CT Observation 3

Beak Lab Overview and Evidence of Evolution Stations

1. Description of the Setting: What characteristics of the classroom or setting are important to the
lesson? (e.g., grade level, physical set-up of classroom, number of students, adult supports, etc.)
Grade level: 11th – 12th Grade
Classroom description: When you enter the room the first thing you will notice is that the room is structured
more longitudinally in its design. There are two doors for entrance into the class with one positioned at the
front, and one at the back. It is made from cement blocks and has two windows on the far wall facing a small
alleyway. The room itself is divided arbitrary into two sections. One half is set up with wooden tables with
black tops for lab set up. There are four short stools per set up, and two tables push together longways. In
total there are six pairs of tables with four tables per group. Underneath each table cluster is a power strip that
plugs into an outlet on the floor. Along the walls on this side of the classroom are cabinets for storage,
microscopes, skeletal models, diagrams of the human body, and a taxidermized hawk. There is also an
emergency shower positioned close to the door, with a first aid cabinet, fire blanket, and sinks placed in
varied locations. The other half of the room is set up for lecture activities and is comprised of student desks
organized in clusters. Each desk is made of wood and a plastic material that has chairs that are detached from
the desk. Each desk is clustered into groups of four or five and is evenly spaced out in the room. There is a
white board at the “front” of the room with a smart board and a smart TV. On this half of the room there are
more cabinets for storage and student made posters of varied body systems, coloring pages, inspirational
posters as well as other student created projects. On the wall with the windows there is another small
whiteboard for the class agenda, as well as the teacher’s desk and computer. In the middle of the room there is
an instructors table with some drawers for storage and a projector device that connects to the smart board and
smart TV.
Adult support: For this room the only teacher supports are Mr. Edwards and me. Though there are a few
students with an IEP and 504, they do not require paraprofessionals. As usual there are other teachers in the
department available for help as well as administration, resource officers, and various teachers’ assistants. As
this is the science hall there are also other teachers around for support if necessary.
Class time: 48 minutes
Number of students: 17

2. Description of the Learners: What do you know about the learners that have influenced your
decisions in planning this lesson? (e.g., learners with disabilities, ELLs, gifted learners, experiential
background knowledge of the learners, cultural diversity of the learners, etc.)

These students are either juniors or seniors and have already taken physics and chemistry as prerequisites to
the course. Each student is required to take three years of science for graduation, and this is their last required
semester for the subject. Those students who have not passed first semester biology will continue to take this
class but will need to retake first semester during summer school. Most of these students are from the suburbs
with some students from the inner city and are brought to school via taxi.
In this class there are 17 students in total and four of them have a listed IEP intervention. Two students, C.K
and M.S, both have alternative testing available as well as modified test. Both students have a speech
impediment and may choose to do more written assignments or videos with subtitles. For these students there
is a testing center in the library where there are staff available to read the test to them or allow for more time.
The modified tests consist of removing an incorrect multiple-choice question or shortening/removing short
answer questions from the exam.
Student J.W is hearing impaired and wears a hearing aid. What is listed in her IEP is to talk clearly and sit her
toward the front of the classroom. If there are any videos for instruction, the use of subtitles is also utilized.
Seating close to the source of instruction may also be necessary but normally not an issue with this student.
Student A.H has an IEP that indicated he is on the autistic spectrum and has social anxiety listed as a
behavioral trigger. Preferred seating near the instructor is required and the ability to leave the room for
decompression may be necessary. This student is also diabetic and will need to leave for the nurse at times
during the instruction. This student wears a blood sugar monitoring device that is connected to his phone and
will need to always have access to it. This device sends notifications to his phone as well as his guardians on
any change in his condition.

3. Standards/Quality Indicators/Skills: National, state, and/or local standards, quality indicators, and
skills addressed by this lesson.

9-12.LS4.A.1 Communicate scientific information that common ancestry and biological evolution are
supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence. (Clarification statement: Emphasis is on a conceptual
understanding of the role each line of evidence has relating to common ancestry and biological evolution.
Examples of evidence could include similarities in DNA sequences, anatomical structures, and order of
appearance of structures in embryological development. Communicating could mean written report, oral
discussion, etc.

4. Lesson Objective(s)
(Lesson objectives should contain observable and measurable target behavior, conditions under which the
target behavior should be performed and criteria for mastery.)
 How does this lesson fit into the larger instructional sequence?

 Official Objective: Once notes are completed with a participation of 100%, students will work on the
activity on evidence of evolution with an understanding greater than 85% as noted by their class
average score.

 Student Objective: Students will complete the worksheet using their notes and web links for
information.

