Lesson Plan for Implementing

NETS•S—Template I
(More Directed Learning Activities)

Template with guiding questions

Teacher(s)
Name Jennifer Joiner

Position Teacher

School/District Fayette County Public Schools

E-mail Jenjoiner44@gmail.com

Phone 678-378-7986

Grade Level(s) 7

Content Area Life Science

Time line 01/08/18 – 03/09/18

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Standards (What do you want students to know and be able to do? What knowledge, skills, and strategies do you
expect students to gain? Are there connections to other curriculum areas and subject area benchmarks? ) Please
put a summary of the standards you will be addressing rather than abbreviations and numbers that indicate which
standards were addressed.

S7L2. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to describe how cell structures, cells,
tissues, organs, and organ systems interact to maintain the basic needs of organisms.
c. Construct an argument that systems of the body (Cardiovascular, Excretory, Digestive,
Respiratory, Muscular, Nervous, and Immune) interact with one another to carry out life
processes. (Clarification statement: The emphasis is not on learning individual structures and
functions associated with each system, but on how systems interact to support life
processes.)
LITERACY STANDARDS FOR READING IN SCIENCE AND TECHNICAL SUBJECTS
(RST) GRADES 6-8
L6-8RST1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts.
L6-8RST8: Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research findings, and
speculation in a text.
L6-8WHST1: Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
a. Introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue, acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from
alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically. b. Support
claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and evidence that demonstrate an
understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources. c. Use words, phrases, and clauses
to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and
evidence. d. Establish and maintain a formal style. e. Provide a concluding statement or
section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
Content L6-8WHST9: Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis reflection, and
Standards research.

3a. Students plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other
resources for their intellectual or creative pursuits.
3b. Students evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of information,
media, data or other resources.
3c. Students curate information from digital resources using a variety of tools and methods to
create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections or conclusions.
3d. Students build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems,
developing ideas and theories and pursuing answers and solutions.
6c. Students communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively by creating or using a
variety of digital objects such as visualizations, models or simulations.
7c. Students contribute constructively to project teams, assuming various roles and
NETS*S responsibilities to work effectively toward a common goal.
Standards:

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Overview (a short summary of the lesson or unit including assignment or expected or possible products)

Project Code Blue

Seventh grade students at Whitewater Middle School participated over a period of approximately eight
working weeks on an authentic, real-world, project-based, problem-based learning experience called
Project Code Blue, a unique and challenging dramatization activity where students take on the roles of
doctors and patients as they work together to diagnose real medical conditions. Students used the Claim-
Evidence-Reasoning Model to prove their diagnoses based on symptoms, medical histories, and recent
activities. Student research was conducted using the Project Code Blue website developed specifically for
this project.
The project included four weeks of Mock Medical School, where students were required to participate in
whole group discussions, watch a series of Discovery Education videos, complete a series of digital
activities on specific body systems and pass four different medical board exams. After successfully
completing their medical boards, students spent four weeks in residency. Below is an overview of the
doctors' role each week of residency:
Schedule for Doctor Teams:
Preview requirements: Doctors should continuously review the medical research provided on the website
so they will be able to make accurate diagnoses.
Day 1: Patient Consultations during Rounds
Day 2: Patient Consultations during Rounds
Day 3: Team meetings with assigned doctor team (including research via the Project Code Blue website)
Day 4: Team meetings with assigned doctor team (including research via the Project Code Blue website)
Day 5: Presentation of Diagnoses to the Hospital Board from Doctor Teams (constructed using Google
slides)
Schedule for Patients:
Preview requirements: Patients will be required to memorize their symptoms and medical history. They
will be permitted to dress up in order to role play the patient that week.
Day 1: Doctor Consultations during Rounds
Day 2: Doctor Consultations during Rounds
Day 3: Support group meetings with other patients
Day 4: Support group meetings with other patients
Day 5: Submit Self-Diagnosis and Listen to Presentation of Diagnoses from Doctor Teams

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Essential Questions (What essential question or learning are you addressing? What would students care or
want to know about the topic? What are some questions to get students thinking about the topic or generate
interest about the topic? Additionally, what questions can you ask students to help them focus on important
aspects of the topic? (Guiding questions) What background or prior knowledge will you expect students to bring to
this topic and build on?) Remember, essential questions are meant to guide the lesson by provoking inquiry. They
should not be answered with a simple “yes” or “no” and should have many acceptable answers.

