Grade and Subject Grade 11; Biology-20 Delivery Date Thursday, April 2, 2020

Unit Human Systems Time Frame 15 minutes Commented [1]: Lesson ended up being ~16min, and
a few students commented that it felt a bit rushed -->
Lesson # and Title Digestion Begins Where Now?!? Developed by Erika Born This was too much material for a 15 min class.

Stage 1 – Desired Results

Content Standard(s): Biology 20 - Unit D
General Outcome 1: Students will explain how the human digestive and respiratory systems exchange energy and matter
with the environment.
● 20-D1.4k: describe the chemical and physical processing of matter through the digestive system into the
circulatory system

Enduring Understandings/Big Ideas: Essential Questions:

Students will understand that… ● How do specialized structures function in the overall
● each structure in the body has a specific function biochemical balance of the living system?
which contributes to the survival of the organism
Prior Knowledge:
Related misconceptions… Students already understand…
● Digestion starts in the stomach ● the chemical nature of carbohydrates, lipids and
● Digestion is the process which releases usable proteins and their enzymes; i.e. carbohydrases, lipases
energy from food and proteases (20-D1.2k)

Lesson Emphasis: Knowledge in life science

Knowledge Objectives: Skill Objectives:

Students will know… Students will be able to…
● the chemical and physical processing of matter in ● None for this particular lesson
the mouth (20-D1.4k) Commented [2]: According to the results from the
● key terms: chemical digestion, physical digestion, online game quiz, students understood the concepts
taught. However, a MC test might not be the best for
salivary glands, amylase, hydrolysis
showing understanding, so maybe I should have
incorporated other assessment methods as well.
Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
Performance Task(s): None for this particular lesson
Student Self-Assessments: Other Evidence (Assessments):
● Check-ins (individual): Ask students to “show ● Pre-Assessment Question (small group): Where does Commented [4]: Ended up being a full "class"
thumbs” at key points of the lesson based on: digestion begin? discussion
o Thumb up: I understand, can do it by myself, and ● Check-ins (individual): Ask students to “show thumbs” Commented [3]: This was a quick and easy check-in to
can explain it to a friend at key points of the lesson; remind students that they see where students were at. However, I should have left
o Thumb sideways: I think I understand, but I am a can send questions at any time in the chat a little bit of time for students to fill in their notes before
completing the check-in to allow digestion time (no pun
little confused still ● Quiz Game (individual): Students will take part in a intended).
o Thumb down: I don’t understand this topic quiz game (5 questions) to assess their understanding
Commented [5]: Students enjoyed this a lot - thought it
was fun and engaging.
Stage 3 – Learning Plan
Learning Activity: Students will investigate and learn about the beginning of the digestive process, looking at chemical
and physical digestion in the mouth in particular.
Differentiation strategies to meet diverse learner needs:
● Not only oral instruction whenever possible (PP slides with written instructions/info; handout to follow)
● Context provided/prior knowledge activated at beginning by relating info to eating (everyone does it)
● Lesson agenda provided at the beginning of lesson for students to follow along with
● Fill-in-the-blank notes with sentence frames provided to scaffold student responses Commented [6]: Students thought this was helpful;
Learning however, I did not leave enough time in all cases for
Cycle
What the Students do… What the Teacher does… Time Materials them to respond.
Actively listen and ask questions if they Explain logistics of the lesson (e.g., ask 1 PP slides (1)
arise (O) questions whenever in chat, etc.) (O)

Respond to question and begin to
make connections to their own life/
Engage prior knowledge (W, H, T)
Ask the question: “What is the last meal 1 PP slides (2)
you ate?” (T); explain that we will
discuss the beginning of the digestive
process - something your body is likely
doing now (W, H)

Respond to the question and/or listen
actively to others’ responses (W)
Actively listen and ask questions if they
arise (W, E)
Ask the question: “Where does
digestion begin?” and tease out the
correct response (i.e., mouth) (W)
Explain directions for the Cracker Test
and answer questions (W, E)
1 PP slides (3-4)
Commented [7]: Did not need that much teasing, but I
went on to elaborate that some think digestion begins in
stomach (address this misconception for anybody who
1 PP slides (5) might have held it).

Explore Participate in the Cracker Test and
share hypotheses for what happened
with classmates after (H)
Follow along with the notes provided
in the lesson handout (E)
Pause, reflect on understanding, and
ask any questions (E-2)
Explain
Follow along with the notes provided
in the lesson handout (E)
Watch students as they participate in 1 Saltines (1 per Commented [8]: Students liked this activity - thought it
the Cracker Test; direct students to student) was fun and good for engaging prior learning; physical
experience of digestion
taste for something sweet (H)
Commented [9]: Didn't get students to share
Explain chemical digestion in the mouth 1.5 PP slides (6-7) hypotheses - this could have made it more engaging.
(i.e., amylase) (E) Handout (1 per
Commented [10]: "Thumbs up when you taste sweet!"
student)
Have students “show thumbs” - see 0.5
Stage 2 - to check understanding (E-2)
Explain physical digestion in the mouth 1.5 PP slides (8-9)
(i.e., chewing) (E)

