MeganODonnell

15December2014
CurriculumandMethods

UnitLessonPlan:MeiosisandTheReproductiveSystem
Helpfulstandards:
NGSS:
HSLS32.

Makeanddefendaclaimbasedonevidencethatinheritablegeneticvariationsmay
resultfrom:(1)newgeneticcombinationsthroughmeiosis,(2)viableerrorsoccurring
duringreplication,and/or(3)mutationscausedbyenvironmentalfactors.[Clarification
Statement:Emphasisisonusingdatatosupportargumentsforthewayvariationoccurs.]
[AssessmentBoundary:Assessmentdoesnotincludethephasesofmeiosisorthe
biochemicalmechanismofspecificstepsintheprocess.]

NYSLivingEnvironmentCoreCurriculumStandards:
2.1e.Insexuallyreproducingorganisms,thenewindividualreceiveshalfofthegenetic
informationfromitsmother(viatheegg)andhalffromitsfather(viathesperm).
Sexuallyproducedoffspringoftenresemble,butarenotidenticalto,eitheroftheir
parents.
4.1aReproductionanddevelopmentarenecessaryforthecontinuationofanyspecies.
4.1bSomeorganismsreproduceasexuallywithallthegeneticinformationcomingfrom
oneparent.Otherorganismsreproducesexuallywithhalfthegeneticinformation
typicallycontributedbyeachparent.Cloningistheproductionofidenticalgenetic
copies.
4.1cTheprocessesofmeiosisandfertilizationarekeytosexualreproductioninawide
varietyoforganisms.Theprocessofmeiosisresultsintheproductionofeggsandsperm
whicheachcontainhalfofthegeneticinformation.Duringfertilization,gametesuniteto
formazygote,whichcontainsthecompletegeneticinformationfortheoffspring.
DefineLearners:

GradeLevel:9thGradeLivingEnvironmentStudents

PopulationCharacteristics:Diverseethnicities,culturesandeconomicstatusesinan
urbanschoolofNYC
Introduction:
Inmyclassroom,weareusingastandardsbasedgradingapproach.Weuse
technologyenhancedassignmentsthatstudentscomplete.Beforebeginningtheunit,we
decidewhichstandardswewantourstudentstobemeeting.Weputourstandardsinto
kidfriendlylanguagesothatstudentscanunderstandwhattheyarebeinggradedon.
Fromthere,wecreateassignmentsandtasksforthestudentstocompleteonline,andwe

gradetheseassignmentsagainstourchosenstandardsusingarubric.Afterstudents
completeallassignmentsfortheunit,aunitquiziscreatedthatconsistsofbothmultiple
choiceandshortanswerquizzes.Wechoosequestionsthatalignwithourclassstandards
sothatwecanseewhichareasstudentsareexcellingorstrugglingin.
Thestandardsthatwewillbegradingonforthisunitare:
Icandescribeandexplainthedifferentstepsofmeiosis
Iunderstandhowgeneticvariationhappensinmeiosis
Standardsthatweuseforallunits:
Amountofguidance(Thisstandardhelpsusseewhichstudentsareworking
independently,andwhichstudentsrelyheavilyontheteachershelp)
IcananswerRegentsquestions.(Thisstandardhelpsusidentifyhowwellthe
studentsaredoingonthequizzes)
Talkingaboutwhatstudentsalreadyknowandencouragingthemtoaskmorequestions
basedontheirpreviousknowledgewillhelpfosteraninquirybasedlesson.Hereare
somekidfriendlystatementsandquestionsthatcanbedisplayedontheboard.Itwould
beidealtoaskstudentstogeneratethesestatementsandquestionsthemselvesinaclass
widediscussion,butthesecanalsobeusedasguidingquestionstokeepkidsheadinthe
rightdirection:
Whatweknow:
DNAcontainsinformationthatgivesus
ourtraits.Thisinformationispackaged
intosectionscalledgenes.
WegethalfourDNAfromourmotherand
halfourDNAfromourfather.

Whatwewanttoknow:
Howdowegetthesegenes?Whyarent
mygenesthesameasmybrother/sister?

