SINGLE SUBJECT CREDENTIAL PROGRAM

SCIENCE LESSON PLAN

TEMPLATE Revised 4.15
For directions on how to complete this form, see EDSC Lesson Plan Directions and Scoring Guide in the SSCP Handbook at
www.sscphandbook.org.

Name

CWID

Subject Area

Nothing Cooler Than Absolute

Zero
Class Title

Biology

Biology
Lesson Title

Macromolecules

Unit Title

Energy in our
Ecosystems

STANDARDS AND LESSON OBJECTIVES

Next Generation Science Standards

HS-LS1-7 Use a model to illustrate that cellular

respiration is a chemical process whereby the bonds
of food molecules and oxygen molecules are broken
and the bonds in new compounds are formed
resulting in a net transfer of energy.

Grade Levels

Common Core State Standard Connections

Evidence

Students will understand the cycling of

macromolecules throughout an ecosystem by
revising their initial models, highlighting the cyclical
nature of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and
nucleic acids.

EL

90

SL.11-12.5 Make strategic use of digital media (e.g.,

textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive
elements) in presentations to enhance
understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence
to add interest.

Lesson Objective(s)

STUDENT ASSESSMENT
Purpose/Focus of
Type
Assessment

Total Minutes

1 Components of the model a From a given model,

students identify and describe* the components of
the model relevant for their illustration of cellular
respiration, including: i. Matter in the form of food
molecules, oxygen, and the products of their
reaction (e.g., water and CO2); ii. The breaking and
formation of chemical bonds; and iii. Energy from
the chemical reactions. 2 Relationships a From the
given model, students describe* the relationships
between components, including: i. Carbon dioxide
and water are produced from sugar and oxygen by
the process of cellular respiration; and ii. The
process of cellular respiration releases energy
because the energy released when the bonds that
are formed in CO2 and water is greater than the
energy required to break the bonds of sugar and
oxygen. 3 Connections a Students use the given
model to illustrate that: i. The chemical reaction of
oxygen and food molecules releases energy as the
matter is rearranged, existing chemical bonds are
broken, and new chemical bonds are formed, but
matter and energy are neither created nor
destroyed

Implementation

Feedback Strategy

Assess prior
knowledge of
macromolecules
based on a previous
unit

Warm-up question

Class discussion

Assess knowledge
gained from the unit

Completed Ecosystem
Poster

Graded poster

A unit exam will also

be given.

Written feedback will

be given to students
in the form of a grade
evaluation on the test.

How Informs Teaching

Allows teacher to
decide how much
information is
necessary for the
lecture and if more
time should be spent
on reviewing
macromolecules
Allows teacher to
check for
understanding of the
unit once the unit has
completed. Allows
teacher to make

However, students
have the opportunity
to retake unit tests as
long as they come and
meet with the teacher
during lunch or after
school to identify and
discuss the
weaknesses that
appeared on the
original test, as a form
of verbal feedback

changes for next year

if necessary.
A unit test helps
inform teaching by
helping identify what
concepts students
understood well or not
well. It informs the
teacher if the
strategies used will be
beneficial to students
in future years or if an
adjustment of lessons
would be appropriate.

FOCUS OF INSTRUCTION
Instructional Strategies

DRIVING QUESTION: How do energy and matter flow through our ecosystem?
There are no safety concerns during this lesson.
Lesson Introduction/Anticipatory Set
Time
Teacher Does

5 min

5 min

Begin class with a Warm-Up question on board:

Give one example of each macromolecule
(carbohydrate, protein, lipid) that can be found
on your poster of your ecosystem. Allow
students about 5 minutes to answer the
question. It should be noted that students have
previously covered macromolecules in a
previous unit, nutrition. In that unit, students
learned the structure of macromolecules and
their monomers. In this unit, they will apply
what they have learned to an ecosystem,
explaining how molecules cycle within that
system.
After students have had time to complete the
question, ask a few students to share their
thoughts. This activity does not require a
correct answer, an honest attempt is all that is
expected of students. After a few students
have shared their answers, hold a brief class
discussion, reviewing macromolecules and their
monomers.

