Curriculum Unit

Kyle Sommers
March 23, 2010

PLANT BIOLOGY

Context:

Program Particulars and Student Characteristics:

Park Center Senior High School is an International Baccalaureate school and a Global Studies

Magnet School. The class this unit is designed for is called ELL Biology Prep. It consists of 7 Liberian

students, 2 Mexican, 1 Somali, 1 Ghanan, 2 Hmong and 1 Chinese student. This is a level 3 class, out

of a school wide total of 5 levels. They are all between 16 and 20 years old and are in grades 10-12.

What can students do:

Students are adept at writing full sentences in English about the content being studied. They

can look up information in textbooks, answer content questions and make predictions and inferences

based on scientific fundamentals. They need time to read texts though, and the more repetition there is,

the better, both in terms of information presentation and in giving instructions. This class moves

'slowly' meaning it might take a couple of days for one lesson to be introduced and processed. There is

a lot of reading and a lot of hands on examples.

Rationale:

My cooperating teacher teaches an ELL biology prep course that newer students to PCSHS

usually take before mainstream biology. They must pass this course to continue on with other sciences.

I chose this topic because I could not deviate from the sequence of prescribed lessons; plants were

simply next on the agenda. The school has other ESL content teachers (one for Social Studies and

possible one for Chemistry soon). My cooperating teacher also teaches biology collaboratively with a

mainstream teacher, doing mainly language support with some classroom teaching. The tasks for these
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Kyle Sommers
March 23, 2010

lessons incorporate all modalities at different points and they align closely with CAPRII tenets. How

they do will be explained in the reflection. I think that the activities I developed for this unit will be

engaging because plants relate directly to human life. I think that my motivation to teach it will be

palpable to the students, making it all the more interesting. It turns out I love teaching ELL biology.

Who knew?

Desired Results
Unit Theme and Big Idea: Types of Life on Earth. How are plants different than another other living
things? How are they the same? What do they do for the environment and how do they fit into the
larger world?

Key Content Concepts: Plant Biology, Physiology, Life Cycles, Reproduction, Types of Plants, Plant
Structures and functions.

Targeted National and State Standards:

MN State Science Standards:

Life Science Standards addressed:

The student will classify, B2. The student will recognize This links to the last lesson in
compare and contrast the that organisms have both innate the sequence and will be
diversity of organisms on Earth and learned behavioral responses taught by a group of students
and their modes of to internal and external stimuli, to their peers as part of the
accommodating the including the tropic responses in summative assessment. It
requirements for life plants specifically regards tropic
reactions of plants
(phototropic, gravitropic)
Days 8-9-10

The student will understand that
organisms have basic needs.
The student will recognize that
plants and animals have life
cycles.
The student will recognize that
F1. The student will know that This standard links to day 6
animals need air, water and food and is specific to student
and that plants require air, water,learning about photosynthesis.
nutrients and light It also links to the lesson about
leaves.
B1. The student will describe This links to the flower lesson.
life cycles of plants and animals. Students will be describing the
reproductive parts of plants.
These include stamens, pistils,
ovaries and seeds.
B1. The student will describe the These standards also link to
Curriculum Unit
Kyle Sommers
March 23, 2010
plants and animals have
different structures that serve
various functions
The student will understand how
the flow of energy and the
recycling of matter contribute to
a stable ecosystem.
MN ELP Standards:
Standard 1.2: The student will
understand spoken English to
participate in academic (formal)
contexts. Student will be able to:
(Advanced Strand)
Standard 2.2: The student will
produce spoken English to
participate in academic (formal)
contexts. Student will be able to:
(Advanced Strand)
Standard 3.2: The student will
understand written English to
participate in academic (formal)
contexts. Student will be able to:
(Advanced Strand)
structures that serve different
functions in growth, survival and
reproduction for plants and
animals.
B2. The student will know that
plants have different structures
from animals that serve the same
necessary functions in growth,
survival and reproduction.
F1. The student will know that
plants use the energy in light to
make sugars out of carbon
dioxide and water.
-understand main idea and
supporting details of academic
content
-perform most uncomplicated
classroom tasks when prompted
-understand many questions and
commands
-infer some implied meanings
-understand target vocabulary in
extended discourse
-give simple oral reports
-produce strings of sentences
speak with sufficient accuracy
-errors rarely impede
comprehension for listeners
accustomed to language learners
-use sufficient vocabulary to get
ideas across
-use general and some specific
target vocabulary in classroom
activities
- understand simplified content-
area texts
- identify topic and main idea of
simplified content-area texts
-list main points from simplified
content-area texts
the flower lesson, and to the
leaves lesson (lessons 2,3,4,5
and 7)
Lesson 6 Photosynthesis
All lessons incorporate this
standard. The students will be
doing a lot of content reading
with their partners and it will
be important for them to
understand the vocabulary
and to make inferences.
The students will be speaking
throughout their readings to
discuss comprehension
questions in their textbooks.
They will also have to explain
their Venn diagrams, their
plant drawings and their final
presentations.
The students will have to be
able to read their cloze
exercises and be able to
comprehend the huge amount
of vocabulary thrown at them.
They will also have to
Curriculum Unit
Kyle Sommers
March 23, 2010

