Courses / Biology grades 9-12
Title and/or
Essential
Question(s) / GM foods unit – Lesson 1
What is genetic modification?
Does genetic modification only happen in plants?
How long has genetic modification been taking place? What is the history of genetic modification?
How is modern technology used to genetically modify organisms?
(optional)
(optional)
What are some reasons for genetic modification? Why would we want something to be genetically modified?
GSEs and Benchmarks / Which GSEs or Benchmarks will be the primary focus of this lesson?
Which specific indicator(s) will be addressed within this lesson?
LS1 (9-11) 2 2b
LS3 (9-11) 6a
LS4 (9-11) 9b
Benchmarks 1Cc, 3Cd, 5Dc, 8Aa
Context for the Lesson / What is the reason for using this lesson? What data/evidence supports using this lesson? How much time is required for this lesson? What other information supports using this lesson?
As of August 2005, GM crops were grown commercially by 8.25 million farmers on 200 million acres spread throughout 17 countries. Nearly 85% of the soybeans grown in the U.S. are transgenic. More than 60% of processed foods in U.S. supermarkets contain GM ingredients.
To form opinions regarding the benefits and risks of genetic modification and to make informed decisions regarding labeling of foods, students must begin to understand how and why GM foods are made, the history of genetic modification, and how GM food production affects the U.S. economy and that of developing countries.
This lesson can be completed in 45 minutes.
Opportunities to Learn / See attached set of questions for this section.
Examples of GM foods/plants should be present in the classroom. Food products should contain corn or soy and should represent both organic and non-organic products. Possible examples include Jiffy brand corn muffin mix, Bac-o bits, corn chips, corn flakes. If food products are not available, images of foods can be obtained from the internet or from magazines. Soy plants – both wildtype and RoundUp Ready should also be displayed. Seeds should be planted 3 weeks prior to the beginning of this unit.
Information will be presented orally and written on the board
Objectives / What do you want the students to know, understand, and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
This lesson should stimulate critical thinking about GM foods.
Students should begin to understand how and why GM foods are made, the history of genetic modification, and how GM food production affects the U.S. economy and that of developing countries.
Instructional procedures / What activities will you and your students do and how are they connected to the objectives?
See final page
Assessment / How will you determine what the students know and are able to do during and as a result of the lesson?Feedback from students. Are students responding to questions and participating in class discussions? Have they successfully completed their homework assignment?
Homework: List three questions that you have regarding GM foods.
Reflection on
student work / What does the student work tell you about the students’ understanding and the effectiveness of your lesson?
What are student misunderstandings, if any? How will you provide instructional support to improve student learning?
What percentage of students were engaged in classroom discussions? How did students respond to demonstration of GM and non GM foods in class? Did student responses to homework questions reflect an interest in and understanding of the topic?
Reflection on
lesson
implementation / Were the lesson objectives met? What worked well in this lesson?
What changes would you propose for the next time you teach this lesson? What did you learn from teaching this lesson?
Were students engaged in the class? Did they respond to the presence of GM foods?
Project ARISE First draft 1/2007
Instructional Procedures / What activities will you and your students do and how are they connected to the objectives?What will you be doing? / What will the students be doing?
OPENING
(How do you activate and assess students’ prior knowledge and connect it to this new learning? How do you get students engage in this lesson?)
ENGAGEMENT
(What questions can you pose to encourage students to take risks and to deepen students’ understanding? How do you facilitate student discourse? How do you facilitate the lesson so that all students are active learners and reflective during this lesson?
How do you monitor students’ learning throughout this lesson?
What formative assessment is imbedded in the lesson?)
CLOSURE
(What kinds of questions do you ask to get meaningful student feedback? What opportunities do you provide for students to share their understandings of the task(s)? How do you ensure that the salient points of this lesson are highlighted to guide student understanding? / Students will be asked:
Have you eaten GM foods?
When looking at a display of foods and plants, can you tell the difference between GM and non-GM foods or plants?
Food to include in display should contain corn or soy. Examples include Jiffy corn muffin mix, organic corn meal, corn chips, corn flakes, soy beans (Edamame), or Bac-o bits (contains soy). Soy plants – both wildtype and RoundUp Ready should also be displayed. Seeds should be planted 3 weeks prior to the beginning of this unit.
What is genetic modification?
Can you identify which of the foods/plants in display are GM?
Do GM foods taste any different than non GM? Could they?
Does genetic modification only happen in plants?
How long has genetic modification been taking place? What is the history of genetic modification?
How is modern technology used to genetically modify organisms?