1. How do cell structures, cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems interact to maintain the basic
needs of an organism?
2. Why is it necessary to understand how organ systems interact within the human body?
3. How does the loss of function in any one organ system affect the functionality of another system
in the human body?
4. How does disease affect the organs and organ systems of the human body?
5. Why is it important to correctly identify disease in the human body?
6. How can we use research skills to find evidence to solve problems or support theories?
7. What information is necessary to prove a claim?
8. How do we evaluate a text to locate specific text evidence?
9. How can we construct an argument to prove what we know?
10. How can we communicate evidence of our learning to peers or other individuals?
11. How do we work together to obtain, evaluate, and communicate information?

Assessment (What will students do or produce to illustrate their learning? What can students do to generate new
knowledge? How will you assess how students are progressing (formative assessment)? How will you assess
what they produce or do? How will you differentiate products?) You must attach copies of your assessment and/or
rubrics. Include these in your presentation as well.

Throughout the course of the project, students were assessed multiple times through various means. The
first wave of assessment involved a more traditional form of assessment through multiple choice or
selected response questions. After spending time learning about the human body system through a
combination of direct instruction, multi-media presentations, and individualized study, students were
required to pass four selected response medical board exams in order to begin their residency. Initially,
students were not given access to subsequent tests unless they passed with a minimum required score of
80%. Criteria evolved as the project progressed.
During their residency, doctors met with patients for two days each week, seeing three patients each day.
On the third and fourth day of each week, doctors convened in teams to discuss the patients for that week
and to collaborate on a diagnosis. Informal assessments were conducted by facilitating and monitoring
appointments and doctor team group discussions.
At the conclusion of each week, doctor teams presented their findings using Google slides as a vehicle for
their presentations. The presentations were assessed using a rubric.
Patients were also required to create a presentation that included a self-diagnosis.
At the conclusion of all four weeks of residency, every student was required to submit a medical
diagnosis log showing what they believed to be the correct diagnosis for each disease and indicating the
body systems impacted by each disease. This final assignment was cumulative and independent.

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Resources (How does technology support student learning? What digital tools, and resources—online student
tools, research sites, student handouts, tools, tutorials, templates, assessment rubrics, etc—help elucidate or
explain the content or allow students to interact with the content? What previous technology skills should students
have to complete this project?)

In order to assist students in researching for the project, the Project Code Blue website was created. On the
website, students could access the information necessary to find specific text evidence to support the claims
they made for each diagnosis. Information regarding symptoms and affectations of each possible disease
were stored on the website as hyperlinked Google Docs. Due to concerns over internet content accessibility
for Whitewater students, the decision was made to house the information necessary for research in Google
Docs rather than linking directly to other websites. Safety concerns have caused many websites to be blocked
by the school system.
Blackboard, the platform that provides our online classroom management system, housed the formal
assessment components. The selected response assessments were set up on an adaptive release, requiring
students to score at or above 80% on an assessment before being allowed to take the following assessment.
Once the minimum required score was achieved, the next medical board exam would automatically populate
on the students Blackboard account. Students that did not meet the minimum score had to retake the board
exam. Medical board exams were set up to allow for unlimited attempts so that students could retake them as
often as needed to achieve the minimum required score. Correct answers were not shown for incorrect
questions and exams were set to ask questions in random order each time.
Students had access to technology every day of the project and used their personal Chromebooks to create
Google slide presentations. Students were able to collaborate and communicate within the presentation each
week, working simultaneously on the shared project. In addition to being presented, students were required
to download a pdf formatted version of their Google Slide presentation and upload it to Blackboard. The
assignment link, as well as a link on the Project Code Blue website, provide the rubric for the weekly
Hospital Board Presentations.
Students needed to be familiar with how to access assessments in Blackboard, how to upload content for
grading in Blackboard, and how to create a presentation in Google Slides.