-obtain information from understand each other’s

websites. Power Point presentations.

Standard 4.2: The student will
produce written English
appropriately to participate in
academic (formal) contexts.
Student will be able to:
(Advanced Strand)
-write about familiar content-
area topics in guided tasks
-edit own work for grammar,
mechanics, and spelling, with
guidance
-convey a main idea
-organize ideas logically
-write sentences in standard
word order
-use target/specific vocabulary
The students will have to
produce written and oral
presentations to the class.
These will have to be edited
and revised and pertain to a
specific section of the textbook.
All words must be spelled
correctly and all target
vocabulary from their
assigned section needs to be
included.

Unit-Level Goals:

Students will understand that plants are essential part of an ecosystem and that their evolution

directly contributed to human evolution.

Students will know and describe the process of photosynthesis.

Students will describe the functions of all plant parts.

Students will produce an oral and visual presentation in groups about plant related topics. This

is the assessment at the end of the unit.

Students will make comparisons between how plants get food and how humans get food.

Students will be able to label parts of various types of plants from diagram hand outs or hand

drawn models. (Tracheophytes, Bryophytes, Angiosperms, Gymnosperms, Trees, Flowers, Fruits,

Cones, Roots, Stems, Leaves, male and female reproductive organs).

Evidence:

Unit Level Summative Performance Assessment Task:

Students will create Power Point presentations (in groups) to present to class from an approved list of
Curriculum Unit
Kyle Sommers
March 23, 2010

topics that I will give them towards the end of the unit. They will study and create these presentations

on the final days of the unit. They must include all key terms from their text book, 3 informational

sentences (not bold face key terms) and at least 3 pictures that directly relate to their topic. They will

be graded on grammar, spelling, and use of technical vocabulary and pronunciation. Groups will have

three students but there will be a group with 2 members. There will be a great amount of scaffolding

for the project. There will be an emphasis in the lessons on not just focusing on key terms, but taking

something away from the reading other than vocabulary. All lessons last fifty minutes unless otherwise

noted.

Part 2: Lesson Plans and Instructional Activities.

There will be a journal question (sometimes referred to as ‘bell work’ in this overview) at the

start of every class lesson. This journal question generally focuses the students on the task at hand for

the day and is a good review of the previous day's lesson. These journals will be collected at the end of

the unit and assessed for completion and thought (i.e. you cannot just write down what we say when we

talk about our answer for the journal question). They must include original thoughts.

Much of the student's information comes from their Life Sciences textbook and they will be

using it daily with supplemental activities designed by me, the teacher. Some days will focus on

reading, writing and speaking about the information directly from the textbook. The new vocabulary

are called ‘key terms’ throughout the unit.The content and language objectives are projected on the

board after the journal is completed. All objectives here will be read by the actual class. For closure at

the end of the lesson, the objectives are projected again and summarized by the whole class.
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Kyle Sommers
March 23, 2010

Day One: Start of Plant Unit

Objectives: Students will
Content: Learn the differences between the two main types of plants (bryophytes and tracheophytes)
Language: Students will use content vocabulary (vascular, nonvascular, roots etc) to answer
comprehension questions at the end of this section of the chapter
Plant Classification
Bell work: Students will be presented with this journal question ‘What is your favorite plant? Have you
ever planted anything before?’ This will be discussed in a large group setting with students being
called upon to supply answers. Reading aloud from book and looking at examples of Tracheophytes
and Bryophytes. Students will work with partners to read the section of the book describing the two
main types of plants. At the end of each set of paragraphs is a comprehension question that students
will ask one another. I will be walking around the room, fielding questions and making informal
assessments of students’ progress. At the end of the reading phase, students will participate in an
activity using the wireless keyboard and mouse whereby they must place key terms from the section
into a correct column. This will be facilitated by student assistance. (Print out of terms included)

