Unit title: Evolution

Grade level: 10

Subject: Biology

Designed by: Kelsy Kai-Yamamoto based on the excerpts from Reagents Biology. Time frame: November 15- December 20 2013 Brief summary of unit: This unit was titled Evolution and was designed to meet the standards set forth in HCPSIII. Specifically it is taught in order to meet Standard 5.1, which tasks students with stating the Theory of Evolution as well as supporting the theory with evidence of evolution. The unit began with a pre-assessment called the Four Corners in which students were asked to self assess and activate prior knowledge on the topic of evolution. The activities that followed were 2 laboratories in which students explored the concepts of adaptation, mimicry, camouflage, Natural selection, limiting factors and carrying capacity. The first lab the Butterfly Lab was designed to let students explore mimicry and camouflage. This lab was then built upon with the Better Beak lab in which students were tasked with engineering a most fit beak, which was based on function. The students were required to complete the engineering journal in order to focus their efforts as well as prepare them to work with a purpose. If the planning sheet was not completed, students were not able to participate in the laboratory activity. This subunit focused on natural selection. Evidence of evolution that was covered was, embryology, DNA, and anatomical structures (homologous, analogous and vestigial). These activities were supported with worksheets that reinforced the anatomical structures and embryology themes within the unit. Another strategy that was implemented in this unit was close reading of the text. AVID literacy strategies were used in conjunction with foldables to improve students comprehension and application skills. Persuasive writing is a school wide initiative and need area. Thus the AVID strategy hopes to address both content and literacy needs that my students possess. The first week was spent on the Butterfly lab, followed by two weeks of preparation and game day for each activity. We completed the preparation and game day for the Butterfly lab before moving on to the Better Beak Lab. There were write-ups for both laboratory activities that included data analysis and mathematical practice and application. This unit is not complete yet and will be continued with another subunit on DNA and DNA comparison between species. Reflection/Analysis: Overall this unit was moderate in difficulty to author. This is due to the fact that there are many approaches to the unit on Evolution that are accessible to all teachers. The modifications that were made prior to the roll out to the students were minor and were mostly concerned with time rather than student ability. The student reflection or application of the content knowledge was more difficult to address based on the fact that evolution is an abstract concept for

many students. The activities while fun and engaging could be misinterpreted if not addressed in conjunction with the standard (standard 5.1). The roll out of the activities to the students was successful. Overall the students had fun and were engaged throughout the process. The adjustments that need to be made for next year will be more space on game day as well as more time for each round (Better Beak Lab). Students were unable to build on their concept of mimicry and camouflage but rather turned their focus to function in the Better Beak lab. To address this I have suggested that the time for each round to be extended as well the space in which the birds feed will be larger. This will allow the presence of predator to be relevant and hopefully encourage students to adapt with behavioral strategies as well as physical ones. An improvement that could be made to the Butterfly Lab would be to have students test their butterflies in environments that were not designed by them. Or perhaps have students design butterflies that could be tested in a realistic environment (outside the classroom). The students reflection and or application of the content information that was presented in the form of formative assessments have been completed. Preliminary results indicate that students have achieved the acquisition level and some application levels. I am continuing to develop higher level thinking skills through question and answer assessments as well as created response assessments and data analysis questions. These are included in both the write-ups and a practice exam (New York Regents Workbook). Further topics such as cladistics and classification techniques will be covered in conjunction with DNA as evidence for evolution. It is hopeful that all students will acquire the application level of knowledge by the end of the unit. I am also looking for the higher achieving students to reach the synthesis level through peer tutoring. Through this unit I hoped to teach Standard 5.1 while engaging students through hands on activities that reinforced the unit themes of evolution, evidence of evolution, causes of evolution, natural selection, sexual selection, and types of speciation. I chose this topic for more than one reason, timing (as this is the schedule that all Biology teachers follow at WHS) and creating a more inviting and relevant unit for a topic that is abstract to 10thgraders. The essential questions that I posed at the beginning of the unit will be posed again at the end and I am hopeful that at least 60% of the students will be able to craft an answer supported by evidence that they have acquired through the course of the unit. This unit tends to be tedious and boring for most students and I hope that through the lab activities students found the material more accessible and relevant. I hope to have better answered their question of why do I need to know this?