Instructional Plan and Preparation (What student needs, interests, and prior learning provide a foundation
for this lesson? How can you find out if students have this foundation? What difficulties might students have?)
Prior to the start of Project Code Blue, students should have learned about the cell structures and the levels
of organization within the human body. Students should have an understanding of how cells work together
to create tissues, tissues work together to make organs, organs work together to make organ systems, and
organ systems work together to make organisms. This foundational understanding is necessary to
understanding the interactions between the organ systems of the body.
Students must also have foundational skills in argumentative writing. In order to use the claim-evidence-
reasoning model to construct arguments, in this case a medical diagnosis, students have to understand how
to state a claim, which includes knowing what a claim is, how to select appropriate evidence to support the
claim, and how to provide reasoning that ties the evidence to the claim. Argumentative writing is both a
middle school English Language Arts standard and a Science literacy standard. Prior to this project,
students have had many opportunities to practice argumentative writing.
Students may still find it difficult to apply the argumentative writing principles in English to what they are
attempting to prove in Science.

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Management Describe the classroom management strategies will you use to manage your students and the use
of digital tools and resources. How and where will your students work? (Small groups, whole group, individuals,
classroom, lab, etc.) What strategies will you use to achieve equitable access to the Internet while completing this
lesson? Describe what technical issues might arise during the Internet lesson and explain how you will resolve or
trouble-shoot them? Please note: Trouble-shooting should occur prior to implementing the lesson as well as
throughout the process. Be sure to indicate how you prepared for problems and work through the issues that
occurred as you implemented and even after the lesson was completed.

Throughout the course of Project Code Blue, students will participate in whole group instruction, small
group collaboration and independent learning and assessment. Every student will have access to their own
Chromebook throughout the course of the project. Chromebooks are Wi-Fi enabled and can be used
throughout the school. No portion of the project is required to be completed outside of the school. As with
any technology, technical issues may arise, but will be handled on an as needed basis.
External links on the Project Code Blue website have already been changed to Google Doc links to
prevent unexpected delays caused by internet safety restrictions specific to the Wi-Fi at the school.
Challenges can be foreseen in allowing students to move throughout the seventh grade hallway for
appointments, time management for groups, and group dynamics for weekly collaborative groups and
presentations.
In order for the project to run smoothly, all three seventh grade teachers on the hallway have to be in
agreement regarding daily procedures and consequences for behavior issues, and must be on coordinated
schedules. To meet this need a detailed schedule was created and for appointments across teams and was
left visible and accessible on each teachers panel board display throughout the project.

Instructional Strategies and Learning Activities – Describe the research-based instructional strategies you will
use with this lesson. How will your learning environment support these activities? What is your role? What are the
students' roles in the lesson? How can you ensure higher order thinking at the analysis, evaluation, or
creativity levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy? How can the technology support your teaching? What authentic,
relevant, and meaningful learning activities and tasks will your students complete? How will they build knowledge
and skills? How will students use digital tools and resources to communicate and collaborate with each other
and others? How will you facilitate the collaboration?

Phase I: Preparation for Project Code Blue

Before students could begin the project, several items had to be created, uploaded, or made accessible to
the students. Blackboard was selected as the vehicle for content delivery as students are already familiar
with using the learning management system.
1. Planning
a. Determine what students need to know and how assessments will measure the
outcomes.
b. Decide upon essential questions that will generate thought and move students toward
achieving goals.
c. Determine what resources will be used and begin to gather those resources.
i. If resources are to be created, plan for the time necessary to create.
ii. If resources are to be uploaded, plan for the time necessary to upload.