Day 2 Gymnosperms (Hands on with pine cones)

Objectives: Students will
Content: understand that gymnosperms are plants that have uncovered seeds
Have a hands-on experience looking at a pinecone.
Language: Use content specific terminology (gymnosperm, seed, conifer, cycad, gingko, evergreen) to
describe and define different types of plants and trees. (Gymnosperms are________, If a plant is
evergreen that means________)
Bell work: Explain the differences between bryophytes and tracheophytes.
This lesson starts out like most others, with a bell work question. After the students have completed
and discussed this question, the talk turns to the key terms that we will need to complete this phase of
the unit. The teacher goes to the board and instructs students to take out their notebooks, their
textbooks and a pencil. The teacher writes the name of the lesson on the board ‘What are
Gymnosperms’ and instructs the class to repeat this word, then calling on some students at random to
practice it. I ask a student to read the first key term and define it. I write the definition on the board,
reading each word as the students write it in their notebooks. I continue with the other words while the
students copy them down, making a connection between sound and written forms. After this, students
partner up and read the section to themselves. I float about the room, answering questions and helping
students with difficult terms. If there is a particular term I had not anticipated giving the students pause,
I write it on the board, define it, and make sure everyone gets it. After all students have read through
the section, they will be presented with a pinecone, to get a hands-on visual of an actual gymnosperm.
This pinecone is used to illustrate the fact that gymnosperm’s seeds are unlike the main other type of
tracheophyte: the angiosperms, which will be learned about tomorrow.

Day 3 Angiosperms (Venn diagram about monocots and dicots.)

Objectives: Students will
Content: Identify aspects particular to angiosperms
Use Venn diagrams as a tool for comparison
Language: Provide comparisons between monocots and dicots using a Venn diagram (provided)
Utilize vocabulary particular to angiosperms (cotyledon, monocot, dicot, parallel, branched,
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Kyle Sommers
March 23, 2010

petals) to complete and describe the Venn diagram (A monocot has 1 cotelydon and a dicot has 2
cotelydons)
Journal question: When and why would a student use a Venn diagram?
Activities
The bell work question is posed to inform the teacher as to how much the student know about Venn
diagrams. If it is a goodly amount, then less explanation will be needed when the formative assessment
comes at the end of class. If the teacher needs to address what it is in more detail, there will be time for
that, too. The key terms are worked through, with the teacher modeling how each is pronounced and
how to write their definitions, with students repeating each word after it is written on the blackboard.
Students begin again reading with their partners (self selected) After student get through the section, the
teacher models what they are looking for in the assessment. A Venn diagram is drawn on the
blackboard with two subjects selected by the students (teacher/student, fish/pig,etc.) The teacher goes
through the process of filling in the diagram. Then the students are handed a sheet and informed they
must fill this one out for monocots and dicots. Students will be assessed on the completion of their
Venn diagram.

Day 4 Plant structure overview: roots and stems (hands on experiment with vascular system)
Detailed lesson plan
Desired Results:
Objectives: Students will
Content: Know the structures and functions of roots and stems
Perform an experiment using celery stalks about the vascular system
Understand the differences between contrasting plant systems
Language: read and discuss the new vocabulary of this section (fibrous, taproot, root hair, root cap,
herbaceous stem, woody stem, xylem, phloem.)
Compare and contrast different plant systems using comparative language (The xylem is
different than the phloem because_______, Herbaceous and woody stems are similar because_______)
Using their knowledge of plant function vocabulary make predictions about what happens when
you put a celery stalk in colored water. (I predict _____will happen when you put celery in colored
water because______)

Learning Experiences/Instruction
Materials Needed
Textbook, paper, pencil, computer, projector, celery stalks, food coloring, glasses filled with water,
black board, chalk
Time Frame
Class time is 50 minutes
Learning Activites/Tasks
Preview Phase
There is no journal question today, as we have a lot to cover. Students will just jump right in
with their writing and pronunciation of key terms. The teacher models this on the board (writing the
word and its definition and saying it as a complete sentence) and asks a student to do it for the next
word until all words are defined. The teacher, during the writing, will make informal checks to see that
all students are trying for correct pronunciation. The teacher will have the students repeat the words if
they are not even close to trying to pronounce them adequately. 10 minutes
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Kyle Sommers
March 23, 2010

