Genetically Modified Organism
Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education
UNIT TEMPLATE: Text-Based STEM Inquiry
This template provides an approach for creating a science investigation that includes reading-focused inquiry to build student science literacy skills. The template was created to support library media specialists and STEM teacher cohorts in the School Librarians Advancing STEM Learning project, led by the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management (ISKME) in partnership with Granite State University, New Hampshire, and funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
Part I: Unit Title: Recombinant DNA in Genetically Modified Organisms
Part II: Background on LMS and Science Teacher relationship: This lesson was created by Library Media Specialist Linda Hedrick and Biology teacher Caitlin Gately. Linda’s strengths were identified as text-based inquiry and the curation of resources. She requested to see Caitlin model what inquiry looks like in a science classroom. Caitlin’s strengths were life science content knowledge and she requested to see Linda model how students can use text-based inquiry.
Part III: Unit Description: This unit includes ten class sessions (50 minutes each) that culminate in students creating a genetically modified organism.
Using inquiry-based reading, students will explore an anchor text and then develop their own essential and supporting questions to guide their research.
Over the course of the unit students will explore a variety of texts and view videos. They will grow in their knowledge of how recombinant DNA is being used to genetically create new species and will grow in their ability to use informational text to support their inquiry and research. Each student will receive an electronic notebook with texts, videos, and note-taking space included.
Class One: Read supporting text on recombinant DNA and genetically modified organisms.
Ask students if they have ever seen a genetically modified organism. Students will answer questions to the reading and define vocabulary in their interactive notebook.
Class Two: View video and read second supporting text on genetically modified organisms. Students will answer questions to the reading and define vocabulary in their interactive notebook.
Class Three: Using inquiry-focused reading, students will begin reading the Anchor Text Reading and create and record questions in their interactive notebook. Students will highlight anchor text that they do not understand within their interactive notebook.
Class Four: Recombinant DNA Lab in student lab groups of four
Class Five: Begin research on genetically modified organism in student lab groups of four. Use of keyword searching will be presented, suggested databases and scholarly article searching will be presented.
Class Six: Continue research. Create Genetically Modified Organism in student lab groups of four
Class Seven: Continue research. Create Genetically Modified Organism in student lab groups of four
Class Eight:Continue research. Create Genetically Modified Organism in student lab groups of four
Class Nine:Group presentations on Genetically Modified Organism
Class Ten:Group presentations on Genetically Modified Organism if needed
Part IV: Standards
MSD Science Standard
13.15a Unity & Diversity:Students will demonstrate the ability to observe and describe patterns relating to the inheritance of genetic variation and use those patterns to support claims about the observed or predicted relationships among organisms.
NGSS Crosscutting Concepts
Patterns
NGSS Science Practice
HS-LS4-2 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity Construct an explanation based on evidence that the process of evolution primarily results from four factors: (1) the potential for a species to increase in number, (2) the heritable genetic variation of individuals in a species due to mutation and sexual reproduction, (3) competition for limited resources, and (4) the proliferation of those organisms that are better able to survive and reproduce in the environment.
CCSS Science Literacy Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.8: Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author's claim or a recommendation for solving a scientific or technical problem
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.2: Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; trace the text's explanation or depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or concept; provide an accurate summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.4: Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 9-10 texts and topics.
Part V: Unit Essential Questions
How will genetically modified organisms impact our future?
Part VI: Goals for Using Inquiry: The goal for using inquiry in this unit is to have students develop their own supporting research questions about recombinant DNA and the creation of genetically modified organisms. The students will examine the provided texts, select their own additional resources to use, and determine their own solution to the essential question. The science teacher and the library media specialist have selected an anchor text about recombinant DNA technology and genetically modified organisms and provided support for students in additional texts that will guide their research on the impact of plant and animal modification for their future.
Genetically modified organisms is a current and sometimes controversial topic in the field of science affecting people, plants and animals. Allowing students to research how genetically modified organisms are created will allow them to make educated decisions about eating genetically modified foods or how a genetically modified animal may impact our society.
Part VII: Summative Assessment Description and Rubric
Students, in their lab groups of four, will research two different species that could be combined to create a product that could impact our future society. Students will explain how recombinant DNA was created for their new genetically modified organism. Students will include a written description of the modified organism, a sketch of the organism and a mock recombinant DNA strand showing how the species was developed in the lab setting.