5. Assessment: Assessment(s) before, during, and after the lesson

Before: My before assessment uses the bellringer to gage if students can recall what we covered in our last
class and put it into their own words. This will let me know if they understood what we talked about
yesterday at which I can then determine if we need to review content before we start on today’s lesson. I can
also gain insight on how the students perceived the information yesterday and their ability to explain it to
other students as we go over it together.

During: As students are working on the worksheet I will be walking around helping with questions or
technology issues. During this time, I will be talking to students and gauging what sections the students
understand the most, and where they struggled in the content. This can be recorded as data to determine how
we proceed from here to the next lesson.

After: The last 5 minutes of class will be dedicated to a discussion on how they felt about the worksheet and
how well they understand it. I will ask the students for a thumbs up, down, or to the side on how they feel
about the content, as well as an open discussion on what they found difficult to understand. This will then
allow me to look at their scores and see if their feelings are connected to the numerical data. At which point, I
will decide if we need to continue, or review this portion of the content for another day.

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6. Lesson Procedures: Sequence of events of the lesson elements designed to introduce the lesson,
engage learners in the lesson content, and bring the lesson to a close.
 How will you engage the learners, review prior skills/content, and set a purpose for learning?
 In what ways will you explain the relevance of the lesson to the learners and/or link the lesson to
students' wonderings, experiences, or questions?
 In what ways will you demonstrate the processes you want the learners to follow as they participate in
the lesson?
 How will you structure the lesson so that students can gradually assume responsibility for learning?
 How will you provide feedback to students throughout the lesson and guide them to reflect on what
they learned and their own success in the learning process?
 How will you plan for the allocation of time to the different lesson activities?

Before class starts, I will be standing outside the door of the classroom greeting students as they walk in.
This way I can answer any questions or concerns that they have before class starts. Once the bell rings I will
walk into the classroom and greet the students. On the board there will be the agenda listed as well as bell
ringer questions for the students to fill out. The bellringer will read, “How is evolution connected to Natural
Selection?”. There is a space in their note packets for bell ringer questions for them to fill in as we go along in
the unit. I will give the students another few minutes to answer the question before we go over it as a class.
Once that is finished, I will ask the students to open their computers and go into Schoology to go over the
beak lab we completed last class. I want to make sure that everyone was able to complete the experiment
activity, and if they had any questions or concerns, they could ask them at this point.
When the students feel comfortable with the beak lab experiment, I will remind the students that it will be due
next class and can be submitted on Schoology. This will include their CER data table as well.
Next we will take out our notes and complete another section on evolution. This section looks at what
evidence we have of evolution and the processes organisms take to become what they are today. This portion
of notes is very short and should only take about 10 minutes to complete.
After we are finished with out notes, I will guide the students back through Schoology to get to the activity
we are working on today which is an evidence evolution station lab. This lab starts at the biochemical level
and progressively explores larger processes as the students continue. I will explain the direction as follows;

“As you go through the stations worksheet you will start from the biochemical portions like reading DNA
sequences and cellular similarities all the way down to the fossil record. In the worksheet you will read and
fill out the answers in the spaces provided. Some questions require you to click a link and watch a short video
to answer the question. When you are finished with your work, make sure that you submit this page into
Schoology to get credit. Depending on how much time is left, you may work on other work you are missing,
or have a short amount of free time as long as it doesn’t disrupt others. The last 5 minutes of class I will
collect everyone back to their desk and we will talk about what we have learned and what still challenges us.
Are there any questions? I will be walking around the room if you need any help. Go ahead and get started.”

As students are working on the activity, I will be walking the room helping with technology, and answering
content questions. Those who are finished can have the last few minutes to themselves. When we have about
5 minutes left and we come back together as a class, I will ask for a thumbs up, down, or to the side on how
they felt about the content. This will be time for students to tell me what they are still confused about, or
things that they understand well. I can use this as a formative assessment to see if they need more time to
complete the worksheet, or if we are ready to move on to the next topic.
Once the bell rings they are free to leave.

Bellringer: 5 minutes
Notes: 10-15 minutes
Activity: 25-30 minutes
Discussion: Last 3-5 minutes
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7. Resources and Materials: List of materials used in planning and during the implementation of the
lesson

1. Smart TV
2. Google slides: Mrs. Warren Notes-Evolution by Natural Selection + Evidence.pptx - Google Slides
3. Guided notes with extra copies for students who lost theirs:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/16vYm1cdzL-5r17SMHY_Ewb-et6Pg_xyq/edit?
usp=sharing&ouid=115379646125499869300&rtpof=true&sd=true
4. Evidence of Evolution on Schoology with some printed out for students if needed.

8. Embedded Technology: Instructional and/or assistive technology incorporated into the lesson to
enhance instruction, student learning, and assessment.