Lesson Body
Time

15 min

50 min

Teacher Does

Hold brief lecture highlighting the cycle of

macromolecules within an ecosystem. Discuss
the breaking and remaking of bonds from the
molecules obtained from food to show the
transfer of energy from one trophic level to the
next. Connect these ideas to what students
learned in photosynthesis and cellular
respiration.
Allow students majority of remainder of time to
revise and add to their initial models. Explain
to students that their final product should have
at least one example of a source of
carbohydrates, a source of protein, and a
source of lipids with explanations.

Student Does

Students should be completing their Warm-Up

questions in their assigned seats, quietly. This
activity should be done individually.

Students should be willing to share their

answers with the class. Only a few will need to
share, but participation is expected of the class.
During the review, students should be actively
listening and refreshing their knowledge of
macromolecules and their monomers.

Student Does

Students should be taking notes on the brief

lecture on the cycle of macromolecules within
an ecosystem. During this time, students
should remain in their assigned seats and
should remain silent unless asked to answer a
question by the teacher.
Students should get back into their poster
groups and work together to revise and add
any final touches to their models. They should
be using this time to complete their poster,
tying in all of the elements of the unit (energy
transfer, photosynthesis, cellular respiration,
cycling of matter).

Lesson Closure
Time

15 min

Teacher Does

Student Does

Allow students to hang their posters on the

wall. Once all posters are up, have students
return to their seats and hold a class discussion
tying in all of the components of the lesson
(energy transfer, photosynthesis, cellular
respiration, cycling of matter). Give an
example of an ecosystem, highlighting all of
these components and how they connect.

Groups should hang their posters on the wall

and then go back to their assigned seats to
listen to the closure of the unit. While the
teacher wraps up the unit, connecting all of the
concepts learned, students should be listening
and making connecting to each lesson of the
unit.

Instructional Materials, Equipment, and Multimedia

Scissors, glue sticks, markers/colored pencils, student posters, ELMO projector

Co-Teaching Strategies

Parallel Teaching
DIFFERENTIATION
English Learners

Students have obtained

several graphic
organizers and sentence
frames that will help
them complete the unit.
The brief lecture will
include a heavy use of
visuals to supplement
the material being
discussed. Additionally,
this is a review of
macromolecules and
students have seen this
material before.

Striving Readers

Guided notes will be

provided for striving
readers for the lecture
portion to help them sift
through important
information. A heavy
use of visuals will
supplement the lecture
as well to help students
make sense of the
information.

Students with Special

Needs

For the lecture guided

notes will be provided,
students with special
needs can be given
printed versions of the
PowerPoint slides to
follow along. Students
with special needs will
be grouped based on
their specific needs with
other students. In a case
where a student is
especially antisocial,
moderate personalities
of other students will be
grouped together as to
not cause the student
any additional anxiety
and stress on learning.
Assigned roles will also
be given during the
group work model as to
limit the feeling of being
overwhelmed and focus
on a task.

Advanced Students

Advanced students may

be seated together to
allow for the
argumentation and
analysis process.
Advanced students may
be tasked with providing
additional detail in their
explanations to allow for
additional growth in the
knowledge of the
content.

REFLECTION: SUMMARY, RATIONALE, AND IMPLEMENTATION

This unit began with the use of a familiar video that served as an anchoring phenomenon for students. It
allowed them to think about the unit in terms of a medium they are already familiar with and had them
create an initial model. As the unit progressed, students were allowed to build and revise their models
with their understanding of the unit. The unit allows for class discussion, inviting students to share their
ideas and possible misconceptions in an open environment where they understand that it is alright to have
their misconceptions, as they will not be penalized for having them. Their misconceptions can be
addressed in order to fill in the gaps in their learning. Accommodations have been made for students with
special needs and English learners that not only benefit the students that they were directly intended for,
but all students such as through the use of KWL charts and several other guides that have been handed
out throughout the unit. Allowing students to revisit and revise their models allows them to reflect on their
learning as they progress through the unit. They are able to see where they started from and how they are
growing as students. By the end of the unit, they will have completed a model that answers the driving
question of the unit and relates directly back to the anchoring phenomenon (The Lion King video) they
were first introduced to.