Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Evolution
Math, Science, English/ Eduardo Gaspar,
Katy Penunuri, Jennifer Valencia
Student Digital Learning Experience:
Introduction/Overview of Experience
This cross content digital learning experience provides students in grade 9 with essential
tools and ideas to understand the mechanics and ideas of evolution. Students will be able to
understand the scientific processes of evolution relating to Charles Darwin, the “Father of
Evolution” as well as apply those ideas to math concepts. Specifically in the English content,
students will learn how to synthesize new ideas, and explore how the world around them is
evolving through the use of real world scenarios.
Compelling Question: In what ways does evolution impact our
world today?
Standards (include ELA and Content)
Mathematics:
Interpreting Functions A1.F-IF.B.4 : For a function that models a relationship between
two quantities, interpret key features of graphs and tables in terms of the quantities, and
sketch graphs showing key features given a verbal description of the relationship. Include
problem-solving opportunities utilizing real-world context.
English:
9-10.RI.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of
the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an
objective summary of the text.
9-10.RI.5 Analyze in detail how an author’s ideas or claims are developed and refined by
particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text (e.g., a section or chapter).
9-10.RI.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an
author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
For writing standards:
9-10.W.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas,
concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection,
organization, and analysis of content.
9-10.W.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question
(including a self‐generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry
when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding
of the subject under investigation.
Science:
Essential HS.L4U1.27 Obtain, evaluate, and communicate evidence that describes how
changes in frequency of inherited traits in a population can lead to biological diversity.
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Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- describe the history and development of evolution
-explain how evolution has impacted our world today
- explain adaptation and provide examples
-convey their understanding of evolution through different modes (writing, images, videos
etc)
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Cesar Chavez: The Life Behind A Legacy Of Farm Labor Rights
"The work is back-breaking,
hard-to-come-by and pays pitifully. For
example, two hours of picking peas — in the
hot sun, stooped over — yields the entire
family 20 cents. They live in overcrowded,
primitive housing with no electricity or
running water. Sometimes they cram into a
tent, or sleep in the rough. Chavez
experiences profound discrimination at school
— from teachers as well as other students —
and drops out after 8th grade to join his
family full time in the fields."
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE FULL
ARTICLE
This article will serve to be another example of a movement to help students begin to understand
how society was evolving through collected efforts of a wide range of people. It provides an
overview of Cesar Chavez's work as well as a timeline of his life and achievements.
Students will do a close reading where they will highlight key ideas and note any questions they
have.
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“Environmental Crisis” In the Late 1960’s
"During the late 1960s, an “environmental
crisis” took shape as a series of environmental
catastrophes and revelatory books transformed
the American environmental consciousness.
Soon before the crisis took its final form,
several immensely popular books including
Rachel Carson’s 1962 Silent Spring and Ralph
Nader’s 1965 Unsafe at Any Speed pushed the
public to question the relationship between
the government, tasked with protecting the
public interest, and industries, incentivized to
act in their own economic interests.."
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE FULL
ARTICLE
This article will give students context on the environmental crisis in the 1960’s so that students
may do a close reading where they will highlight key ideas and note any questions they may
have in order to go over it together as a class and compare with our environmental crisis today.
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Our Nation’s Air
"The Clean Air Act requires EPA to set
national ambient air quality standards
(NAAQS) for specific pollutants to safeguard
human health and the environment. These
standards define the levels of air quality that
EPA determines are necessary to protect
against the adverse impacts of air pollution
based on scientific evidence. EPA has
established standards for six common air
pollutants, which are referred to as “criteria”
pollutants."
Click here for the full Math Text Sets
Click here for the full English Text Sets
Click here for the full Science Text Sets
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Lesson One: Ask A
Compelling Question
Inquiry Question: In what ways does evolution impact our world today?
Directions: Students will spend time in both science and english and math to discuss
Charles Darwin and the evolution of pollution. All groups will then come together to
analyze and create connections between the topics using a Venn Diagram.
Stop 1: Darwin and his Finches:
Students will be introduced to Charles Darwin and his observations on the beagle for the
first time (https://youtu.be/42CMDoNuce4). This is when students will also begin to learn
about the general concepts of evolution, as well as focusing on natural selection which is
what explains Darwin’s Finches. Students will synthesize new information about evolution
and apply it to other concepts/events that demonstrate evolution by selecting an interesting
fact about evolution and researching it more to decide whether or not this theory fits natural
selection:
https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/children/2019/mar/fun-facts-about-evolution-for-kids.h
tml . By the end of this stop, students will be able to describe the key components of
evolution, how they apply to Charles Darwin and his Finches, and how to identify Natural
Selection.
Stop 2: Change Over Time: Construct viable arguments & reason abstractly,
and quantitatively.
Students will identify the mathematical elements of a situation and create a mathematical
model that represents those mathematical elements and the relationships among them.
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Students will make sense of quantities and their relationships in problem situations. Students
can
contextualize and decontextualize problems involving quantitative relationships. Students
will then construct mathematical arguments (explain the reasoning underlying a strategy,
solution, or conjecture) using concrete, pictorial, or symbolic referents.The following
examples in the digital platform via. Google slides will allow students to form an entry level
concept on Evolution by taking time to think, share and discuss and then share the
functionality of Trait Change.