Focused Learning Phase

The students then jump into the reading of the section (this is a long one). The teacher walks
around the room, answering questions of pronunciation or content area questions. If so needed, the
teacher corrects student pronunciation or asks them to try a particularly difficult word again. The
students must answer the comprehension questions at the end of the section to turn in for credit. These
must be complete sentences and not just filled in answers (these questions are fill in the blank). 30
minutes
Expansion Phase
During this phase, students are given the opportunity to make predictions about what will
happen when you put a celery stalk in colored water. They will be presented with this question on the
blackboard, asked to write it down in their notebooks below their journals, and asked: ‘So we just
learned how plants move water up and down their stems and roots. Knowing this, write down what
you think will happen when you put celery stalks in colored water. We are going to make predictions. A
prediction is another word for a guess. But we have lots of information, so it should be a good guess.
Write ‘I predict that ______will happen when you put celery in colored water because_______’
(Teacher writes this on the board). You can’t just write what you think will happen. You also need a
reason. Tell me what you think. I am going to give each of you a cup of water, some food coloring and
a stalk of celery. Put 15 drops of food coloring in the water, then put in the celery. We will come back
tomorrow and look to see what happens when you put celery in colored water.’ The students bring their
cups to the front of the class. 10 minutes
Evidence
To assess students for this lesson, the teacher makes comprehension checks during the
predictive part of the Expansion Phase, walking around the room checking students’ work for clarity
and proper predictive forms. The teacher will take the time to coach those students who aren’t quite
ready to make predictions by asking questions of the reading, and seeing what they already know about
plant structures. The students will also hand in the answered questions at the end of the section.

Day 5 Leaves/Introduction of Project/Deeper reading Strategies.

Objectives: Students will
Content: Receive learning strategies to help them move beyond reading just the key terms in a text
Identify the form and functions of leaves on plants.
Language: Define various parts of plants using key terms from the textbook (Mesophyll is ______. The
stomata are_____)
Practice the pronunciation of new vocabulary (blade, vein, epidermis, stoma, mesophyll,
compound leaf, simple leaf)
Support their beliefs in the importance of a particular passage to the whole of the lesson using
opinion forms and vocabulary (I feel this is important to remember because___________)’
Learning Strategies: Determining Importance, read alouds
Activities
Bell work: What are the differences between herbaceous and woody stems?
Today students will get a taste of what is expected of them for their upcoming project. A strategy for
finding deeper, more meaningful information from a text will be modeled for them to copy for their
projects. The day begins like any other after the bell work: we define and pronounce the key terms but
instead of reading in pairs today, we are going to be reading the section as a whole group, with special
emphasis on finding importance in text. The teacher begins by reading the first paragraph, going slowly
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Kyle Sommers
March 23, 2010

and clearly through the text. The teacher makes sure everyone is following along, as someone will be
called on next to read the next paragraph. The teacher stops at all the bold words in the text, making
sure each student can pronounce them without great difficulty. When the teacher comes to a
meaningful passage that has no bold faced words in it, they stop and consider what this means. The
sentence in question is ‘Veins and stalks also support the leaf blade.’ The teacher asks ‘Why is this
important? It gives us a better picture of what the functions of plant parts ARE. If we know how all of
these things fit together, it is easier for us to describe and define the parts of plants. This is something I
want you to work on for your project, which is due at the end of the unit. I do not want you to just list
words and their definitions, but to look at the other information in the book and see how it all fits
together. Is there anything else in this paragraph you think is important to know? Let’s have someone
else read the next paragraph and see if we can find more important information than just the key terms.
Who would like to read next?’ The reading continues with a new student reading each sub-section and
the whole class giving their opinions as to why they think it is important to know. By modeling this
way, the teacher builds the students background knowledge for reading and learning strategies. The
lesson ends with a review of learning strategies

Day 6 Photosynthesis (cloze exercise with plant video)

