Lesson Plan Template

Pre-Planning:
OBJECTIVE CONNECTION TO ACHIEVEMENT GOAL
What will your students be able to do? How does the objective connect to your achievement
goal?
Students learned about the cell cycle and mitosis in
I can describe how the discovery of Hela cells was our last unit, and as a unit extension to tie in social
beneficial to society but led to injustice. justice and Black History Month, students are
practicing cross-disciplinary reading and writing skills
(argumentative and informative) in order to further
I can justify my stance and inform the reader on a engage them in why cell division matters and how the
scientific issue using informative and argumentative knowledge of it has advanced science and medicine as
writing. we know it today. Students will be able to explain Commented [MM1]: These learning objectives focus on
these advancements including chemotherapy, science equity for all students as well as science society. As
an extension to our cell division unit, I wanted to bring in some
vaccines, in vitro fertilization and more. social justice for Black History Month and find opportunity to
Students will write a Black History Month article about connect students’ cultural backgrounds to our science unit to
Henrietta Lacks informing the reader of her life, the engage them at an even deeper level. (Chiapetta and Koballa
discuss the importance of having students advocate or
discovery her cells led to, advancements in medicine themselves by stating, “Consistent with this change, the intent
and technology as a result, and describe the of STS instruction is to increase students’ interest in science
injustices/controversy around the discovery of HeLa through active involvement with issues and problems, thus
preparing the students for the role of active citizen in a
cells. democratic society” (Chiapetta & Koballa, pg. 236, 2009).
PREREQUISITE SKILLS DIAGNOSTIC
What will your students need to know to master the How will you assess students’ mastery of these Commented [MM2]: Abridged Technology and Engineering
Literacy Framework discusses the importance of students
grade-level objective? foundational skills? making the connections between the effects that technology
Students will need to have significant background This two-part lesson will be assessed in to ways. The has on people and ethics and consequences associated with
decisions we make in using that technology (National
knowledge on cell division (previous unit) as well as first part will include a formative assessment where Assessment Governing Board, pg. 7, 2007). I want students
Henrietta Lacks. This information will be obtained students will discuss the film questions where to understand the implications (both positive and negative)
through watching the HBO film, The Immortal Life of students will be graded on participation as well as the that new technology has on our society. For example, HeLa
cells and the ability to research on them led to a lot of
Henrietta Lacks, as well as doing some quality of the written answers they turn in. Secondly, amazing discoveries but the injustice behind using it is an
individual/partner research to find additional students will be evaluated on a summative project ethical piece students will need to think about and decide the
information. where they will construct their article with a partner. I benefits outweigh the harm done to the Lacks family.
will grade this using the rubric we will discuss and
Students will need to know how to format their refer to in class.
articles and organize the information being presented
in a way that flows and hooks the reader into being
invested in the article.

Preplanning
ASSESSMENT
How will you know whether your students have made progress toward the objective? How and when will you
assess mastery?

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Preplanning

As stated above, the two assessments include:

 Class discussion and submitted responses to film questions (formative)
 Rough draft or articles (written with partner)
 Final typed article written with partner (submitted attached to rubric-summative)

KEY POINTS
What three to five key points will you emphasize?