Points | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Literacy Components | No article used | Article used is but not peer reviewed | One peer-reviewed article used | Two peer-reviewed articles used |
More than 5 mistakes in MLA format for works cited and in-text citations | Three or four mistakes in MLA format for works cited and in-text citations | One or two mistakes in MLA format for works cited and in-text citations | Correct MLA format for works cited and in-text citations | |
Presentation | No presentation | Under time / over time by more than two minutes | Under time / over time allowed by one minute Read off paper / Screen Difficult to hear | Within time allowed. Spoke to class. Able to hear |
Explanation | Does not justify how their organism will influence society | Little justification on how their organism will influence society in an appropriate manner | Good justification how their organism and how will influence society in an appropriate manner | Excellent justification how their organism will influence society in an appropriate manner |
Written Description of Organism | More than 10 grammatical mistakes | Nine to six grammatical mistakes | Three to five grammatical mistakes | Less than two grammatical mistakes |
Organism’s Recombinant DNA Explanation | No explanation of how recombination DNA could take place in your organism | Incorrect explanation of recombinant DNA | Vague explanation about how recombinant DNA could occur in your organism | Clear explanation about how recombinant DNA could occur in your organism |
Sketch of Organism | No sketch was included | Sketch was very vague, difficult to understand. No clear idea of the two organisms crossed | Clear sketch of the organism but it was not clear what two organisms were crossed | Clear sketch of the organism showing clear views of organisms what were crossed |
Interactive Notebook | No interactive notebook | Unorganized, difficult to follow notes | Organized, good notes | Organized, excellent notes, easy to follow |
Article Questions | Did not answer the article questions linked in the interactive notebook | Answered less than half of the article questions linked on the interactive notebook | Answered more than half of the article questions linked in the interactive notebook | Answered all the article questions linked in the interactive notebook |
Article Vocab | Did not define the article vocab linked in the interactive notebook | Defined less than half of the article vocab linked in the interactive notebook | Defined more than half of the article vocab linked in the interactive notebook | Defined all the article vocab linked in the interactive notebook |
Part VIII: Prior Knowledge Needed
Students will need to understand and will have knowledge in the following scientific content:
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
Natural selection works in the wild
Molecular makeup of genes
DNA Sequence
DNA Transcription
Part IX: Student Learning Objectives
The student will be able to define the terms “recombinant DNA” and “genetically modified organisms” by reading text articles and completing a recombinant DNA lab within their lab group.
The student will be able to analyze how the physical manipulation of recombinant DNA of two organisms can potentially influence human society
The student will be able to evaluate the potential of genetically modified organisms by researching current practices
The student will be able to develop a genetically modified organism by using the results of their research and creating their own organism that could influence human society
Part X: Text Set Description (used to analyze the purpose and goal of each text they provide to the students)
Text Title & Hyperlink | Text Purpose | Text-Dependent Questions (created by the teacher/librarian to help students analyze the text in a specific sequence) | Accommodations for Diverse Learners |
Anchor Text https://bioaccent.org/biotechnology/biotechnology23.pdf The Evolution of Biosteel | The Anchor Text, designed to provide science content about genetically modified organisms created with recombinant DNA, while provoking student engagement around the essential question. The ATOS level of the text is an 11.00, which is appropriate for the end of a 10th grade year. Linked here is the Qualitative Analysis of the Complexity. |
| 1. Tier Two words will be chosen ahead of time and students will have vocabulary defined in their interactive notebook. Interactive Notebook 2. Specific chunks will be chosen ahead to support students in breaking the reading down into manageable sections. 3. Students will have access to read article alone and together in class 4. Students will read article in interactive notebook and highlight parts they do not understand |
Supporting Text # 1 Celebrating a Milestone: FDA's Approval of First Genetically-Engineered Product | The Supporting Text, designed to provide science and historical content about genetically modified organisms while provoking student engagement around the essential question. The ATOS level of the text is an 13.6, which is appropriate for the end of a 10th grade year. Linked here is the Qualitative Analysis of the Complexity. |
| 1. Tier Two words will be chosen ahead of time and students will have vocabulary defined in their interactive notebook. 2. Specific chunks will be chosen ahead to support students in breaking the reading down into manageable sections. 3. Students will have access to read article alone and together in class 4. Students will read article in interactive notebook and highlight parts they do not understand |
Supporting Text #2 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/building-better-fruits-and-veggies-without-gmos/ BUILDING TASTIER FRUITS & VEGGIES. By: Jabr, Ferris, Scientific American, 00368733, Jul2014, Vol. 311, Issue 1 | The Supporting Text, designed to provide science and current day practice about genetically modified organisms while provoking student engagement around the essential question. The ATOS level of the text is an 11.3, which is appropriate for the end of a 10th grade year. Linked here is the Qualitative Analysis of the Complexity. |
