LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE FOR THE AGENDA FOR EDUCATION IN A DEMOCRACY

Name:_Holly Keeper_______Date:____12/4/14____________________
Unit Essential Question: How does neoral tissue function to support life & our everyday actions
and how does it work together with the other bodily systems to achieve this? _
Lesson Topic:_Sheep Brain Dissection _Class:_11th & 12th Anatomy & Physiology, 3rd period
PLANNING THE LESSON
With Democracy and Social Justice at the Center of Instruction
Focusing on the National Network for Educational Renewal (NNER) Mission the 4-Part
Agenda for Education in a Democracy
EQUAL ACCESS
ENCULTURATION
NURTURING PEDAGOGY
STEWARDSHIP
To Knowledge
In Democratic Society
Safe and Caring for All
of the Mission
What are you and your students doing today to advance the 4-Part Mission? Connections:
With which part(s) of the Agenda does this lesson connect most clearly? And how?
Students will be working in groups to dissect and analyze specific parts of the sheep brain.
Through their collaboration and sharing of ideas, students will be practicing stewardship of the
mission.
STANDARDS (www.cde.state.co)
Content:
Cellular metabolic activities
are carried out by
biomolecules produced by
organisms

Literacy and Numeracy:

Write clearly and coherently
for a variety of purposes and
audiences

Democracy and
21st Century Skills:
Demonstrate awareness of
and evaluate career options.

Literacy and Numeracy:

SWBAT write clearly and
coherently for a variety of
purposes and audiences by
writing a ticket out the door
using correct grammar,
spelling and sentence
structure.

Democracy and
21st Century Skills:
SWBAT demonstrate
awareness of and evaluate
career options by writing
about veterinarian versus
human health physician
practices in the ticket out the
door, for the purpose of
gaining awareness of career
options and building personal

OBJECTIVES
Content: SWBAT
Analyze and identify the
different components of the
brain as well as explaining
their functions relating, as
they relate the fact that
cellular metabolic activities
are carried out by
biomolecules produced by
organisms, by completing the
sheep brain dissection lab in

which they will complete four

biosketches of the brain.

responsibility.

ASSESSMENTS What is your evidence of achieving each objective? How will students know
and demonstrate what they have learned in each of the areas, all of the objectives?
Content:
Students will be assessed on
their comprehension of the
material as I observe them
working through the lab and
completing their biosketches.
As evidence of their learning,
biosketches will be collected
and graded when Ms.
Widhalm does binder checks
at the end of the nervous
system unit.

Literacy and Numeracy:

I will collect the each
individuals ticket out the
door and analyze it for
effective writing technique.

Democracy and
21st Century Skills:
Students will demonstrate
awareness of career options
in the ticket out the door
activity in which they identify
apply todays information to a
question of differences in
practice between
veterinarians and human
physicians.

Literacy and Numeracy

Grammar
Communication
Clear
Audience

Democracy and
21st Century Skills
Career
Opportunities
Value of knowledge
Personal Responsibility

KEY VOCABULARY
Content
Dura mater
Parietal
Occipital
Temporal
Frontal
Calliculi
Corpus callosum
Ventricles
Brain stem pons
Medulla oblongata
Cerebrum
Cerebellum
Occipital tract

HIGHER ORDER QUESTIONS for this lesson

Content
What are some ways the
segments of the nervous

Literacy and Numeracy

How might writing about the
nervous system help us to

Democracy and
21st Century Skills
Does todays information

system may interact with

other systems of the body?
How do the functions of the
neural system help us to carry
out every day actions?

understand it better? Is it
important to be able to
communicate in writing?

apply to a variety of careers or

is it essential only to
veterinary practice for
example?
Is it important to take
personal responsibility even
before we are on our own
in the real world? How might
completing todays ticket out
the door help you to do that?

LESSON FLOW
This is the actual planning of the lesson activities.
Time

Anticipatory Set Purpose and Relevance

Warm-up may include any of the following: hook, pre-assessment, introduction
to topic, motivation, etc.
Fun Fact! There is no correlation between brain size and intelligence.
Students have 2 minutes to write down and use their books to write responses to
some warm-up questions:
I will then pass out the instructions for the lab and we will walk through it
together as a class.
I will ask the students questions to relate the material back to previous lessons in
order to create a smooth transition into the subject of physical brain structure.

Time

Pre-Assessment
The warm up will serve as part of the pre-assessment but I will also ask the
students:

What is the function of ventricles of the brain?

At what specific point does the spinal cord join the brain?
What are sulci and gyri?
What are the different regions of the brain and their functions?

Time

Building Background
Link to Experience:
Every moment we use our brains to function. With the spinal cord it makes up the
central nervous system which connects to the peripheral nervous system allowing
us to receive stimuli and respond to our environment.
Link to Learning:
Students previously leaned about the muscle and skeletal systems. Through
interaction with the nervous system, the three allow movement of the human
body.

Time

Activity Name Should be creative title for you and the students to associate
with activity.
Sheep Brain Dissection!
Guided Practice: An opportunity for each student to demonstrate grasp of new
learning by working through an activity or exercise under the teachers
supervision. The teacher moves around the room to determine level of mastery
and to provide individual feedback and remediation as needed. (Praise, Prompt,
and Leave)

Through review of the dissection instructions, students will visualize

where the essential areas of the brain are. They will get a chance to follow
along with their books to point out where the different parts of the brain.

Anticipatory Set The hook to grab students attention. These are actions and
statements by the teacher (or students) to relate the experiences of the
objectives of the lesson, to put students into a receptive frame of mind.
To focus students attention on the lesson
To create an organizing framework for the ideas, principles or
information that is to follow (advanced organizers)
An anticipatory set is used any time a different activity or new concept is to
be introduced.
Students will be shown the sheep brains and asked questions about proper
precautions and procedures when working with specimens and sharp obects in
the lab.