Detailed lesson plan:
Lesson Topic: Photosynthesis or how do plants make food? How is this the same or different for
human beings?
Learning Objectives: Students will
Content:
Understand that, in order for them to survive, plants require sunlight, nutrients, water and
carbon dioxide.
Culture: understand aspects of the history of biological inquiry
Language: Complete a cloze test while watching a video about the basic history of plant science, using
a prepared worksheet with vocabulary written on the top.
Describe the steps/process of photosynthesis using key vocabulary from this section
(chloroplasts, chlorophyll, oxygen, carbon dioxide) to complete the phrase 'Photosynthesis
is__________. Its steps are_____'
Practice pronunciation of the key terms autotroph, photosynthesis, chlorophyll, chloroplast,
heterotrophy, carbon dioxide and oxygen as they pertain to the process of energy production in plants.
Learning Strategies:
Cloze exercise, Read Alouds, Comprehension Checks.
Learning Experiences and Instruction:
Materials Needed: Computer with internet access and speakers, Screen and projector, cloze worksheets,
pencils, paper, biology textbooks.
Time Frame:
50 minute class period
Learning Activities/Tasks
Preview Phase
Bell Work: students come into class and get out their journals and a pencil. A question is posed on the
board that is intended to activate the prior knowledge of the students to get them prepared for the day’s
work. The question on this day is “Explain what happened with the celery stalk last week. What do the
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Kyle Sommers
March 23, 2010

Xylem and the Phloem do? Write three sentences.” 10 minutes

Focused Learning Phase

After the journal question is discussed, the teacher tells the students that they will be doing something a
little different today. Instead of reading and speaking practice from the book, students will be
practicing writing and listening in the form a cloze exercise. Students will receive a worksheet with 6
sentences and eight blanks. The video can be found at
http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/tdc02_vid_photosynth/
The video is about three minutes long, but plan on showing it three times for full student
comprehension. This video explains a bit about the history of biological inquiry and how people
discovered that plants do not eat soil to survive. After the successful completion of the exercise the
teacher goes through each question, one by one, and asks one student to read each. On the board, the
teacher produces the ‘equation’ for photosynthesis that students need to know. 25minutes

Beyond Phase
When the exercise is completed and the answers are talked about, the teacher will go up to the
blackboard and draw two circles (a Venn diagram) as a class, the students and the teacher will
brainstorm the similarities and the differences in plant energy production and human energy
production. The teacher writes within each circle the students’ ideas and talks through each one,
making comprehension checks to make sure all students are on the same page. The teacher explains
that plants are ‘Autotrophs,’ and writes this on the board. Autotrophs make their own food. That is
what photosynthesis is for plants; food production. The teacher then explains that humans are
‘Heterotrophs’ and writes this word on the board. Heterotrophs are organisms that need to ingest food
from other sources (i.e. they cannot make food within themselves). After this is completed, the teacher
brings the students back to the learning goals of the day and asks if we have completed the learning
goals we set out to achieve. 15 minutes

Evidence
Students are assessed on their successful completion of the exercise and the effort it took for them to
finish it (i.e. they did not just copy from another student if they did not hear the answer). This will be
done with observations by the teacher during the video presentation. The students hand in the exercise
at the end of the video for proper recording of grades.

Day 7 Flowers (includes time for drawing and labeling flower diagrams)
Objectives: Students will
Content: learn about the reproductive parts of plants.
Draw a representation of a flower and label its parts.
Language: describe their drawings of flowers using relational prepositions (‘the stamen is
between the pistils’ ‘the petals are on the outside of the flower’)
Discuss why they think parts of flowers aid in plant reproduction using botanic terminology (I
think the petals do this for plant reproduction because________)

Activities:
Journal question: What is the ‘equation’ for photosynthesis?
Students will be presented with an open flower (supplied by the teacher). This flower will include
Curriculum Unit
Kyle Sommers
March 23, 2010

noticeable and quantifiable plant reproductive organs (Lilies, alstroemerias, tulips, etc) The students
will be given the task of drawing what they see in the flowers. They will be provided with colored
pencils and blank sheets of paper. After this drawing is complete, the students will read in their
textbooks with partners, answering comprehension questions. While they are reading aloud, they will
label the parts of the flower on their drawing. This drawing then becomes a diagram the students have
for a visual representation of flowers they produced themselves. At the end of the diagram session, the
teacher and students discuss what parts of the plant do what in aiding reproduction. The students
summarize their findings about plant reproduction by forming the sentence listed in the objectives. At
the close of class, the objectives for the day are read out loud and summarized for closure. The
assessment is the successful completion of their flower drawings, with all key terms from the section
included on their diagram, and also on their participation in the conversation at the end of class.