Spermandeggcellshavehalftheamount
ofDNAthanregularcells(23
chromosomes).Whenaspermandanegg
cellcometogether,theoffspringisformed
withanormalamountofchromosomes
(46).
Spermandeggcellscometogethertoform Wheredothesespermandeggcells
offspring.
comefrom?Howdotheyhavehalfthe
amountofDNA?

___________________________________________________________
Lesson1:IntroductiontoMeiosis(1hour15minutes)
Storyline:Sofar,wehavelearnedabouttheprocessofmitosis,whichiswhenonecell
duplicatesandbecomestwoidenticalcells.WealsolearnedaboutDNA,whichisstored
inthenucleusandcontainsallofourgenes.Wealsolearnedthatweinheritthesegenes
fromourparents.But,youmightbewondering,howexactlydowegetallthesegenes?
Theanswerhastodowithsexualreproduction.Inorderforsexualreproductiontooccur,
aspermandaneggneedtocometogethertocreateanewlife!Spermcellscomefrom

themale,andeggcellscomefromthefemale.Beforewecantalkaboutthisprocessof
fertilization,wemustfirstlookathowspermandeggcellsareformedinourbodies.The
processofmakingaspermoreggcellisknownasmeiosis.Letstakealookatmeiosisin
greaterdetail:
FocusQuestions:
1. Wheredospermandeggcellscomefrom?
2. HowdospermandeggcellsonlyhavehalftheamountofDNA?
3. WhydontbrothersandsistershavethesameexactDNA?
LessonAgenda:
1. Havestudentscompletewarmup.Write23sentencesdescribingwhatyoucan
rememberaboutmitosis.(5mins)
2. Gooverwarmupandbegindiscussionaboutmeiosis.Writedownstudent
questionsonboardhavingtodowithmeiosis.(510mins)
3. Explaintheagendafortheday:25minuteminilessonaboutmeiosis(watchthis
youtubevideotogether,pausingforexplanationandquestionsoften).Afterthe
minilesson,studentswillgetthelaptopsandtheywillbeaskedtocompletethe
MeiosisAssignment.Thisassignmentisduebytheendoftheperiod.
4. SetthestagefortheMeiosisyoutubevideo.Explainthatbeforeacell
undergoesmeiosis,itisininterphase,carryingoutimportantfunctionslikecell
respiration.
5. Allowstudentstowatchtheyoutubevideomentionedaboveoncealltheway
through.(3mins)
6. Rewatchthevideoasaclassandbesuretopauseatthesetimestoexplain
concepts.Havestudentsraisetheirhandtoanswerquestions:
a. 0:29Reviewhomologouschromosomes
b. 1:17Explaincrossingoverofsisterchromatids
c. 1:39Asktheclass:whatphaseofmitosisdoesthislooklike?(answer:
Metaphase)
d. 2:06Howisthisdifferentthanmitosis?(eachchromosomestillhastwo
sisterchromatids)
e. 2:18Atthisstageofmeiosis,howmanychromosomesareineachofthe
daughtercells?
f. 2:41Howmanydaughtercellsaremadeinmeiosis?Howisthisdifferent
thanmitosis?
g. 2:50Definediploidandhaploid.
7. HandoutlaptopsandhavestudentsopenthedocumentMeiosisAssignment
(seeattachedtemplate)andhavethemcompleteParts1,2and3asindependently
aspossible.(40minutes)

Materials:
Alaptopforeachstudent(thisisalwaysavailableinourclassroom)
Anoverheadprojectorthathasthisyoutubevideoloadedandreadytoplay

KeyVocabulary:
Sexualreproduction
Geneticvariation
Gametes
Unique
Diploid
Haploid
Offspring
Regroupingchromosomes
Crossingover