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 iii. If resources need to be made accessible to students, plan for the time
necessary to set availabilities and adaptive release parameters.
d. Ordering Materials
i. Lab coats
ii. Surgical Masks
2. Creation of Materials
a. Patient profiles
i. All patient profiles should include:
1. Recent symptoms
2. Recent activities
3. Medical histories
ii. Sample Patient Profile
b. Medical research files (link goes to Project Code Blue website Medical Research
page)
i. All information must come from a trusted source (Centers for Disease Control
website used in the project to create files)
ii. Information in both the medical research files and patient profiles should be
aligned so that students can adequately research each disease and find the
evidence necessary
iii. The actual files must be created using Google Docs, as students are often
restricted access to internet research sites
iv. Sample Medical Research File
c. Doctor/Patient Medical Information Recording Sheets
i. Includes space to record information that doctors should ask of patients during
appointments, such as:
1. Symptoms
2. Recent activities
3. Medical history
ii. Blank Template for Doctor/Patient Medical Information Recording Sheet
d. Project Code Blue website
i. The website will house all of the following:
1. Medical research files
2. Project timelines and/or schedules
3. Rubrics and downloadable materials
e. Assessments (see last section for hyperlinks to each assessment instrument)
i. Activities to coincide with each video in the Discovery Education series must
be converted using Word to Blackboard configuration sites, then uploaded to
Blackboard
ii. All four Medical Board Exams must be created in Word, reformatted, and
uploaded to Blackboard
1. Questions for the medical board exams will be pulled from the
selected response sample questions for the Milestones from the
Student Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) GOFAR databank
iii. Rubric for the Hospital Board Presentations must be conceived and created in
Blackboard.

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 1. Assignment submission links must be set up in Blackboard with the
rubric attached.
3. Materials to be Uploaded
a. Discovery Education videos (Uploaded via Partner Content tool in Blackboard. All
Whitewater students have individual log ins to Discovery Education and equal access
to videos and content.)
i. The complete video series will include videos on (Hyperlinks go to images,
not to videos, as video access requires log in.):
1. Human Body Systems: The Circulatory System
2. Human Body Systems: The Digestive System
3. Human Body Systems: The Respiratory System
4. Human Body Systems: The Skeletal and Muscular Systems
5. Human Body Systems: The Nervous System
6. Human Body Systems: The Excretory System
7. Human Body Systems: The Immune System
b. Sample Medical Diagnosis Presentation
c. All other documents that students will need to access (set Google Docs to “Make a
copy” each time students click the hyperlink to avoid students working on the same
document):
i. Doctor/Patient Medical Information Recording Sheets
ii. Medical Diagnosis Log
4. Materials that must be made accessible
a. Discovery Education video series activities
i. Adaptive release set up for each activity to release only after student has
viewed video content
b. Medical Board Exams
i. Adaptive release set for successive board exams to release only after the
minimum cut score is achieved on the current exam.
1. Begin with a minimum required score of 80 in all classes
2. Adjust as needed to accommodate progress
c. Submission Links for all four presentations
i. Availabilities may be set for the actual date of each weekly presentation
upload.
d. Submission link for Medical Diagnosis Log
i. Available only during the final week of the project.
e. Wiki page for Gifted students for final week of presentations
5. Doctor/Patient Appointment Schedule
a. Must consider cross-teaming aspect
b. Schedule needs to be made
c. Number of doctors and patients each week must be chosen

Phase II: Project Design and Implementation

1. Group Selection and Appropriate Numbers
a. Six patients per week
b. All other students divided into equal doctor teams