Day 8 Introduction of Project, modeling of Project tasks and work day

Objectives: Students will
Content: be introduced to and work on the final project for the unit.
Be able to determine the importance of passages in a text.
Language: read within their groups and discuss the main points they wish to include in their Power
Point presentations, using opinion phrases (I think we should include_____ because________)
Learn various key terms specific to their assigned section of the textbook and apply them in
novel sentences.

Rubric in Appendix

Journal question: Why are flowers important for flower reproduction?

After the discussion of the journal question, students will be introduced to the final project summative
project they are going to be graded on. This Power Point presentation will be a summation of
information in the remaining sections of the textbook (plant reproduction, seed form and function,
asexual reproduction and tropisms). Each student will be assigned a section with 2 other people. These
presentations must include: all key terms from the section, no less than three pictures (from the
internet) and 3 pieces of important information. The teacher models how the students should complete
this task. The students will need and will be provided computers from the lab at school. They can save
them on the school server for our particular class. Here are the steps in the process of creating the
presentations
1.) Determine the groups for the remaining sections of the chapter (there are five) Students can self
select, but there will be a group of 2. Hand out computers.
2.) Hand out and go over the rubric for the assignment. Go through it, describing exactly how the
students will be graded (clarity, grammar, content, pronunciation) Show on a projector in the
classroom just how you get into the PowerPoint program, where you go to start your
presentation, and how to modify your slides to make it more creative (if they are savvy enough,
students could just explore these aspects on their own). Show where students need to go on the
internet for pictures for their presentations, and how to determine if a picture is important
enough to put in. Make connections between the text in the books and the pictures on the
internet. Go through a sample presentation of material already covered. In this sample
(included on the school server) There are all aspects to get an A on the assignment.
3.) In the sample, show what is included that is NOT just key terms. Make sure students remember
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how to determine importance, and what we NEED to know.

4.) After the sample is shown students get into groups and read their assigned section. After it is
over, they work collectively on their projects, determining importance and giving their opinions
on what should be included.
5.) Each student will be required to read out loud information from the slide to the class.
6.) Students in the audience will be required to ask questions at least once for the presentations.
They don’t have to ask one for each, but for the whole thing. This will be counted during the
presentations as a participation grade.
The remainder of the class period is spent on student work in groups.

Day 9 Work Day

Objectives: Students will
Content: Continue work on their presentations with their groups.
Language: Ask questions (if any) of Mr. Sommers about their projects
Revise and edit their PowerPoints using spell checks and student/teacher conferences.
No Journal Today
This is just a continuation of yesterday’s tasks. Students will complete their presentations and be
given the opportunity to edit and revise them. The teacher spends the day reviewing with students and
checking that their presentations align with the rubric to include all relevant information.

Day 10 Presentations (Power Points turned in)

Objectives: Students will
Content: Present their PowerPoint to the class
Language: Describe and read their PowerPoints to the class.
Take notes on the key terms and important information presented by each group, if they are not
currently presenting.
Ask questions of the group present for clarity using questioning vocabulary (What
does_____mean? What did you say? Can you repeat that?)
No Journal Today
Today is the day of the assessment. Groups will volunteer to go up in any order to give their
presentations. Students will be reminded that they are not only being graded on content, but also on
vocabulary usage and pronunciation as per the rubric. Each group goes up, each member reads from
the slides, and the students in the audience write down the pertinent information in their notebooks,
right after their journal entries. Students have saved their projects on the school server.

Part 3: Reflections and Resources:

This is a perfectly timed lesson plan, for an ideal learning environment. My students in this
class are ostensibly at the same level, language wise, but I know some will get this more than others.
The implementation of this lesson plan was a day-to-day affair. I would see where we were at the end
of a particular less (specifically the stems and roots portions) and plan for another day of instruction
accordingly. So while I stuck to the general guidelines for the Unit, I stretched out the amount of time it
took to complete each section. This was the case for the actual completion of the presentations. A 2 day
assignment turned into a four day affair. Which was fine, as the final products were better for it.
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March 23, 2010

Meta-reflection
The main issue I encountered was this: how, with such a vocabulary rich content area, does one

write language objectives that are not just vocabulary related? How do you incorporate language

functions and forms when you have such a complicated set of terms and concepts? I think I’ve handled

it pretty well, though. I have incorporated language forms that use the vocabulary in authentic ways.