Stop 3: Pollution in Perspective:
Students will have a class discussion on what they have heard about pollution and what is
pollution on a google jamboard that is linked on the slides. After that, students will read two
articles with the teacher ("Environmental Crisis" in the Late 1960s & Our Nation’s Air: EPA
Celebrates 50 years). As they are reading, students are asked to note key points, key words
and key ideas (How does this develop our understanding of pollution? Does this connect
back to what you already knew? etc). If no questions or points are mentioned by the
students, the teacher should bring them up and probe student responses. After they finish
reading and annotating both articles students will discuss with a partner the changes in
pollution (from 1960 to 2020) and they will post their responses as a duo on a padlet.
Afterwards, the class will come back together as a whole group and students will give their
discussion points to add to the class jamboard and answer the reflecting questions.
Stop 4: Sail Away with New Ideas!:
Students will go over what they discussed at stops 1, 2 and 3, and fill out a 3 way venn
diagram where they will analyze how different ideas can intersect with evolution. The venn
diagram will be used to outline what they learned at each stop and then fill in where the
ideas of all three stops come together.
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Hook: Students will be taken on a voyage into evolution and explore the traits of
evolution. They will be asked to consider how things change over time (organisms,
environment, ideas etc).
Activity: Students will start at different stops where they will learn about Darwin and his
finches, change over time and then apply the concept of evolution to the topic of pollution.
All of the groups will end at stop 4 and come back together to go over what they discussed
in their sections and fill out the venn diagram where they will analyze how different ideas
can intersect with evolution. The venn diagram will be used to outline what they learned at
each stop and then fill in where the ideas of all three stops come together.
Closing: Exit Ticket where students will write down one thing that they learned (how
evolution is involved in every part of life, how other topics have developed over time, things
specific to each stop etc). They will also need to write down one question/idea they are
intrigued by that has to do with evolution.
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Lesson Two: Analyze
Sources
Hook: Students will continue their voyage to explore various resources in
order to decide what area of evolution they would like to focus on.
Activity: With their chosen partner students will go through DAY 2 slides and
click on the links to explore the different resources on different topics of
evolution.
Instruction/Activity: On their own students will go through the links on
DAY 2 of the digital learning experience to explore the various topics across all
three content areas. They must explore at least three resources in each content
area and organize their findings in their learning notebook. At the end of the
day, students will complete a think pair share and need to answer these
questions, discuss with a partner and type their responses in the learning
notebook.
● WHAT DID YOU FIND THE MOST CHALLENGING DURING THE VOYAGE?
● SUMMARIZE WHAT YOU LEARNED DURING TODAY’S INVESTIGATION
● WHAT IS ONE THING YOU ARE STILL PUZZLED BY?
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Lesson Three: Creatively
Synthesize Claims and
Evidence
Activity: Students will be introduced to the project they will be creating and
20 minutes will be given for the introduction and answering student questions.
For their project, they will need to come together with a partner and create a
digital walk through experience to showcase how evolution has impacted our
world today. Their digital walkthrough experience must demonstrate:
-How is this topic impacted by evolution? Give examples.
-What has caused things to change?
-Hypothetical: How would things be different today if something in the past had been
different?
-Prediction: How will something look or be in the future, based on the way it is now?
What are some similarities, differences and intersections between math english and science?
Then they will continue to dive deeper into their chosen focus using the text of
their choice.
Instruction/Activity: Based on lesson two’s activity, students will need to
select a content area they are most interested in, once doing this, they should
select a partner who has also chosen that same area of interest. Together they
will need to complete a more in depth review of the sources within the given
content area. Though they are working together, they should both be writing
notes for the resources in their own learning notebooks. Students will need to
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follow the directions within their chosen text set as a way to analyze and
synthesize their sources.
For english: Students will need to complete a KWL, Double Entry Journals for
poems, complete a close reading, and a compare and contrast diagram for a
poem/song.
For math: students are asked reflecting questions on three texts in the set;
debrief the meaning of Hardy - Weinberg’s Equation or the relationship
between function notation and pictorial pictures(graphs and tables) from the
Change of Population in Natural Selection. Students will be scaffolding the
relationship between two quantities, interpret key features of graphs and tables
in terms of the quantities.
For science: Students will choose one resource out of the three in the text set provided.
Based off of the student's choice, they will complete an activity associated with the
text. Activities include annotations and illustrative methods.
These responses will need to be documented in their learning notebook under
“Text Set Responses” and each content area will have their designated page(s).
Students also have the option to look at outside resources but they must include
at least three from their chosen text set. In their analysis of the resources,
students will be given the guiding questions that need to be reflected in their
final product.
How is this topic impacted by evolution? Give examples.
What has caused things to change?
Hypothetical: How would things be different today if something in the past had been different?
Prediction: How will something look or be in the future, based on the way it is now?
What are some similarities, differences and intersections between math english and science?
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Lesson Four : Critically
Evaluate and Revise
Comparing Texts and Peers
Instruction/Activity: This day will be for students to begin to create their
projects. They will need to put together their resources and reflection questions
to create their final product. The experience that they and their partner create
at this stop must be at least 8-12 minutes.
For their final product students have the option to use:
Google slides
Prezi
Powtoon
Wakelet
Weebly
At the end of the day students will need to fill out this exit ticket.
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Lesson Five : Share,
Publish, Act
Activity: Students will get to showcase their digital walkthrough
experience with each other. They will also need to include a link to
their digital walkthrough experience at the end of their learning
notebook.
Once every partner duo presents, students will need to take 10
minutes to answer the final reflection/closing questions:
How has evolution impacted our world today?
●
Give 3 takeaways from your journey with us.
●
Give 2 things you are still curious about
●
After going through your peers’ walkthrough experience, what is 1
●
question you now have?
*Student presentations will be assessed based on the following rubric
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