Differentiation:
Thistypeoflessonisdifferentiatedbygivingstudentsdifferentamountsofworkto
completeinagivenamountoftime.Allstudentswillparticipateintheminilessonwhere
theteacherexplainsthebasicconceptsbehindmeiosis,regardlessofwheretheyarein
thecurriculum.Thisisaselfpacedsystem,andsomestudentsarealreadyaheadinthe
curriculumandmayhavealreadycompletedthemeiosisassignment.Thesestudentsthat
areaheadgenerallyanswermorequestionsthanthestudentsthatneedmoreguidance.
Studentsthatneedmoreguidanceonlyneedtoanswer2ofthequestionsinpart3,and
theyhavetheoptiontovieweasierresources.
Assessment:
Asexplainedearlier,wegradetheassignmentbasedonstandards.Theassignmentwas
developedsothateachpartcorrespondswithacertainstandard.Parts1,2and3ofthe
MeiosisAssignmentcorrespondtothefirststandardthatwearelookingforinthisunit,
Icandescribeandexplainthedifferentstepsofmeiosis.Thepartswillallbegraded
onarubricwithascaleof15.
1

Novice

NearDeveloping

Developing

Studentmakesanattemptat
answeringquestions,but
gets<2correct.
Studentisbeginningto
understand.Studentcan
labelthediagraminpart2,
butcannotfullydescribe
whatishappening.Gotat
least2questionscorrectin
part1.
Studentisunderstanding
basicconcepts.Studentcan

Proficient

Advanced

labelthediagraminpart2,
andcandescribewhatis
happening.Gotatleast3
questionscorrectinpart1.
Studentunderstands
concepts.Studentcanlabel
thediagraminpart2,and
candescribeeachpart.Got
allquestionscorrectinparts
1and3.
Studenthasathorough
understandingofconcepts
anddemonstratesthis
understandinginallparts.

_______________________________________________________________________
Lesson2:MeiosisPart2(1hour15minutes)
Storyline:Yesterday,wewereintroducedtothestepsofmeiosis.Welearnedthatmeiosis
istheprocessinwhichsexcells,orgametes,areformed.Inmeiosis,thedaughtercells
formedarehaploid,whichmeanstheycontainhalftheamountofDNAastheirparent
cells.Whenaspermandeggcometogether,itmakesauniqueindividual.But,whydont
Ilookmorelikemybrotherorsister?Whatisthisprocessofcrossingoverduring
prophaseI?Whydoesithappen?Letslookatthisinmoredetail:
FocusQuestions:
1. HowdospermandeggcellsonlyhavehalftheamountofDNA?
2. Whyarentmygenesthesameasmybrotherandsister?
3. Whydoescrossingoverhappen?
LessonAgenda:
1. HavestudentsanswerWarmupquestion:Nameonewaythatmeiosisis
differentthanmitosis.
2. Gooverwarmup(510minutes)andexplaintodaysagenda.Firstwewillbe
creatingmodelsofmeiosisusingpipecleaners.Studentsshoulddothisinpairs
withthepersonsittingnexttothem.(3040minutes).Then,wewillcomeback
togethertolookathowcrossingoveroccursasaclass(20minutes).Finally,
studentswillhavetoanswerPart4ontheirMeiosisAssignmentonthecomputer
(therestoftheperiod).
3. Handoutworksheetsandpipecleanerstostudents.Eachpairofstudentsgets6
longbluepipecleaners,6longpinkpipecleaners,12beads,scissorsandglue.
4. Beforebeginningtheactivity,previewtheworksheetinthefrontoftheclassand
haveastudentreadthedirectionsoutloud.