Comparing and contrasting are used in a variety of content areas. Speaking your mind and making

opinions are used as well, and making guesses as to the outcome of events will never go out of style.

By using these strategies as well as the vocabulary, I think I could set up these students pretty well for

other sorts of content-area explorations. Science, in particular, lends itself greatly to the combination

of language and content. “Science provides many opportunities for higher-level thinking through the

use of context-embedded oral language…creating ideal opportunities for both language and content

learning (Peregoy and Boyle, p.135).” I think nothing could be truer. Students are not only getting a

very specific set of concepts, but are getting the skills needed to express those concepts.

I envision a number of difficulties. Firstly, I know that some of my students will progress more

slowly than others for the duration of this unit. Though my school differentiates greatly, having five

levels of ELL instruction, it is clear that not all students are moving at the same speed or are motivated

by the same things. Some students just need more help than others. I experienced great joy at watching

these students construct their presentations. I could not believe how excited they were to be doing

something creative. It settled down the rowdiest student, and brought the quiet students out of their

silence.

CAPRII Integration

Contextualization: The students are learning the language of scientific inquiry. This is evident through

the comparisons they were making between monocots and dicots (day 3) and learning of plant energy
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Kyle Sommers
March 23, 2010

production through the cloze exercise on day 6. By connecting the way plants make food with how

humans get food, they are putting the language they are learning into a very specific context

Authenticity: The video used on day 6 was quite authentic; it was not for language learners, just

biology students. Its communicative intent was to illuminate a little bit of the history of scientific

thought and a little bit of the science behind plant survival. The students also produced works with a

communicative intent when they made their own presentations for the class.

Process: There was a great focus on form for this unit. It was so content rich that I knew I had to make

sure everyone was on the same page, whether it was to get a concept down or to ensure that every

student had was at least trying for correct pronunciation. I was trying to be aware of what they knew,

what they were acquiring, and what was very much new to them, and I think I gave them the time they

needed for language learning.

Reflection: The students engaged in reflective practice almost every day through their journals. I love

this concept. It engages background knowledge and focuses the students for the class at hand. It is also

a good way to measure how and what they are learning as we go through the unit. If I see a student has

totally missed the boat on where we were going with a subject, I can back track and get everyone on

board. So the journals are great for both of us in that regard.

Interaction: I think my language goals, my use of the comprehension checks in the textbooks and my

desire for student-centered work make it clear that I think interaction is paramount. Students are using

these new concepts and language forms. It is meaningful in that I try to connect it to the real world as

much as possible, through experiments, hands-on activities and prior experiences. I think if it had been

nicer outside, I would have liked to have something done outside, which would have been great.

Integration: All language modalities are represented in this Unit. Students talk and write with one

another, and they listen and read with one another at various points. Language and content are
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Kyle Sommers
March 23, 2010

intertwined very intricately when it comes to biology CBI lessons. You cannot get the content if you are

not practicing the language, and vice versa.

WHERETO

Where are we going? I think I designed this lesson such that, by the end, students really understood the

importance of plants on the world around them. I had a good sense of where we were headed.

Hook and hold: How could you not enjoy learning about plants? I feel that I am intrinsically motivated

to teach this stuff. I love the content. That comes through in my planning of the assignments and

lessons. I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I think I can be a pretty good hook for students. Teachers

should be enthusiastic about what they are presenting, and I hope that came through for me.

Reflective Practice: Students did this with their journals. I cannot stress enough how much I want to

incorporate this into my ESL content classroom. Journals, bell work, do nows, jump start, whatever

you want to call it. I love the reflection on previous work, and focus for today’s work it provides.

Tailoring: I think there was enough variety in the implementation of the lessons that all sorts of learners

got to feel creative and involved in the class. Kinesthetic, audio, visual, there was something for

everyone.
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Kyle Sommers
March 23, 2010

Professional Resources
Bernstein, Leonard. (2003). Concepts and challenges of life science. Globe Fearon Co.

Peregoy, Suzanne, & Boyle, Owen. (2008). Reading, writing and learning in esl. Allyn & Bacon.