Lesson: Nucleic Acids Class: Biology Grade 12

Learning Objectives B12-2-02: Describe the structure of a DNA nucleotide. (GLOs: D1, D3) Include: deoxyribose sugar, phosphate group, and nitrogenous bases B12-2-03: Describe the structure of a DNA molecule. (GLOs: D1, D3) Include: double helix, nucleotides, base pairing, and gene Materials 1 test tube alcohol wooden skewer test tube holder textbook pencil crayons 3-point approach worksheet Teaching and Learning Sequence Introduction: 1. Sponge Activity- put the word DNA on the board; get the students to brainstorm what they know independently while they take their seats. The students should be familiar with the terms DNA, chromosome, and gene from background knowledge in Gr 9, or potentially media sources (e.g. CSI) 2. After everyone is settled, discuss what they came up with. (10 minutes)

prepared strawberries paper clips

dropper paper towels

(DNA Building worksheet- backup plan)

Lesson Development: 1. Direct the students to pull out their textbooks for group reading. Have everyone read a paragraph from last nights reading assignment, with the teacher writing each bold face word on the board (deoxyribose sugar, phosphate group, nitrogenous bases, double helix, nucleotides, base pairing, and gene). (20 minutes) 2. Hand out three point approach worksheet. Give students 15 minutes to write down all the bold face words from the passage on the board and complete the worksheet for their personal dictionaries.(20 minutes) 3. As the students are working on their definitions, pull out prepared strawberry cells, ethanol, test tube, wooden skewer and dropper. As the students finish their three point approaches, have them watch a demonstration of DNA extraction. Place the prepared cells in the test tube, float the ethanol on top of the cell solution and where the two solutions meet will be strands of DNA. Take the skewer and pull out the DNA to better see it. Explain how it happened briefly and that you can actually see DNA strands with your eyes when you remove it from many cells. (15 minutes). Reminders Watch time with the demonstration. The advanced students can have the demo questioned in detail (i.e. which solvents dissolve the cell membrane, why do you need to dissolve the membrane, etc) bridging information learned in chemistry and media portrayal into the

biology classroom, so be ready for any off base questions involving DNA. If extra time, hand out DNA Building worksheet, and have students color-code their nucleotides, phosphates, and sugar groups for next class. Evaluation Evaluation is informal viewing of the class work from the students. In the next class, the students will be building paper representations of DNA strands to bridge todays lesson into the topic of genetics.

Our textbook talks about owning vocabulary, and strategies associated with doing so. In the above lesson plan, the students are given a chance to nonlinguistically represent new vocabulary after their shared reading of the text. The students continually prepare their own personal dictionaries over the course, allowing them to create personal ownership of their learning. By assigning the reading of the text for the previous night, students can familiarize themselves with the text, gaining comfort in the material, but also allowing them to attempt to grasp the vocabulary in context. By going over what the meaning of the words are in class helps to reinforce the retention on the meaning. The students are then lead through a variety of exercises using the new vocabulary the learned, over the course of the next few classes, to reinforce the retention, so that it is not just learned for the test and forgotten the next day. By allowing the students to use the vocabulary, they will internalize the meaning, and know the content of the course. The three point approach has many appeals as it allows the teacher to understand how much of the new vocabulary is understood by the students, and allows the student to represent a new word in different way. By keeping these sheets in one area of their notebook, the students have their own personally crafted dictionary to study from, allowing for better core understanding of the subject matter. By having the students read the previously assigned chapter reading out loud, the teacher can analyze who is struggling with the reading level of the material. Bringing in a visual demonstration reinforces the concepts of what they just learned for differentiated learning as well.

References: 1) Manitoba Education. (2011). Grade 12 Biology A Foundation for Implementation. Retrieved on September 24, 2011 from website: http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/science/found/gr12_bio/unit2.pdf 2) Fritz, S. (2009). Strawberry DNA Extraction Lab Using Common Household Ingredients. Retrieved on September 24, 2011 from website: http://naae.ca.uky.edu:8080/clearspace_community/docs/DOC-1584 3) Taylor, R. (2007). Reading, Writing, and Content Learning for Students in Grades 4-12. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.