 Setting discussion norms prior to our film discussion using a graphic organizer of do’s and Commented [MM3]: I felt this was a strategy that needed
implementing, because having students at the alternative
don’ts school coming and going so frequently requires going over
 The advancements in science and medicine which resulted from discovering Henrietta’s procedures and expectations again and again. To help
eliminate negative language that has been happening, I felt
immortal cells setting discussion norms would help with the science equity
 The injustices the Lacks family faced as a result of the discovery portion of promoting a safe, inclusive classroom culture and
 Factors that contributed to the injustice (race, social class, gender, “the times”, etc.) would set students up for success in carrying out the
discussion. Science Instruction suggests creating these norms
 The “why” behind writing this article. Why should people know about Henrietta? How is she or rules and states” During the clarification phase, rules for the
discussion are communicated and terms or concepts
impactful, and why does it not make sense that most people have no idea who she is? Moving important to the discussion are defined and clarified. Students
forward, what can we do? need to know how they will be recognized when they wish to
speak and that showing respect for the views of others is
expected” (Chiapetta & Koballa, pg. 207, 2009). I hope that by
implementing this strategy in my own classroom, there will be
Lesson Cycle little to no conflict during our discussion. In addition, I chose to
make this a guided discussion versus student led, because I
OPENING (10 min.) MATERIALS feel that I would need my kids much longer that I have them in
How will you communicate what is about to happen? Warm up sheets order to successfully set up a more socratic seminar style.
How will you communicate how it will happen? Commented [MM4]: Students are shocked when they learn
Pencil
How will you communicate its importance? of the injustices the Lacks family faced, because it could have
How will you communicate connections to previous lessons? video easily happened at many of students families when we look at
similarities among the Lacks family and my students’. Science
How will you engage students and capture their interest? Instruction in the Middle and Secondary Schools says, “The
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1Gy5YjBMvk investigation of issues through case-based pedagogy enables
students to resolve issues and examine how power can affect
societal decisions as well as the decisions of scientific
Students will watch the video above on the screen as our daily warm up video and communities” (Chiapetta & Koballa, pg. 237, 2009). By
response to the growth mindset (#Mindset Monday) questions: discussing the factors (race, gender, etc) that influenced
doctors and researcher’s decisions at the time, it allows
students to think about how different factors influence one
Circle how you feel this morning and explain why. another, how it has impacted science as we know it today,
How does this video demonstrate a growth mindset? and how the situation may have played out differently had
factors looked different for another family.
What is a goal you have for this week? How can this video help you achieve
it? Commented [MM5]: In addition, I wanted students to think
How was your weekend? Tell me one thing you did! like a reporter when asking this question. In the video,
Science and Society, Steven Pinker suggests that students
should be thinking like scientists to understand how the world
These questions allow students to practice writing each morning, and the videos grab works, but also as journalists who ask what is true, how do
students’ attention and engage them in class from the start. We will discuss as a class, and I things work, and how are they connected? (Pangea Progress,
2010).
will hand out class money to students who share out answers.
Commented [MM6]: This is a daily activity we do in class
with each video revolving around a different Habit of Mind or
After the warm up video and students turn in responses, I will instruct students to take out value such as gratitude, a growth mindset, diversity, equity,
their movie questions from last class. and inclusion, and more. Students

INTRODUCTION OF NEW MATERIAL (15 min.) MATERIALS

What key points will you emphasize and reiterate? Movie questions

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Lesson Cycle
How will you ensure that students actively take in information? Sticky notes
How will you vary your approach to make information accessible to all students? Discussion norm
Which potential misunderstandings will you anticipate? chart posted on
Why will students be engaged/interested? board
Copy of norms
sheet for
students
In order to have a successful classroom discussion today, students will answer the first two
questions on their sheets independently (2 mins)
 Think of the best group discussions you’ve been involved in. What things
happened that made these conversations so satisfying?
 Think of conversations that didn’t go so well. What happened that caused conflict
or made them unsatisfactory?
After students jot down responses independently, will write a discussion DO and DON’T
(will explain this in further detail) and students will write their do and don’t on separate
sticky notes. Next, students will come up to the board and post their responses in the
graphic organizer that matches the one on their own sheets. We will go over the responses Commented [MM7]: In my discussion post, I discussed that
as a class. “Why do you think it is important to do an activity like this before jumping into a I was lacking in cognitive strategies such as consistently
utilizing graphic organizers in my class. This is not a strong
discussion?” Students will share out answers. example of concept mapping, however, students are utilizing a
T-chart and interactively posting responses to organize
I will post some general discussion norms students will copy down onto their own papers information.
as a reminder throughout our lesson.