Time

Instructional Input Includes: input, modeling and checking for understanding

I will be giving input by asking the students questions and observing as they move
through the dissection procedures. I will answer any questions and help them
with dissection tasks where needed. I will also observe for identification of the
specific parts of the brain highlighted in the instructions and prompt for students
understanding of their location and function.

Models of Teaching:
Inquiry, Cooperative Learning, Concept Attainment, Direct Instruction,
Discussion, Socratic Seminar, Synectics, Inductive, Deductive and Mastery
Learning, etc.
Cooperative Learning and inquiry are two natural techniques arising from a lab
activity. Students will work with each other cooperatively to work through the
ideas of the dissection as well as will participate in inquiry as they must ask
questions in order to gain a deep understanding of the physical structure they are
working with.
SIOP Techniques: I do, We do, You do.
If students are confused about particular cuts during dissection, I will show them
on the brain of one, then will have each group do the same cut as I observe and
guide.
Reading , Writing, Listening, Speaking
During dissection, students will be required to read the instructions then speak
and listen to each other as the move forth with the procedures. Students will be
required to collaborate in this to make sure everyone is on the same page and to
make sure the general consensus of the group is carried out through each
decision made about how to proceed.
Students will be asked to complete a ticket out the door which will allow for an
opportunity to practice their writing.
Questioning Strategies: Utilizing Blooms Taxonomy questions should
progress from the lowest to the highest of the levels of the cognitive domain
(knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation and

creativity).
Throughout the dissection, I will ask students questions to get them thinking on
higher levels about the material.
Checking for Understanding: Determination of whether students got it before
moving on. It is essential that the students practice doing it right so the teacher
must know that the students understood before proceeding to practice. If
there is any doubt that the class does not understand, the concept or skill
should be re-taught before practice begins.
Ill use the fist to five technique to check for understanding of the concepts as we
move through the instructions and will be able to gather an idea of how students
are receiving the material by observing their participation in the dissecction. Ill
also ask periodically, Did I explain that okay? And will ask students if there is
anything I can help them with throughout the dissection. I will also observe as
students create their bio sketches in order to make sure they are interpreting the
material correctly.
Independent Practice: Once the students have mastered the content or skill, it
is time to provide reinforcement practice. It is provided on a repeating
schedule so that the learning is not forgotten. It may be homework or individual
or group work in class. It can be utilized in a subsequent project. It should
provide for relevant situations not only the context in which it was originally
learned.
I suggest that students use their biosketches to practice their use of the
knowledge outside of class. In partners or independently, they can test
themselves on the location and function of the different parts of the brain. Their
biosketches will be collected for a grade at the end of the unit when Ms. Widhalm
does notebook checks.

Time

Accommodations, Modifications, and Student Adjustments

Consider: multiple intelligences, learning styles, cultural and ability diversity,
etc.
If the activity is too advanced or too easy for some, how will you modify
instruction so all students will learn?
What accommodations will be needed and for whom? (IEP, 504, Special Needs)

Time

Review and Assessments of All Objectives How will you and how will the
students know they have achieved the objectives of the lesson?

Content:
Students will have completed the dissection instructions and created biosketches
which will account for assessment of their individual participation and
understanding.
Literacy and Numeracy:
Students will hand in their ticket out the door with proper grammar and clear,
concise language to demonstrate their practice of literacy skills.

Democracy and 21st Century Skills:

Students will demonstrate their knowledge of different career options by
completing the ticket out the door and will practice democratic values by
cooperating with each other in their dissection groups to complete as list of
objectives for the lab.
Time

Closure
What will you and the students do at the end of the lesson or after a chunk of
learning to synthesize, organize and connect the learning to the essential
question(s)?
A brief discussion about what some difference may be between veterinarian and
human physician practices based on todays material. There will not be much
time for a closing discussion because of the time requirements for the dissection.
The completion of the ticket out the door will help students to create their own
closure of the lesson.

Time

Next Step
Students will complete their biosketches outside of class and will have another
class period on Monday to complete the dissection.

12/4/14
Post-Lesson Reflection ( For the Teacher)
1. To what extent were all objectives achieved?
Students successfully completed the content objectives by identifying and explaining
different structures of the brain. They completed biosktches and noted their progress in
order to return and complete the lab on Monday. We did not get time to assign and
collect the ticket out the door because of time constraints of the lab and cleanup
afterword. So, the literacy objective was not met through the ticket out the door
activity. However, students did work on their biosketches in which they had to use the
dissection, and the book to draw and label the brain. The Democracy obejective was
reached as students collaborated in their groups, practicing their group coordination
skills and their ability to communicate with each other.
2. What changes would you make if you teach the lesson again?
When I do this lesson in the future, I will build in more time for a closing discussion
and the ticket out the door activity.
3. What do you envision for the next lesson?
For the next lesson I hope to invoke more thought in the students about how the sheep
brain differs from the human brain and I hope to have more time for meaningful closing
discussion and a ticket out the door.
4. To what extent does this lesson achieve the Mission of the Agenda for Education in
a Democracy? To what extent does this lesson achieve the 21st Century Skills?
Students were able to use collaborative communication skills with their group mates
through completion of the sheep brain dissection. They worked together to complete
the tasks as a group and help each other with questions throughout the lab. The
students in this class work very well together and are all on task the majority of the
time. Its impressive to watch them work and they are definitely familiar and
comfortable with the twenty first century skill of working with others. All voices were
heard during the group work, supporting democratic values.