Contextual+Teaching

It has often been recognized that real life examples help students to learn concepts more quickly and in a context to which they relate. This idea is at the heart of contextual teaching. Contextual teaching means that instead of providing examples while teaching concepts, a teacher uses the examples as a platform through which concepts are learned. In this assignment, you will develop a contextual activity or demonstration to teach a concept, using the 5-E model as the basis of your lesson planning.







Student Work:

 * [[file:Man Without a Stomach LP.doc]] Man Without A Stomach -** **Mrs. Palmer**: This lesson introduces students to the digestive system through a video of a man who attempted suicide by swallowing bleach. Throughout the lesson, students are introduced to the structure and function of the the organs of the digestive system (including accessory organs), the mechanical and chemical digestion of organic compounds, and different disorders of the digestive system and their causes.



Jackie Lotzer- Danger, Danger Uncontrolled Cells on the Loose: This lesson introduces the basics of cell growth and the relationship of surface area and volume, it also touches on cell growth regulation in normal cells, it then throws a twist into the mix of how cancer cells change or affect these concepts. The worksheet posted goes through preliminary information on normal cells and then has the students compare them to cancer cells.





this is used for the engage part of the lesson

Megan Butler

Poor Susie has a DNA mutation that needs to be fixed. In order for her sequence to be corrected, the transcription and translation process will need to be preformed backwards! In this lesson, students will be required to use nucleotide base models to help match the proper bases together and work in partner groups to solve the mutation mystery.





Heather Bartos The North Atlantic Current Investigation: Global Warming Exposed

Global warming is a significant issue in the biosphere. From my past experiences, educators have a tendency to focus on the causes rather than the effects of global warming. This lesson pinpoints one particular factor that may be greatly affected by the global warming: the Northern Atlantic Current. Inspired by //The Day After Tomorrow,// this contextual-based lesson investigates the method driving the North Atlantic Current by using the 5E model. Students model the mechanism of the North Atlantic Current through a discovery-based water jar activity. After the activity, students answer a series of questions that eventually leads students into the discovery of how the North Atlantic Current works and how it may be significantly affected by global warming.



Lynn Kotte

Students will be given an 8x11 sheet of paper that has a model of the ocean on it. This model will be labeled with the basic areas of the ocean; Intertidal, Neritic, Euphotic, Photic, Benthic and Abyssal zones. Students will also get a packet that contains ~25 different marine plants and animals glued to a small piece of notecard. After the students have attempted to complete the oceanic model we will go over the correct placing as a class. After this we will watch a video that explores the ocean, giving students an engaging visual so they can begin to understand the complexities of the marine ecosystem.






 * Alyssa Imig**

Students will begin class with a challenge: complete a giant puzzle. However, there is one catch: they must find the puzzle pieces first. Students will find 15 different puzzle pieces throughout the room and stick them to the whiteboard at the front. The completed picture depicts the basic process of cellular respiration. I will explain to students the food we eat contains the building blocks our body needs for energy (much like the students needed to gather the right pieces to complete the puzzle).




 * Yazmin Torres**

Students will be given a worksheet that will be used for the photosynthesis activity. On this worksheet, students will be using their imagination and pretending to be water molecules. As water molecules, the students will need to describe the events and changes that occur in the light-dependent reactions and the Calvin cycle.



[|Calvin Cycle Worksheet and Answer Key]

[|Photosynthesis Video and Lyrics]


 * Sarah Verdun**

In this lesson, students will learn about natural selection by exploring the changes in a specific population – the Peppered Moth. The activity simulates predation and the effect of adaptations in changing environments. It allows students to see the effects first hand and then asks them to apply their knowledge by generating their own example of natural selection in a population.



This lesson is introduced by a quick lesson on probability. In this lesson, students will learn about probability and Punnett squares by working on a activity called "Bikini Bottom Genetics". During this activity students will learn the concepts of probability, Punnett squares, the ability to differ between genotype and phenotype, and be able to tell the difference between heterozygous and Homozygous.
 * Scott Birns-Probability and Punnett Squares**

Samantha Porn- Diffusion and Cell Boundaries This lesson is designed to have students figure out and understand how the concentration of a substance affects its diffusion through a membrane. The activity has the student observe six beakers each with different concentration amounts of solutions, and a plastic bag representing a cell membrane.They have to complete a chart based on the colors they observe, make a drawing of the direction in which molecules diffused through the membrane, and then answer questions about their findings.