GUIDED/ Independent PRACTICE (25 min.) MATERIALS

How will you clearly state and model behavioral expectations? Discussion sheet
How will you ensure that all students have multiple opportunities to practice? Pencil
How will you scaffold practice exercises from easy to hard? Movie questions
How will you monitor and correct student performance?
Why will students be engaged/interested?
After going over discussion/behavioral expectations, students will take out their movie
discussion sheets if they have not already. We will go over each question, and students can
choose to raise hand or share out as long as someone has concluded their point and they
are not interrupting. I will try to have at least 2-3 students share out for the first few Commented [MM8]: To additionally strengthen the using
questions and 4-5 for some of the deeper/multiple part questions about the medical cognitive strategies in the classroom, I wrote movie questions
to discuss after the film to promote student thinking and allow
advancements from HeLa cells and injustices the Lacks family faced. us to address any misconceptions the students may have.
Students will be engaged in answer by receiving class money and participation points for Science Instruction says, “Oral and written questions can be
used in a variety of ways during a lecture, discussion, or
sharing out. In addition, this movie really invested students through the controversial story demonstration. They can be used to stimulate students’
as well as the cultural background of the Lacks family being very similar to my students’ thinking and check for understanding. They can be used for
backgrounds. review or to initiate a guided discussion” (Chiapetta & Koballa,
pg. 219, 2009). These questions served as a guide to not only
If students are off task, they will lose points on their behavior sheets, and I will also call on help facilitate our class discussion, but pushed students to
students who are not offering to participate as they can use their movie answers to think about the content in a deeper way. I tried to use wording
that pushed students to explain, compare and contrast, and
support them in answering questions/participating in our class discussion. I will remind make inferences instead of simple recall questions from the
students that this is not a time to sit back and not contribute, I’m trusting that all students film.
will stay engaged and meaningfully contribute to our conversation as this is how many
mainstream high school and their future college classes operate.

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Lesson Plan Template
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Lesson Cycle
CLOSING (5 min.) MATERIALS
How will students summarize what they learned? Pencil
How will students be asked to state the significance of what they learned? Movie sheets
How will you provide all students with opportunities to demonstrate mastery of (or
progress toward) the objective?
Why will students be engaged/interested?
As we close our discussion, I will thank students for their thoughtful responses and tell
them that in the following class, they will begin writing a Black History Month article with
partner informing the reader about Henrietta’s life and the pros/cons we discussed
resulting from the discovery of her cells.
The following class period, I will hand out the rubric and directions for writing each section
of the article, and show students an example of a web-page article from Scientific
American I would like students to model theirs after.
Students will be engaged in using the computers (Word or Google Drive) once their rough
drafts are turned in and edited, and students will be more excited to write this piece
knowing they can team up with a partner and not complete the whole project
independently. Commented [MM9]: One of the most important factors of
this lesson is integrating technology into the science
Additional background knowledge will need to be researched using Ipads to get more instruction. Technology helps engage and invest my students
specific dates, uses for HeLa cells, and information about the Lacks family. and makes the writing process not seem no dreadful.
Students don’t mind writing a rough draft as much knowing
Students will pack up, make sure all movie questions are answered in complete sentences, that they will be typing a final one. Chiapetta and Koballas
and turn in to the bin for grading. support this in their text by stating, “When computers and
related technologies are coupled with appropriate pedagogy
by teachers, students’ science achievement is improved and
students view computers and other technologies favorably”
(Chiapetta & Koballa, pg. 288, 2009). One component of this
factor was using social media themes to support science
References: learning. I believe that this format allows students to be
creative, model what they see when they use the web and
allows them to practice skills necessary for entering a
technologically advancing society and workforce. I’m hoping
Chiappetta, E. L., & Koballa, T. R., Jr. (2009). Science instruction in the middle and secondary that by implementing computers into the lesson, students will
earn more participation points by exhibiting less off task
schools(7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. behavior.
Commented [MM10]: In my discussion post, I said I also
National Assessment Governing Board (2014). Abridged technology and engineering literacy want to improve on exploratory learning in the classroom.
During this unit, we aren’t necessarily doing a lab or
framework for the 2014 National Assessment of Educational Progress [Abridged]. experiment, but I think utilizing technology in a way that allows
for scientific research qualifies as exploratory learning.
Retrieved from Students will gain a better understanding from the uses of
https://www.nagb.org/content/nagb/assets/documents/publications/frameworks/tech HeLa cells how impactful laboratory work can be, and through
providing clear procedures and directions to guide their
nology/2014-technology-framework-abridged.pdf research there will be improvement in their skills to
independently seek out information through the web and cite
their sources.
Pangea Progress [pangeaprogressblog]. (2010, July 5). Steven Pinker: Science & society [Video
file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkpVykQIdDE

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Lesson Plan Template
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