Shipwrecked Sailor | Lesson Plan
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will answer:
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reasoning you hope students will
generate:
Elizabeth Casolari
9th Grade Biology
Shipwrecked Sailor
2/25/23 @ 7:20, 8:22, 12:12, and 1:14
55 minutes
In this lesson, the students are being introduced to their unit
phenomenon for cell homeostasis and cell transport and will be
generating their initial thoughts and ideas through the creation of
initial models and a driving question board.
This is the second lesson in the unit, the students previously
completed a pre-assessment on cell homeostasis and cell
transport. In this lesson they will be introduced to the
shipwrecked sailor scenario to create their individual/group/class
model and a driving question board. Following this lesson the
students will begin their investigations into diffusion and osmosis
through a series of lab experiences.
What If All the Sea Water Becomes Fresh Water? (2019).
YouTube. Retrieved March 30, 2023, from
https://youtu.be/LEo81a2w07Q.
Troy High School Biology Department. “Shipwrecked Sailor.” Troy
High School Biology Department, 2023.
HS-LS1-2 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes |
Develop and use a model to illustrate the hierarchical organization of
interacting systems that provide specific functions within multicellular
organisms.
HS-LS1-3 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes |
Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that feedback
mechanisms maintain homeostasis.
Students will be able to collaborate with peers to generate initial
thoughts/ideas to explain the effect that saltwater has on the body.
N/A
Students will be interacting with their peers and the class to generate
initial thoughts and ideas for the shipwrecked sailor scenario in which
a sailor dies after drinking saltwater. The students will be applying
their learning of cell transport to the scenario to explain how water
moves into/out of the cells depending of solute/water concentration.
Why did drinking seawater result in the sailor’s death faster than not
drinking any water at all?
Claim: Drinking saltwater resulted in the sailors death faster than no
water at all because it dehydrated the sailor.
Evidence: What if all the sea water becomes fresh water video-
 saltwater fish cannot survive in freshwater and vice versa
Reasoning: The human body is not adapted at salt removal enough
to tolerate drinking saltwater in high enough quantity. With no way
to mitigate the dehydrating affects if salt in the body the sailor will
die faster than they would drinking freshwater or no water at all.

Attending to the Learners

Anticipating student ideas,
including alternative ideas,
misconceptions, prior knowledge,
and prior experiences:
Alternative ideas: The problem is not with the salt water it is that
the sailor had an underlying condition already that resulted in
their death.
Misconceptions: Students may have a misconception that
diffusion rather than osmosis is occurring.

Prior Knowledge: The students should have some prior

knowledge of cell theory and cell parts in addition to having
viewed cells under a microscope. Students may also have prior
knowledge or experience with saltwater in terms of dehydration.

Prior Experiences: The students prior experience with cells and

Making the content accessible to
all students, including how you
are setting high expectations for
all students, helping every student
be a doer of science, and working
toward structural equity and
critical consciousness. (If there
are individual children you need
to be sure to differentiate for,
write that here as well)
cell transport includes using microscopes to view cells and a cell
surface area to volume ratio activity in which they investigated
the importance of cell size.
Based on the students in my classes there will be modifications
for extra time on assignment for students with accommodations.
For students with accommodations for breaks the lessons are
designed to have a large amount of time for student work during
which they are free to take a break anytime in their specified
location. If at any point further accommodations are needed,
more modifications can be made. At this time I do not have any
students with the need for modifications for reading, however
should the need arise there will be an option to convert the
reading into a pdf document in order to get access to a read
aloud option for students that may struggle with reading.

Instructional Sequence

Materials: -Agenda Slides

-What if all the sea water becomes fresh water? Video
-Shipwrecked sailor initial models document
-Poster paper (for group models and class model)
-Sharpies
-Driving question board
-Sticky notes

Instructional Sequence
 Engage

Time | ~10 The teacher will: The students will:

minutes
 Have the agenda slides on the  Share their thoughts and ideas on
screen to the day’s date. the video.
 Greet the students for the day
when the bell rings and take
attendance.
 Update the students on the
human impact project grades
(switch to the human impact
project grades slides).
o Inform the students
that all of the projects
have been graded and
are now in Schoology.
Let the students know
that if they have any
questions they can
meet this week to
discuss their grades.
Then tell them that
they will need to check
the rubric on
Schoology to see their
grade an any
comments. Let them
know that they should
use the browser
version of Schoology to
check the rubric.
 Then inform the students that
today they will begin
discussing cell homeostasis
and transport and that they
will be watching a video,
discussing their thoughts,
making their unit models and
then creating their unit driving
question board.
 Switch to the introductory
video slide, turn off the lights
and then play the video until
 3:27 seconds.
 Switch to the Video discussion
slide after the video ends and
then tell the students ‘after
watching the video, turn and
talk to your table partner
about whether or not you
think that a saltwater fish
could survive in freshwater?’
Give the students about 30
seconds to a minute to discuss
before asking for responses.
o Hold a 5-10 minute
class discussion with
the students to get
their thinking on the
difference between
saltwater and
freshwater and what
would happen to
animals placed in
different
environments.
o Potential discussion
question may include:
Ask about what is
happening in the
animal’s bodies that
allows them to be in
saltwater (in reference
to the saltwater fish)?
o Why might
adaptations be
required to switch
environments?
o What would happen to
a human that drinks
salt-water?
o What is the difference
between saltwater and
freshwater (does
freshwater have no
salt)?
  After giving the students time
to think ask for their
responses and continue to ask
follow-up questions until the
students have provided their
initial thoughts on the
differences between salt and
freshwater.
Experience