What are some reasons for genetic modification? Why would we want something to be genetically modified?
What don’t we know about GM foods?
Project ARISE First draft 1/2007
Grade(s)/Courses / Biology grades 9-12
Title and/or
Essential
Question(s) / GM Unit – Lesson 2
How do scientists insert genes into organisms?
What are restriction enzymes and how do they function?
How are genetic modifications manifested phenotypically in a plant?
GSEs and Benchmarks / Which GSEs or Benchmarks will be the primary focus of this lesson?
Which specific indicator(s) will be addressed within this lesson?
LS1 (9-11) 2b
LS2 (9-11) 3b
LS4 (9-11) 9b
Benchmarks 3Aa, 3Ca, 3Cd, 5Cd, 8Aa
Context for the Lesson / What is the reason for using this lesson? What data/evidence supports using this lesson? How much time is required for this lesson? What other information supports using this lesson?
A high percentage of food that is available in supermarkets today is produced from genetically modified plants. Genetically modified organisms like bacteria and even mammals are an important part of medical research. In order for students to better understand the practical and ethical issues associated with genetically modifying organisms, they must learn about the basic techniques by which these modifications can be made
This lesson is expected to take 45 minutes.
Opportunities to Learn / See attached set of questions for this section.
Information will be presented orally and written on the board.
Students will model restriction enzyme action on recognition sites using scissors and the RE paper lab provided. After making the cuts, “sticky ends”that formed will allow students to simulate the insertion of foreign DNA into a hypothetical plasmid.
Roundup will be sprayed onto wildtype and roundup-resistant (RR) plants giving the students an opportunity to witness the effect of the RR gene insertion on the plants’ability to resist the herbicide.
Objectives / What do you want the students to know, understand, and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
Students will understand the basic function of restriction enzymes and how they are used to recombine DNA.
Students will be able to apply their knowledge of restriction enzymes to explain how genetically modified plants can be created.
Students will understand the relationship between genetic modifications and phenotypic manifestation of traits, i.e. the roundup-resistance in plants
Instructional procedures / What activities will you and your students do and how are they connected to the objectives?
See final page
Assessment / How will you determine what the students know and are able to do during and as a result of the lesson?
Students will be assessed by the responses to questions being posed throughout the lesson as well as the final product that is produced from the restriction enzyme modeling activity. The predictions that students pose as to the results of the Round-Up spraying of wild-type and RR plants will also give an indication of theirunderstanding of the topic.
Homework: Provide lab handouts / protocol for students to read for Day 6. This may also be distributed on Day 5 or in class on Day 6.
Reflection on
student work / What does the student work tell you about the students’ understanding and the effectiveness of your lesson?
What are student misunderstandings, if any? How will you provide instructional support to improve student learning?
Reflection on
lesson
implementation / Were the lesson objectives met? What worked well in this lesson?
What changes would you propose for the next time you teach this lesson? What did you learn from teaching this lesson?
Project ARISE First draft 1/2007
Instructional Procedures / What activities will you and your students do and how are they connected to the objectives?What will you be doing? / What will the students be doing?
OPENING
(How do you activate and assess students’ prior knowledge and connect it to this new learning? How do you get students engage in this lesson?)
ENGAGEMENT
(What questions can you pose to encourage students to take risks and to deepen students’ understanding? How do you facilitate student discourse? How do you facilitate the lesson so that all students are active learners and reflective during this lesson?
How do you monitor students’ learning throughout this lesson?
What formative assessment is imbedded in the lesson?)
CLOSURE
(What kinds of questions do you ask to get meaningful student feedback? What opportunities do you provide for students to share their understandings of the task(s)? How do you ensure that the salient points of this lesson are highlighted to guide student understanding? / Teacher presents various examples of genetically modified organisms (ex. Glowing tobacco plant, glowing rat, Human Insulin producing bacteria, etc).
(optional - 2D animation on transformation, and on bacteria that produce insulin)
(optional - images and movie on GFP expressing organisms
Possible questions:
Why can a jelly fish gene be transcribed and translated by a plant or rat? Why can a human insulin gene be transcribed and translated by a bacterium? assesses prior knowledge of universal code.
How could this be done?
Introduce Restriction Enzymes:
(optional - 2D and 3D animations on restriction enzymes)
EcoR1 GAATTC
CTTAAG
How does Roundup (glyphosate) work? How does the Roundup resistance gene in Roundup Ready plants allow plants to grow in the presence of the herbicide?
After reviewing the basic function and effects of roundup, some of the following questions could be asked:
- What is the benefit of Roundup to farmers?