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 c. Doctor teams given their appointment schedules (also shown on panel board in each
participating classroom)
i. Project Code Blue Appointment Schedule
2. Doctor teams split for appointment scheduling
a. 6-7 member teams split into 3-4 doctors per appointment team
b. Split necessary to guarantee that every patient is occupied during each appointment
slot
c. Appointment teams join together on Wednesday of each week for collaborative work
on presentations
i. Team 7A- Doctor teams 1-6
ii. Team 7B- Doctor teams 7-12
iii. Team 7C- Doctor teams 13-18
3. Patient Roles, Responsibilities, and Room Setup
a. Space in each participating classroom should clearly be designated for each patient so
that doctors know where to go. (Teachers should be mindful of making sure that
patients are going to the correct examination area, as this caused some delay and
confusion during week one when patients chose to trade places, not understanding the
ramifications of their actions.)
b. Patients should know their symptoms, recent activities, and medical histories and be
able to communicate this information to the doctors. (The six patients in each room
will have the same 6 diseases or disorders. A team of doctors from Team 7B could
see patient 3 in the exam room on Team 7A or the exam room on Team 7C and get
the same information.)
c. Patients should give only the information provided to them in their patient profile,
refraining from the inclusion of additional symptoms or elaborations to their recent
activities or medical histories. (Information in the patient profiles has been carefully
selected and included to allow student to make the correct diagnosis. Additional or
deletions of information by the patients could lead to misdirection and misdiagnosis.
4. Teacher Responsibility During Rotations
a. Teachers should stand at the door of the classroom or slightly in the hallway to
monitor student behavior and to check in doctor teams as they arrive for their
appointments.
b. Appointments should be monitored and student collaborative efforts should be
informally assessed at all times.
5. Teacher Responsibility During Collaborative Work Days
a. On the third and fourth day of each week, teachers should monitor and informally
assess student interaction and discussion,
b. Questions should be answered and support provided on an as needed basis, with the
understanding that students must still be given the opportunity to struggle to make
and prove each diagnosis.
6. Teacher Responsibility During Presentations
a. As students present, teachers should grade using the rubric for the presentation.
b. If necessary, teachers should go back and provide written feedback to students,
especially those that:
i. made incorrect diagnoses
ii. failed to include important aspects of the presentation
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 iii. were unable to distinguish between claim, evidence, and reasoning
c. Students should be reminded continuously following presentations to check the rubric
for feedback and to see where they can improve the next week.
7. Extension Activities
a. Students were given the option to complete two additional Discovery Education
videos and activities
i. The Reproductive System
ii. The Endocrine System
b. Gifted students are required to post final projects to a class Wiki so all students can
see presentations
i. Class Wiki Page
Phase III: Assessment and Evaluation
1. Discovery Education video activities (converted and uploaded to Blackboard as selected
response tests.)
a. Human Body Systems: The Circulatory System
b. Human Body Systems: The Digestive System
c. Human Body Systems: The Respiratory System
d. Human Body Systems: The Skeletal and Muscular Systems
e. Human Body Systems: The Nervous System
f. Human Body Systems: The Excretory System
g. Human Body Systems: The Immune System
2. Medical Board Exams (Created using GOFAR databank on the SLDS, converted for upload
to Blackboard assessment)
a. Medical Board Exam 1
b. Medical Board Exam 2
c. Medical Board Exam 3
d. Medical Board Exam 4
3. Rubric for presentations (Created in Blackboard and include in the submission link with pdf
version available on Project Code Blue website.)
a. Hospital Board Presentations Rubric
4. Medical Diagnosis Log
a. Blank Template

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Differentiation (How will you differentiate content and process to accommodate various learning styles and
abilities? How will you help students learn independently and with others? How will you provide extensions and
opportunities for enrichment? What assistive technologies will you need to provide?)

In order to meet the needs of diverse learners, multiple scaffolds have been created. Video content for the
initial series on the human body systems included full transcripts, closed captioning, and combined both
visual and auditory learning. Headphones were provided for students that did not have their own and
students had text-to-speech software enabled through their Google Chrome account to assist with reading
transcripts or assessments.
For the medical board exams, students were allowed to use any resource available to answer questions.
This support was designed to help encourage students to use informational texts to scan for information.
All of the information assessed in the medical board exams could be located within the textbook for Life
Science used by Whitewater Middle School.
Students with disabilities also have support from a paraprofessional during class. This paraprofessional
provides organizational support, helps students to remain on task, and reminds students of the most likely
places to find answers should the need arise.
In addition, any student with an IEP that required additional accommodations had those accommodations
met throughout the project. Some of the accommodations were read aloud, screen magnification, hard
copies of materials, the use of technology to type responses rather than paper and pencil, small group
assessment, use of assistive technology as needed, and individualized learning support.
For the medical board presentations, a sample presentation has been created to show students the
expectations for work quality. The sample presentation can be used by students as a guide to complete the
presentation, but does not include the actual content that must be present to show evidence of learning.
The rubric for the presentation also provides scaffolds and learning support. Students that choose to use
the rubric will have a concrete checklist for everything that is required in the final presentations each
week.
Minimum cut scores were adjusted in order to maintain progress.
Gifted students were required in the final week of the project to upload their presentations to the class
Wiki so that other students could view the presentations as needed and comment on the presentations of
their classmates.

