Chapter 2: Part 1 - Making connections across lesson plans
One objective from the lessons that I am planning is "I can describe how plants make food through photosynthesis and why this is important." One type of formative assessment that we will be doing is something called a lesson check, which is basically a short quiz after each lesson (lessons are over multiple days). One question that I will have on the lesson check is based on a photosynthesis fact from a science graphic novel. The question will be: "The Indian pipe plant has no chlorophyll. The flowering plant is completely white and has been called the corpse plant. Instead of creating food through photosynthesis, this plant absorbs energy through its roots from fungi. Why does not having chlorophyll mean that this plant has a different way of getting energy?"
One task from this lesson is going to be counting the number of bubbles that Elodea plant makes under low light and high light, which directly relates to how plants use sunlight to photosynthesize. The cognitive demand from this question would be asking students to apply their knowledge about photosynthesis to a new situation and analyze the function of chlorophyll in plants' energy functions. The language demand for this question is high, with content-specific vocabulary such as chlorophyll and photosynthesis as well as semi-specific vocabulary such as energy and roots. Students are being asked to write out their thoughts, which is something that is difficult even without specific learning disabilities or language barriers. To make sure that students are being given the opportunity to learn the lesson content without excessive pressure, the lesson checks are able to be revised with/after teacher feedback for all students, and students who are emergent bilinguals are able to complete it with the use of a iPad/ Google translate app as wells as write their responses in Spanish.
Resources:
I have found the Graphic Science series about scientists Max Axiom published by Capstone to be very helpful throughout both my middle and high school internships, especially because I can usually find a translated copy in Spanish. I also think that this series is powerful because it features a scientist of color.
National Geographic is also helpful for finding short articles for students.
I have also recently found a Rocky Mountain PBS simulation that I believe that I will use later in this unit (https://rmpbs.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/34421085-8a5d-4f72-b9ce-fca2c2d07d3f/activity-build-food-chains-food-webs/), and it seems like RMPBS has a lot of other resources online as well, though I have not explored those much yet.