| 1. Tier Two words will be chosen ahead of time and students will have vocabulary defined in their interactive notebook. 2. Specific chunks will be chosen ahead to support students in breaking the reading down into manageable sections. 3. Students will have access to read article alone and together in class 4. Students will read article in interactive notebook and highlight parts they do not understand |
Supporting Video What Is a Genetically Modified Food Instant Egghead #45 YouTube#1 | General explanation of GMOs | Students will take notes on keywords and generate essential questions | None needed |
Part XI: Suggested Lesson Breakdown/Pacing
Class | Student Learning Objectives | Aligned Student Learning Task and Suggested Timing | Formative Assessment | Important Accommodations |
Class One (50 minutes) | The student will be able to define the terms “recombinant DNA” and “genetically modified organisms” by reading text articles | 1. The students will read the article Celebrating a Milestone: FDA's Approval of First Genetically-Engineered Product alone without taking notes first. Once all have finished will reread and take notes in interactive notebook. (20 minutes) 3. The teacher will discuss parts of the text with students and answer questions. Teacher will view parts of text students have highlighted or written down in the notes section. Teacher will also select portions of the document ahead of time that will be helpful for final assignment. (10 minutes) 4. Students will define vocabulary words in interactive notebook. (20 minutes) | 1. The teacher/LMS will monitor students as they read independently to observe the number of highlights made with the interactive notebook. 2. The teacher/LMS will monitor student recording of teacher recommended note taking. 3. The teacher/LMS will monitor progress to see if certain areas of the assignment are confusing. The teacher will review the highlighted text on the interactive notebook and give feedback before the next class period. 4. The (teacher/LMS) will randomly choose highlighted lines to read aloud, tracking trends and noticing gaps or misconceptions. | 1. The (teacher/LMS) will provide the article ahead of time to students with high need. 2. The (teacher/LMS) will provide a list of defined vocabularyfor the student to use during the 2nd reading. |
Class Two (50 minutes) | The student will be able to define the terms “recombinant DNA” and “genetically modified organisms” by reading text articles |
| 1. The teacher/LMS will monitor students as they read independently to observe the number of highlights made with the interactive notebook. 2. The teacher/LMS will monitor student recording of teacher recommended note taking. 3. The teacher/LMS will monitor progress to see if certain areas of the assignment are confusing. The teacher will review the highlighted text on the interactive notebook and give feedback before the next class period. 4. The (teacher/LMS) will randomly choose highlighted lines to read aloud, tracking trends and noticing gaps or misconceptions. | 1. The (teacher/LMS) will provide the article ahead of time to students with high need. 2. The (teacher/LMS) will provide a list of defined vocabulary for the student to use during the 2nd reading. |
Class Three (50 minutes) | The student will be able to analyze how the physical manipulation of recombinant DNA of two organisms can potentially influence human society |
| 1. The teacher/LMS will monitor students as they read independently to observe the number of highlights made with the interactive notebook. 2. The teacher/LMS will monitor student recording of teacher recommended note taking. 3. The teacher/LMS will monitor progress to see if certain areas of the assignment are confusing. The teacher will review the highlighted text on the interactive notebook and give feedback before the next class period. 4. The (teacher/LMS) will randomly choose highlighted lines to read aloud, tracking trends and noticing gaps or misconceptions. | 1. The (teacher/LMS) will provide the article ahead of time to students with high need. 2. The (teacher/LMS) will provide a list of defined vocabulary for the student to use during the 2nd reading. |
Class Four (50 minutes) | The student will be able to define the terms “recombinant DNA” and “genetically modified organisms” by completing a recombinant DNA lab within their lab group. Lab is in Interactive Notebook |
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| 1. The (teacher/LMS) will provide the lab ahead of time to students with high need. 2. The (teacher/LMS) will place students in lab groups ahead of time |
Class Five (50 minutes) | The student will be able to evaluate the potential of genetically modified organisms by researching current practices The student will be able to develop a genetically modified organism by using the results of their research and creating their own organism that could influence human society Project is in Interactive notebook |
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| 1. The (teacher/LMS) will provide the research links ahead of time to students with high need. 2. The (teacher/LMS) will place students in lab groups ahead of time |
Class Six (50 minutes) | The student will be able to evaluate the potential of genetically modified organisms by researching current practices The student will be able to develop a genetically modified organism by using the results of their research and creating their own organism that could influence human society |
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| 1. The (teacher/LMS) will provide the research links ahead of time to students with high need. 2. The (teacher/LMS) will place students in lab groups ahead of time |
Class Seven (50 minutes) | The student will be able to evaluate the potential of genetically modified organisms by researching current practices The student will be able to develop a genetically modified organism by using the results of their research and creating their own organism that could influence human society |
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| 1. The (teacher/LMS) will provide the research links ahead of time to students with high need. 2. The (teacher/LMS) will place students in lab groups ahead of time |