I am offering the students the choice to either turn in a digital copy, or a physical one of the evidence of
evolution lab. This way the advantage of the read aloud programs are available to students, while those who
either prefer, or don’t have their laptops can participate without worry.
Other technology being used in this lesson includes the students’ laptops, smart board for notes, google slides,
and other websites that have interactive portions for students to complete. Those who don’t have their laptops
can share with other students during this time, and still be able to turn in the worksheet fully completed.

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9. Differentiation/Accommodations/Modifications/Increase in Rigor: To help meet
the needs of all learners, learning differences, cultural and language differences, etc.
 How are you embedding Universal Design for Learning principles within the lesson?
 What specific accommodations are you providing for individual learners and how are
these being provided?
 How are you modifying the outcome, process, or product for individual learners?
Universal Design for Learning Principles:
 Engagement (why): Using this WebQuest activity increases deeper thinking and
active relevance in finding evidence for evolution. It pulls real examples on how
scientists use this information to add value and authenticity to their findings,

 Representation (what): This worksheet promotes the use of background knowledge

as well as newly learned content to highlight patterns and relationships shared between
evolution and natural selection. This is then illustrated through the media of online
sources and various avtivities within the worksheet to help ground the new knowledge
into better content absorption from the students.

 Action and Expression (How): Giving students a choice on submission type gives
them the responsibility for their learning, as well as gives support to planning and
strategy development. Using different web information also allows for better
navigation through information and optimizes assistive technologies for students if the
need arises.

10. Classroom Management: Strategies consistent with the learning needs of the lesson
that also meet student behavior needs to help keep learners on task and actively engaged
 How will you review classroom rules and procedures?
 What specific procedures will be in place to ensure smooth transitions between lesson
activities?
 How will you provide reinforcement or acknowledgment to the whole group or individual
learners for appropriate behavior?
 How are you using individualized behavior supports for individual learners?

To maintain my expectations set up at the beginning of the semester, I will be walking around
the room to make sure that everyone is working and not on their phones the entire time. I will
also be motivating them and providing feedback to students as they answer the questions
through the worksheet. If the noise level gets to loud, I will remind the students to lower their
voices to a more appropriate level.

As far as general classroom management there are expectations that were discussed at the
beginning of the year that pertain to all forms of lecture and activities, they are as follows;
 To use the bathroom, you must ask permission to go.
 Cellphones are to be either face down on your desk, or in your bag put away.
 Food and drink are not allowed in the lab but can be eaten at your tables.
 Ear buds cannot be played while in lecture.
 Students are not allowed in the lab at any time. Failure to follow this rule will require
detention and a write-up.

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  Once students are completed with their work and if time allows, students may use their
phones as a reward.

11. Supplementary Activities: Activities for early finishers or if the lesson is completed
early that extend learners' understanding of and thinking about the lesson objectives by
applying their new knowledge in a different way

If students are finished with their work, I will look over their submissions to make
sure everything is completed and answered correctly. If not, I can un-submit work
and request a re-write from the student for better quality. This can also work as a
scaffolding method for students as well by enforcing a deeper understanding of the
content though smaller portions of information.
Depending on the amount of time left over for the class, students can look at their
past work and complete anything missing, or they can work on their study guides
available to them on Schoology.
For those who are interested in specified area, I have available content for
exploration as well.

12. Lesson Evaluation and Reflection

1. To what extent did the learners meet the lesson objectives?
2. In what ways did you provide feedback to learners?
3. Which activities or strategies did you find the most effective in the lesson?
4. What adjustments will you make in future lessons?
5. How will you build on today's learning in your next lesson?

1. All the students participated in going over the beak lab. They were engaged and
wanted to get answers correct and were forthcoming on what they didn’t understand.
As we move into the note portion of the lesson, each student participate in completing
the short section of their guided notes. Once finished with that, most students
completed the worksheet before class was over, but I will be allowing students to work
on it for the first 10 minutes of class next time.
2. I provided feedback to the students by praising them for participating in the note’s
discussion, as well as guiding them through the worksheet when needed. I was also
able to give them feedback at the end of the lesson during our discussion on what
things were difficult to understand.
3. For this activity I found that going through short sections of notes to introduce a topic,
then going right into an activity kept the information fresh in their minds and therefore
was easier for the students to recall content.
4. For future lessons I will make this simply individual work. I allowed students to work
in pairs, but this quickly turned into small groups. As I was walking around the room, I
noticed many students were sharing wrong answers and corrections needed to be made.
5. This lesson covers all the topics we have talked about so far in our unit. What comes
next is the study stations lab which repeats content again for retention. This helps them
to memorize relationships and better connect natural selections to evolution.

