I am responsible for teaching the Regents Biology curriculum and that includes preparing and teaching all labs. I would like to expand my student’s knowledge and appreciation for all living things.
This unit will be offered early in the school year. By the end of September, students will have had lessons explaining the importance of tools in biology, t he cell theory, and an introduction to taxonomy. For two days , on Tuesday and Thursday, of each week the students will have an introduction to biodiversity beginning with the Kingdom Monera.
In order to motivate and in form my students on the topic of biodiversity
as it pertains to microbes, I will use illustrations of the different types
of bacteria and a large paper mache model of an E. coli.
Making Connections: My unit will address Major Understanding 6.1g in
the "Living Environment" text. Relationships between organisms may be competitive
or beneficial. Some organisms may interact with another in several ways:
They may be in a producer/consumer, predator/prey, or parasite/host relationship.
Or one organism may cause disease in, scavenge, or decompose another. In
order to motivate my students I will make a connection between the material
I want to teach and the interests and needs of my students. (We will talk
about diseases that they know, spices that they know, and how this is all
relavent to them). I will elicit the elicit the question that needs to
be answered and the problem that needs to be solved from the student. I
will use student centered experiences in order to review and revise prior
knowledge.
Inquiry Questions: What is biodiversity? That will be the topic that
I will be addressing during this unit and at other times throughout the
year. Our introduction to biodiversity will be with microbes; therefore,
my other inquiry questions will be , What are microbes? Where will we find
microbes in our everyday life? In order to motivate the students to think
about these issues, we will have discussions, take local field trips, look
at videos, and take a trip to the American Museum of Natural History. The
students will develop two projects over a period of four weeks. The first
project will develop out of the first local field trip where the students
will collect marsh mud, marsh water, and leaf litter. It will consist of
making a simple Winogradsky Column. The method selects for organisms that
are photosynthetic and are anaerobic. The second project involves finding
if spice extracts have an effect on bacterial growth. It will include the
use of analysis, predition, measuring and other lab skills.
Schedule, Topic, Methods: October 5, 1999: 1 day: 45 min. What is biodiversity? Introduce the students to the topic using focus questions. What do dogs, squid, daffodils, eagles and Puff Daddy have in common? List some characteristics of living things. Have students use their journals to record their answers. Introduce the video, "Life in the Balance." Ask the students to be prepared to discuss specific points after viewing the video.
October 7, 1999: 1 day: 1 field session. Trip to Prospect Park Pond. This is a local field trip to collect marsh mud, marsh water and leaf litter. The students will be prepared, we will discuss the rules, the selection of the site, and their responsibilities in advance. The students will observe the site, use their journals to record observations and make their sample collections. They will collect the marsh water and leaf litter in jars and collect the pond mud in a pail.
October 12, 1999: 1 day: 45 min. lab. The Winogradsky Column. This is a classic enrichment technique. The students will use a tall transparent glass or plastic cylinder, they will layer bits of paper towel hard boiled egg yolk, marsh mud and aa bit of water to the top and cover the open end. Illuminate the cylinder with an ordinary incandescent lamp. After several days , colored areas of anaerobic photosynthetic sulfur-using bacteria will start to appear on the illuminated side. The column can be brought into the classroom and utilized for periodic discussions and observations .
October 14th and 19th 1999: 2 / 45 min. labs. The Antimicrobial Effects of Spice Extracts on Bacterial Growth. Introduce the students to the topic using focus questions. What is the purpose of spice? Why do you think people in ancient times began to use them? What causes food to spoil? How can we test to see if spices help in reducing bacterial growth? A complete section is included to highlight this lab, it consists of lab materials, procedures, and data chart.
October 21st and 26th 1999: 2/ 45 min. labs. The Antimicrobial Effects of Spice Extracts on Bacterial Growth II The first lab that deals with spice extracts has all spices chosen by the teacher , also the procedures and data table are preset. In the lab given at this point, the students will chose the spices using material indigenous to their native countries. The student focus questions are: What spices are used in your home or your culture? Predict the spices that you feel will produce a zone of inhibition?
Student tasks : Analyze the previous experiment and construct a procedure that will improve the experiment. Prepare a data table,and present your data graphically. Explain how your predictions compare with the results.
October 28, 1999. 1 day: 45 min. Writing a critique of published material. Focus questions. What comes to mind when you hear the word bacteria? Student task: Read the article, "Bacteria," by Rachel Mock, the recipient of the 1998 Young Naturalist Award. Write a critique of Rachel’s article, describing in your own words, the concepts that you think are important . How does Rachel’s report affect you? Do you agree or disagree with the article? Write a rough draft on loose leaf paper. For homework, write your finished paper and be prepared to present it in class the next day.
November 4, 1999: 1 day: 45 min. Preparation for a trip to the American Museum of Natural History. Preparation : discuss ion of what the students already know about infectious disease. Focus questions. What do you know about infectious diseases? What would you like to learn? What are some of the ways that infectious diseases enter our bodies? How can you avoid getting sick? Student tasks: Read the handout of the diagram of the hantavirus. Discuss the natural cycles of infectious diseases. Read the handout of the diagram of the body. Discuss the concepts of "doorways" where diseases enter the body.
November 9, 1999. 1 field session. Trip to the AMNH The World of Infectious
Disease. Have students break up into small groups to do the activities
on the handouts entitled When Humans and Microbes Meet. Student tasks.
Complete the handouts. Observe the models of microbes. After visiting the
museum the students will build a model that each group chooses. Students
will use any materials that they like, they can be creative.
Reasons for the Methods: Week 1 Field study-supports student interest and provides
opportunities for data collection and scientific observation.
Week 1 Films-provides the student with multiple opportunities to promote understanding.
Week 2 Lab work-provides the student with a supportive setting and tools for
scientific inquiry.
Weeks 2-3 Project work-challenges the student to accept and share responsiblity
for their own learning.
Week 3 Group discussion-allows student to orchestrate discourse with their peers.
Weeks 4-5 Museum trip-opens the world to student for scientific inquiry.
Weeks 4-5 Model making-students with diverse learning styles participate in
scientific experiences that are meaningful.
Resources to use with students: "Biodiversity Counts" Teacher's Guide AMNH
-National Test Pilot 1998-99 .
"Young Naturalist Awards 1998 "
(museum book)
Pace University laboratory exercises (various aspects of microbial ecology)
"Life in the Balance" (video from AMNH)
Epidemic! The World of Infectious Diseases American Museum of Natural
History's Teacher's Guide
Preparing Students for Regents Assessment: Essay writing-The student
demonstrates effective scientific communication. Performance demonstration-The
student demonstrates scientific compentence by completing projects drown
from investigation. The student works individually and in groups
to collect and share information.
Resources from the Institute: Teacher's lesson plan exercises,books, and the resources listed to use with the students.
***The attached experiment listed for Days October 14 and 15 is as follows: Macerate the spices garlic, onion, ginger in alcohol. Use a mortar and pistle to mash the spice and place the extract in small cups . Place a small paper disk in the cup and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Remove the cisk and pplace in a dish to dry. Place each disk on a petri plate that has been swabbed with inoculum, E. coli, and marsh water and marsh mud. Allow to incubate at room temperature for 48 hours.Read the areas around the disks, looking for zones of inhibition. The ginger makes a beautiful zone that all students can observe.
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