5. Allowstudentstobegin,andeventhoughtheworksheetdoesntspecify,students
shouldgluedownthepipecleanersattheend(afteritgetschecked)sothatwork
canbedisplayedaroundtheclassroom.
6. Afterstudentshavecompletedthisassignment,havethemdrawtheirattentionto
theprojector.Watchthisthisyoutubeclipthatexplainscrossingoverandgenetic
recombination.Besuretothoroughlyexplainthesetopics.
a. Crossingoveristheexchangeofgenesbetweentwochromosomes,
resultinginnonidenticalchromatids.Thisprocessmakesthemillionsof
spermoreggsthatareproducedbyanorganismcompletelydifferentfrom
oneanother.Inotherwords,everysinglespermoreggcellinyourbodyis
completelyunique!
b. Becauseofcrossingover,genescanbeinheritedindependentlyofeach
otherinfuturegenerations.Thisiscalledindependentassortment,and
weseethiseverydayinsiblingswithdifferentcombinationsoftheir
parents'genes.
c. Geneticrecombinationistheproductionofoffspringwithcombinations
oftraitsthatdifferfromthosefoundineitherparent.
7. HandoutlaptopsandhavestudentsanswerPart4oftheMeiosisAssignment.
Materials:
Aclasssetofthesemeiosisworksheettemplates(LarryKramer,Evolution&the
NatureofScienceInstitutes):
http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/lessons/gen.mei.templ.pdf
http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/lessons/gen.mitmei.ws.pdf
Pipecleanersblueandpink
Beads
Glue
Scissors
Laptopsforeachstudent
Anoverheadprojectorwiththisyoutubecliploadedandreadytoplay
KeyVocabulary:
CrossingOver
GeneticRecombination
IndependentAssortment

Differentiation:Theactivitydoesnotneedtobedifferentiated.Ifsomekidswantto
onlyuse2pairsofhomologouschromosomesinsteadofthree,thatissufficienttoshow
thattheyhavelearnedthestepsofmeiosis.
TheMeiosisassignmentcanbedifferentiated.Forstudentsthatarestruggling,needextra
time,ortakealongtimetotypeonthecomputeronlyneedtoansweroneofthefocus

questions.Wheneveranassignmentisdifferentiated,differentversionsofthedocuments
aresenttothestudentsandthestudentsarenotawareofwhatversiontheyarereceiving.
Assessment:
Thepipecleaneractivityisaformativeassessment.Nogradewillbegivenfor
thisactivity,butitisexpectedthatallstudentscompletethemodelofmeiosisaccurately.
Asexplainedearlier,wegradetheassignmentbasedonstandards.The
assignmentwasdevelopedsothateachpartcorrespondswithacertainstandard.Part4of
theMeiosisAssignmentcorrespondstothesecondstandardthatwearelookingforinthis
unit,Iunderstandhowgeneticvariationhappensinmeiosis.Thispartwillalsobe
gradedonarubricwithascaleof15(seeaboverubrictoseehowthisisnormally
graded).

_______________________________________________________________________
SummativeAssessment:MeiosisandFertilizationQuiz(25minutes)
TheassessmentthatIwillbegivingforthisunitisattachedunderthefilenameMeiosis
assessment.Thisassessmentcontains6multiplechoiceand2shortanswerquestions
takenfromwww.problemattic.com,whichisawebsitethathasaselectionofpastNYS
Regentsquestionstochoosefrom.
Standard:

Icandescribeandexplain
thedifferentstepsof
meiosis

Iunderstandhowgenetic
variationhappensin
meiosis

Question#s:

2,3,4,7

1,5,6,8

Eachstandardhasbeenassigned3multiplechoicequestionsand1shortanswerquestion.
Thestudentwillreceiveagradeof15foreachstandardtheyarebeingassessedon,and
anaverageofthesetwostandardgradeswillbetheiroverallquizgrade.SoifStudentA
receivesa2forthefirststandardanda4forthesecondstandard,shewillreceivea3for
herquizgrade,butsheneedsimprovementonthefirststandard.Thegoalofthisquizis
anaveragequizscoreof3(Developing).
1

Novice

NearDeveloping

Developing

Studentgets1question
(MCorshortanswer)
correctonly.
Studentgets2answers(MC
orshortanswer)correct
Studentgets3answers(MC
orshortanswer)correct

Proficient

Advanced

Studentgets4answers(MC
orshortanswer)correct
Studentgets4answers(MC
andshortanswer)correct,
andtheirshortanswer
responsesdemonstrate
extensiveunderstandof
topic.

Resources:
NextGenerationScienceStandards:http://www.nextgenscience.org/hsls3heredity
inheritancevariationtraits
NYSLivingEnvironmentCoreCurriculum
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/mst/sci/documents/livingen.pdf

PipeCleanerLab:http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/lessons/gen.mm.html