Pause, reflect on understanding, and
ask any questions (E-2)
Reflect on the question and send
teacher a message if interested in
Elaborate
having a class on the topic (H, T)
Participate in online quiz game (R, E-2)
Evaluate
Reflect on understanding and
accomplishment of objectives (E-2)
Have students “show thumbs” - see
Stage 2 - to check understanding (E-2)
Explain to students that there is recent
research of oral manifestations of GI
diseases and we can do a class on it
next time if interested (H, T)
Lead students through the online quiz
game and make observations of student
understanding (R, E-2)
Revisit lesson objectives with students
to summarize the lesson (E-2)
0.5
1 PP slides (10)
Commented [11]: Some students liked this elaboration,
but others thought it was too rushed to be meaningful
(e.g. no time to really discuss its implications)
4 PP slides (11) Commented [12]: Students enjoyed this activity
Quiz game link
1 PP slides (12)

Considerations
Is there alignment between the first
three stages?
How does the lesson design include
a variety of teaching experiences:
Indigenous, multicultural, and
interdisciplinary activities?
Sources consulted
Stage 4 – Reflection
Comments
The desired results described in Stage 1 are assessed in Stage 2 and
taught/explored in Stage 3. Between Stage 1 and 2, the specific knowledge
objective is assessed with questioning throughout and the online quiz game.
Between Stage 2 and 3, all forms of assessment evidence are embedded
throughout the learning plan. Between Stage 1 and 3, the lesson objectives are
taught through the activities incorporated. Everything relates generally back to
the big ideas/enduring understandings with respect to the specific example of
structures in the mouth and the structure of the mouth.
Unfortunately, due to the length of this lesson and the nature of the material
taught, this lesson does not include a great variety of teaching experiences.
Perhaps this is something I can look into in Week 3 and Week 4 of EDUC 465.
Colbourne, H., Constantin, B., Dobell, D., Fehres, C., MacFadyen, D., Mason, A.,
Thomson, G., & Venter, A. (2007). Inquiry into biology. McGraw-Hill Ryerson.
Lerner, S. (2018, June 6). How a 30-second cracker test reveals how much carbs
you can eat per day. Retrieved from
https://www.techtimes.com/articles/229568/20180606/how-a-30-second-
cracker-test-reveals-how-much-carbs-you-can-eat-per-day.htm
GI Society. (2020). Oral manifestations of GI diseases. Retrieved from
https://badgut.org/information-centre/a-z-digestive-topics/oral-
manifestations-of-gi-diseases/
Grade 11 U Biology. (n.d.). Misconceptions. Retrieved from
https://grade11ubiology.weebly.com/common-misconceptions6.html

Post-Lesson Reflection and Next Steps:

Was the objective of the lesson met? How do I know?

Though I did address all of the objectives, I am less certain about whether or not students grasped the
lesson objectives. The online quiz gave me some data on their individual understanding of the topic at
hand; with that said however, I’m not sure that a multiple choice test that assesses lower-level thinking
skills of recall and understanding gave me accurate data. The UbD describes that in a valid assessment,
students who do not have an understanding of the topic should not be able to succeed (yet), and I’m not
sure that I can confidently say this after the delivery of my lesson.

What are the next steps?

I think next steps might be to try to design an assessment that will give me a better understanding of
students’ ability to transfer their knowledge to a novel situation. This could be a better “Elaborate” activity
for my lesson (e.g. some sort of research project?).
 All in all, I think my lesson delivery went quite well, as the feedback I received was quite

positive. Students found the lesson to be engaging and fun, and appreciated my enthusiasm in its

delivery. However, upon my own reflection and after seeing the feedback from my PLC, there are

a few areas which I feel could improve upon and/or do differently next time.

Firstly, when it comes to time management, I think I tried to cram more into my lesson

than fifteen minutes worth of material. A few of my peers commented that though the lesson was

fun, it felt rushed, that I could have been more selective in the material delivered in order to

decrease the sense of urgency, and that I did not leave enough time for the completion of my fill-

in-the-blank notes. Though this feedback was specific to the lesson I delivered, I know that I

generally have the tendency to speak and move too quickly in my teaching. Because of this, my

pacing is something that I would like to work on to improve my teaching.

Secondly, I tend to take over a bit too much in my teaching. I will explain my analogies,

my reasoning, and my thoughts without stopping long enough (or at all) to hear from my students.

A couple of my peers mentioned that if I had paused even a little to get students to share what they

thought, it would lead to a deeper, self-constructed understanding. By stopping to allow my

students’ views to come through, I could also slow down my pacing, thereby making this a strategy

that could be used to address both of the first two areas for self-improvement.

Finally, in retrospect, I feel that I could have designed a better assessment tool to gauge

student understanding at the end of my lesson. Although the online quiz game was a highlight for

many of my students, it was only able to assess students’ lower-level thinking (recall/

understanding) as a multiple choice quiz. If I had taught this lesson to a class, I would design a

follow-up assessment to gauge higher levels of thinking (e.g., research project, debate, etc.).