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Reflection (Will there be a closing event? Will students be asked to reflect upon their work? Will students be
asked to provide feedback on the assignment itself? What will be your process for answering the following
questions?
• Did students find the lesson meaningful and worth completing?
• In what ways was this lesson effective?
• What went well and why?
• What did not go well and why?
• How would you teach this lesson differently?)

At the end of each week, doctor teams gave oral presentations of their findings. Three doctor teams
presented in each class, sharing their diagnoses of all six patients, along with their justifications for each
patients’ diagnosis. At the conclusion of the presentation, student had the opportunity to discuss in an open
forum which teams made the correct diagnoses and why they agreed or disagreed.
At the end of the fourth week, students submitted a completed diagnosis log, detailing all of the diseases
that were diagnosed and the organ systems affected by the disease. Students were able to evaluate all
presentations and could choose their own diagnosis or use a second opinion from another doctor team. This
assignment allowed each student to reflect back upon what they learned throughout the course of the project
and required them to make evaluative level decisions based on the strength of the evidence in each case.
Students in the Gifted science class posted their final week projects to a class Wiki, where students could
see and analyze the presentations. The use of a class Wiki allowed the students to not only see each other’s
work, but comment in a public forum so that ideas could be shared between students.
The use of the class Wiki was so helpful for students in completing the diagnosis log that in future
administrations of this project, a class Wiki will be utilized in all classes for each week of the project.
Students that did not have access to a class Wiki were great problem solvers during the final phase, as they
sought out other doctor teams and requested that they share their presentations via Google Slides.
The level of student engagement throughout these activities far surpassed other activities that we have done
in the past. The cross-teaming aspect and the real-world application of their learning was empowering for
students. However, not all students were able to handle the level of independence required for these
activities. Academic concerns may require additional scaffolding or supports, but behavioral concerns may
lend to the creation of alternate assignments that will provide similar experiences with more limited social
interaction. Providing students with the medical case files, rather than letting them visit patients to get the
information, may be one way to limit the disruptions caused by students that had difficulties with the
independence of moving relatively freely throughout the hallway to go to appointments.

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Closure: Anything else you would like to reflect upon regarding lessons learned and/or your experience with
implementing this lesson. What advice would you give others if they were to implement the lesson? Please
provide a quality reflection on your experience with this lesson and its implementation.

Throughout the administration and facilitation of this project, I learned several things that may need to be
changed or altered to improve the learning experience for all students.
First, despite having already learned how to write argumentative essays in English in both sixth and
seventh grades, students struggled in the first few weeks with differentiating between the claim, the
evidence, and the reasoning in a real-world application. Next year, I plan to provide additional
opportunities to practice using the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning Model before we begin the project.
Second, only in the final week were doctors allowed to diverge from working with their assigned doctor
team. Prior to that final week, doctor teams were required to work together. Teams were instructed that
they were expected to work collaboratively and would be graded as a team. This was designed to
encourage students to work together to solve each problem rather than divide and conquer. Yet, students
really struggled with this concept. Despite, repeated reminding to work together on each patient, students
divided the work amongst themselves and then were angry or upset at students that did not receive full
points for their portion of the assignment. Yet, those students received no help or support from their peers
during the planning and creation of the presentation. I have found it increasingly difficult to assess
students in collaborative efforts because of the pervasive attitude that a high achieving student should not
be negatively impacted by the minimal efforts of a lower achieving student. This attitude extends beyond
the children to their parents and other teachers.
Third, in addition to class Wikis for all weeks of the project, I have also considered using the journal
feature in Blackboard rather than the medical diagnosis log at the end. By requiring students to maintain
their journal throughout the project, I believe I can help eliminate some of the stress that came with
students not keeping up with the diagnoses each week. I have not yet tried to use the tool for something of
this nature, but I believe it could be used for this purpose.

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