Class Eight (50 minutes) | The student will be able to evaluate the potential of genetically modified organisms by researching current practices The student will be able to develop a genetically modified organism by using the results of their research and creating their own organism that could influence human society |
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| 1. The (teacher/LMS) will provide the research links ahead of time to students with high need. 2. The (teacher/LMS) will place students in lab groups ahead of time |
Class Nine (50 minutes) | The student will be able to evaluate the potential of genetically modified organisms by researching current practices The student will be able to develop a genetically modified organism by using the results of their research and creating their own organism that could influence human society |
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| 1. The (teacher/LMS) will all students with IEPs/504 to present in a smaller setting if needed 2. The (teacher/LMS) will place students in lab groups ahead of time 3. The teacher/LMS will provide projector and computer for students to present their organism. |
Class Ten (50 minutes) | The student will be able to develop a genetically modified organism by using the results of their research and creating their own organism that could influence human society |
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| 1. The (teacher/LMS) will all students with IEPs/504 to present in a smaller setting if needed 2. The (teacher/LMS) will place students in lab groups ahead of time 3. The teacher/LMS will provide projector and computer for students to present their organism. |
Part XII: Attachment of Student Work Examples
Example Three Areas with improvement
Example Four Areas with improvement
Part XIII: Teacher and Librarian Reflection on the Implementation of the Unit
Teacher Reflection:
Overall I thought this unit went great. I was very nervous about how this would run and if the students would do the work. The students were great and dove right into this project and came up with some excellent GMO organisms. There are somethings that I would change. We created an interactive notebook to allow the students to do this entirely online. This was a great idea, but there were a few flaws in my idea! I did not think about linking google documents to the file and allowing access to be shared. So this caused a few set backs and made several students frustrated. When going back through our interactive notebook I made slides where students would write directly on them, eliminating the need for linking and sharing documents.
I also had a lot of work for the students to do prior to making their genetically modified organisms. They had two articles to read, each with their own vocab and questions to answers. This was the part of the project the students hated. So going forward I would limit this.
The overall project was great. The students could not have worked better together! They found interesting animals to cross and all their organisms were to help humans. The students asked great questions during the presentations. The class presentations day was my favorite, they students were all engaged and asked thought provoking questions to each group.
Working with my library media specialist on this project was so beneficial to myself and the students. Having an extra person for the students to bounce ideas off of was great and to have guidance on how the students could research information. It was a great way for the LMS to work with the students on a longer project and get to know them better.
Overall I was very impressed with my students for tackling this project and coming up with great ideas. In the future I would focus more on the project and research and connecting back to the anchor text. I loved our anchor text but felt I did not bring this up as much as I should.
LMS Reflection
I have collaborated on lessons with teachers, from low level collaboration to more in-depth, but this is the first time that I worked with a science teacher in such depth planning out a unit. I learned about the Next Generation science standards, which I knew existed but really did not know them. Learning more about the science standards was very helpful in planning, and I wished that I had paid more attention to them in my past work with other science teachers.
I enjoyed the collaboration, bouncing ideas off each other, we shared a lot. Finding common time to talk and plan was not easy, but our discussions when meeting were thoughtful and constructive. I felt we were always open to hearing each other’s ideas, making changes when better ideas came up, both of us flexible.
Trying out the interactive notebook for each student was more of a challenge that I thought it would be. It took more time to build than expected and we ran into issues of formatting, but in the end I think it mostly worked out. But I liked that each student had their own notebook to work with and that we could look at their work at any time.
What impressed me most about the students was the questioning and discussions they had as they prepared their project work within their groups. They were so into it! I felt that the anchor text as well as the additional texts and work really inspired their work for their final project. The anchor text was a challenging read for them but questions they asked when preparing for the final project I felt linked back to the reading and showed understanding of it. I also observed that questioning is part of the daily classroom experience in that science classroom and I think that’s great! And watching their presentations was very enjoyable. Questions that the other students asked of each presenting group circled back and illustrated their understanding of the texts.
While I know some of the students used the science resources that were part of the lessons in the library, more time could have been used on search skills. I felt the students wanted to get to work on their own or with their groups. This could use some improvement on the part of the LMS.
I think we both agreed that there is a lot to our project and that maybe it should be scaled back. Although I did not hear it, I think the students shared with the science teacher the workload of the unit was too much!