- Why might it be advantageous to make some plants resistant to roundup?
- How might using Roundup affect the economy?
The wildtype and RR plants should then be presented to the students so that they can observe the overall phenotypes. The teacher can spray the plants and then ask the class some of the following questions?
- Can you initially tell the difference between the plants?
- Now that they have been sprayed, what do expect will happen and why?
- Should we be able to distinguish between the plants when we return to class?
Project ARISE First draft 1/2007
Grade(s)/Courses / Biology grades 9-12
Title and/or
Essential
Question(s) / GM foods unit – Lesson 3
What happened to plants sprayed with Roundup?
What is Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)? How was it invented?
Why is PCR such a powerful technique and so commonly used by scientists?
How can the size of DNA be determined?
What is electrophoresis?
GSEs and Benchmarks / Which GSEs or Benchmarks will be the primary focus of this lesson?
Which specific indicator(s) will be addressed within this lesson?
LS1 (9-11) 2 3b
Benchmark 1Ba, 3Aa, 3C
Context for the Lesson / What is the reason for using this lesson? What data/evidence supports using this lesson? How much time is required for this lesson? What other information supports using this lesson?
Sometimes referred to as "molecular photocopying," PCR is a fast and inexpensive technique used to amplify or copy small segments of DNA. PCR has revolutionized the study of DNA and is one of the most widely used techniques in science today. It is primarily used to amplify genes, but it also has an analytical aspect which scientists use to detect genes.
This lesson can be completed in 45 minutes.
Opportunities to Learn / See attached set of questions for this section.
Information will be presented orally and written on the board. Computer animations and videos will be used.
Objectives / What do you want the students to know, understand, and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
Students will understand how PCR works and how it was invented. Students will also begin to understand the power of this technique and why it is used in many areas of study.
Students will understand that once DNA is amplified by PCR or digested by restriction enzymes, gel electrophoresis can be used to determine size of DNA fragments.
Instructional procedures / What activities will you and your students do and how are they connected to the objectives?
See final page
Assessment / How will you determine what the students know and are able to do during and as a result of the lesson?Feedback from students. Do students understand why Roundup resistant plants are not visibly affected following treatment with Roundup? Are students responding to questions regarding PCR and electrophoresis and participating in class discussions.
Homework: Assign roles and opinions for research, small group discussions and presentations.
Reflection on
student work / What does the student work tell you about the students’ understanding and the effectiveness of your lesson?
What are student misunderstandings, if any? How will you provide instructional support to improve student learning?
What percentage of students were engaged in classroom discussions? How did students respond to the demonstration of plants sprayed with Roundup? Did students responses to questions on PCR and electrophoresis indicate an understanding of these techniques?
Reflection on
lesson
implementation / Were the lesson objectives met? What worked well in this lesson?
What changes would you propose for the next time you teach this lesson? What did you learn from teaching this lesson?
Were students engaged in the class and did they participate in discussions?
Project ARISE First draft 1/2007
Instructional Procedures / What activities will you and your students do and how are they connected to the objectives?What will you be doing? / What will the students be doing?
OPENING
(How do you activate and assess students’ prior knowledge and connect it to this new learning? How do you get students engage in this lesson?)
ENGAGEMENT
(What questions can you pose to encourage students to take risks and to deepen students’ understanding? How do you facilitate student discourse? How do you facilitate the lesson so that all students are active learners and reflective during this lesson?
How do you monitor students’ learning throughout this lesson?
What formative assessment is imbedded in the lesson?)
CLOSURE
(What kinds of questions do you ask to get meaningful student feedback? What opportunities do you provide for students to share their understandings of the task(s)? How do you ensure that the salient points of this lesson are highlighted to guide student understanding? / Students will be asked: What happened to plants sprayed with Roundup? Do we see any differences yet? What allows the Roundup resistant plant to survive in the presence of the herbicide?
Have students seen DNA analysis as sometimes shown on programs such as CSI? Students will be asked how scientists can study such small amounts of DNA left at a crime scene?
What techniques can be used to study DNA? What is PCR? Show video animation of how PCR works.
How and when was PCR invented? Show video of interviews with Kerry Mullis.
Other than crime scene investigation, for what can PCR be used? PCR can be used to diagnose genetic disease, diagnose infectious disease, and study human evolution.
How can DNA be separated based on size?
What is electrophoresis? Tomorrow will focus on electrophoresis, specifically an exercise that allows students to perform electrophoresis using cool-aid.
Project ARISE First draft 1/2007