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Additional Information
Any area or lesson component that may not have been covered by this format that you think
is vital to include in this lesson

Evidence of Evolution Stations

In each station below, you will explore different pieces of evidence that we have to support the idea of
evolution. Evolution, remember, simply means a change in the gene pool over time. Look for shared
characteristics/structure of different species and descent with modification (over time while some structures
remain the same, others change to accommodate new environmental pressures). We will start at the
biochemical level and get larger in scale from there.

In the 1970’s scientists Fitch and Margolaish worked on the assumption that more closely the DNA sequences
resembled each other, the more closely the species were related to the more recent was their common
ancestor.

1. Complete the following Hypothesis stating which organism you predict to be least like the others.
a. If DNA sequences are compared between tuna, moth, dog and wheat, then the
________________will be least similar to the others

2. Why did you choose this organism?

Station 1: Biochemical (DNA and Protein)

Look at the sequences of DNA below. Compare the DNA sequences for a particular gene
among the different organisms. The more similar the sequence of these bases, more genetic
similarities an organism is to another organism.

1. Count the similarities and differences between each set of organisms and record in the
table below.

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 Organisms # of Similarities # of Differences

Dog and Moth

Dog and Tuna

Wheat and Tuna

Moth and Tuna

Dog and Wheat

Moth and Wheat

2. Based on your analysis of the DNA sequences, which two organisms are most closely
related? Why?

3. Using online research, what are ways in which mutations occur? (Include 3)

Click the link: Creating Family Trees from DNA sequences. Click Launch Interactive
click through slides 5-14. Then consider the question

below.
4. Using the DNA alignment at the right, determine with which Ape species humans are the most
closely related. Look up how much shared DNA exists between the two species and note
below.

Adapted from: Learning about Human Health from Other Organisms (scienceeducation.nih.gov)

Station 2: Cells

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Look at the following prepared slides and answer the following questions based on your
observations.

1. Label the cells below as either bacterial (prokaryotic), plant or animal.

2. What structures all these three types of cells have in common? Why do those similarities make
sense?

3. What structures vary between all three types of organisms. Why do these variations make
sense (explain at least 1 variation for each cell type).

4. How does this station show both commonality and descent with modification?

Station 3: Embryos

Background Information:

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All vertebrate embryos (animals with a backbone) follow a common developmental plan due to
having a set of genes that gives the same instructions for development. You will see this theme
again at the DNA/Protein sequence station. As each organism grows, it diverges according to its
species way of life.
Part II:
Watch the video provided below.
Embryo Video: https://youtu.be/xrEp_yMtbts

1. While watching the videos, take note of common features in development that humans
share with other vertebrates. Write down at least 4 examples.

2. Why does the embryonic development of most vertebrates follow similar paths,
especially early on? (What do all vertebrate animals share that drives development?)

Part III:
3. For each structure listed below, find it in each species on the diagram to the right. Below,
explain what happens to that structure during embryonic development in humans. Does it

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 disappear? Does it develop into something in particular?

 Gill Slits:
 Tail:
 Limb buds:

4. How does this station have both traits and descent with modification?

Station 4: Comparing Structures

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1. Look at the images below of a selection of animals – focusing on the bones of the arm

and hand write down what you notice.

2. How are the arm/hand bones above an example of “homologous structures”? Define the
word in your answer?

3. To the right is a picture of analogous structures. Try to predict what analogous structures
are. Confirm by researching and writing down a

definition.

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 Station 4: Fossils

1. Fossil evidence and the dating of those fossils suggests that life began in the seas and over
millions and millions of years, living things evolved to life on land. Thinking about how aquatic
life varies from terrestrial life, what features would have had to evolve to live life on land?

2. Darwin predicted we would one day find transitional fossils, what do you think those are?

Head to https://www.biointeractive.org/classroom-resources/exploring-transitional-fossils to
view the evolution of water to land animals.. Click the blue box titled “Launch Interactive”.

Under the Introductions tab, read the “Origins of Tetrapods”:

Click the “x” in the upper right corner to close out Introductions and open up Key
Concepts. Press to Begin and click each fossil to see what characteristics it contains.

3. What characteristics were conserved from fish to tetrapod (four legged creature)? What
characteristics were lost? Gained?
 Conserved:
 Lost:
 Gained:

4. What other major animal transition occurred in the past? What might that transitional
animal look like?

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 5. Fossil evidence supports geologic theory that the continents were once in much closer
proximity in a landmass called Pangea. How does fossil evidence support this theory?

As you all probably know, each land mass today supports a wide variety of life. Using the
diagram on the below, explain why speciation (the development of new species over time) likely
occurred in this scenario. Consider how this might have occurred on a larger scale when Pangea

broke apart.

6. How do fossils support the theory of evolution?

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