Time | ~35 The teacher will: The students will:

minutes
 After discussing the video,  Share their thoughts on the
move on to introduce the unit shipwrecked sailor scenario.
 Use their iPads to complete their
phenomena to the students. initial models.
Switch to the Shipwrecked  Share their models with their
sailor scenario slide. groups.
o Inform the students of  Create a group model using
materials from the side wall.
the scenario on the
 Share their group models with the
slide and then ask the class.
students, why drinking  Share their thoughts during the
saltwater resulted in creation of a class model.
the sailor’s death  Assist in creating the class model.
faster than not
drinking any water at
all?
o Use the question to
briefly get the students
initial thoughts on
what may be
happening in the
sailors body that
resulted in their death.
After about 2-3
minutes thank the
students for
contributing their
thinking and inform
them that they will be
moving on to create
some models.
 Switch to the shipwrecked
sailor models slide and direct
the students to go into the
unit 3 classwork folder to
open-up the shipwrecked
sailor initial models
document.
o Inform the students
that they will be
creating individual and
group models before
coming together as a
class to make a single
class model. Tell the
students to consider
their shipwrecked
sailor and that they
will create a model
that represents their
thinking on what
happened to the sailor
after drinking the
saltwater.
o Tell the students that
they will have 8
minutes to work on
their individual models
before they will switch
to their groups to
create a group model.
Let them know that if
they need ideas for
creating their model
they should go into the
unit 3 resources folder
and open-up the
handmade thinking
chart for ideas on
different types of
models.
 Ask the
students if they
have any
questions and
then direct
them to get
started on their
 models using
the
shipwrecked
sailor initial
models
document.
 Set a timer for
8 minutes.
 After 8 minutes has passed,
inform the students that they
will not be switching to work
on their group models.
o Tell the students that
there is paper and
sharpies on the side
wall and markers in
the container in the
back of the room that
they can use. Inform
the students that
before they start their
group model they
should take a minute
to share their
individual models with
their group members
and that when they
are ready to start
making their models
everyone in the group
should agree to what is
being placed on the
model.
o Inform the students
that while they are
creating their group
models you will be
walking around the
room to ask students
about their individual
models. Ask the
students if they have
any questions and then
direct them to get
 started on their group
models.
o Tell them that they will
have 12 minutes
before they will come
together as a class.
o Set a timer for 12
minutes and let the
students work on their
individual models.
While the students are
working go around to
ask some individual
students about their
models to see what
they are thinking.
 Potential
questions to
ask students to
check and see
what they
know: What is
happening to
the
shipwrecked
sailor when
they drank the
saltwater? Why
is drinking
saltwater
different from
freshwater?
What makes
salt and
freshwater
different? What
happens to
water, in the
body, when
you drink it?
What can the
body do to
mitigate the
effects of
 ingesting
something it
shouldn’t have?
What happens
when a person
drinks
freshwater?
 After 12 minutes has passed,
gather the classes attention.
Ask the students to share
some of the ideas that they
have come up with on their
group models.
o “How did your group
decide to represent
what happened to the
sailor? What do you
think was happening
inside the body of the
sailor after their drank
the saltwater? Ect.”
o Once a few groups
have shared then
inform the class that
they will be creating a
class model and that
they will need to
decide as a class what
is going to go on the
model.
o Have a piece of poster
paper on the board for
the students to draw
the class model on.
Then ask the students
what they will need to
do as a class to show
what is happening to
the shipwrecked sailor.
 Guide the
students
through
creating a
single class
 model by
prompting the
students about
‘what is needed
on the model
to show what is
happening to
the sailor? How
do you want to
represent that?
Does everyone
agree to this?
ect.’
 All the student
to discuss
amongst
themselves and
whenever
something is
ready to be
added ask one
of the students
to add it onto
the model.
Explain + Argue

Time | ~10 The teacher will: The students will:

minutes
 After the class model is  Record questions they have on the
created thank the students for shipwrecked sailor scenario on a
sticky note to place onto the class
sharing their ideas and then model.
switch to the slide of the  Use the app portal to download the
shipwrecked sailor questions. cell defense membrane game.
o Pass out one sticky
note to each student
and then ask the
students to write down
one question that they
have on the
shipwrecked sailor
scenario. Inform the
students that once
they have their
questions they should
 place their sticky not
on the class model
anywhere that is not
on the actual drawing.
 Once the students have
finished placing their
questions on the model. Tell
them that they should now
submit their individual/group
models.
 Then switch to the slide for,
“App to download” and tell
students that by tomorrow
they need to go into the app
portal to download the, “Cell
Defense Membrane Game” as
they will be using the app in
class tomorrow.
o Ask the students if
they have any
questions.
 When the bell rings, wish the
students a good rest of their
day.

Organizational/Management Considerations:

-Students have established table partners and groups that they can work with to complete
assignments.