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ESC Science Kit Rental: Zoom into Microbiology Kit (6-8)

This guide is used to apply for a ESC science laboratory kit.

Zoom into Microbiology Background Information

The study of life is much more than what meets the eye. Throughout history, scientists have tried to discover this unseen world. From early inventions such as lenses in tubes through the advancement of the modern day microscope, scientists have used the field of microscopy to discover what cannot be seen otherwise. Studying the microcosm hidden all around us unveils expressions in the natural world. In microbiology, scientists look at parts of a cell, how cells interact and what they can tell us about our own development. Microbiology looks at everyday aspects of our lives such as food, clothing, shelter and a hygienic lifestyle.  Microscopy also helps us learn about diseases and to develop strategies to repair our bodies through cell research. Microscopes vary from the simple to the complex allowing users to view microorganisms, protists, cells, and things on the nano scale!

Differentiation

In the Connect and Wonder stage of the pre-activity, students can write or draw their responses on their graphic organizer. The graphic organizers are also available in Word format allowing teachers to modify the assessments to meet the individual needs of their students. Teachers may differentiate the instructional tasks for students using the various Duet Text options to compare and contrast video, texts, or video and text. The post-activity was developed to allow students a great amount of variety in choosing and presenting a research topic within the field of ecology. 

Inquiry

Inquiry is a fundamental building block of teaching and learning that empowers students to follow their sense of wonder into new discoveries and insights about the way the world works. The empowered learner calls upon information and inquiry skills to connect with what he or she knows, ask intriguing questions about what is not known, investigate answers, construct new understandings, and to share those understandings with others. Students need to use the skills of inquiry to learn.

The Zoom into Microbiology unit has been developed using the framework and skills culled from the Stripling Model of Inquiry and the Empire State Information Fluency Continuum. This framework encourages active learning and the formation of new understandings. Zoom into Microbiology pre-activity is based within the Connect and Wonder stages of the Stripling Model. Students will have an opportunity to connect with prior knowledge and gain context.  In Wonder, students will now have the language and background knowledge to develop good questions, formulate hypotheses, and make predictions. Your field trip to the Genovesi Environmental Study Center is in the Investigate stage. When you return to your school, the post-activity is based within the Construct, Express, and Reflect stages. Inquiry is cyclical.  It is okay to revisit a stage of the Stripling Model as additional questions are formulated, hypotheses are fine-tuned and students develop their desires to independently explore related topics. 

Stripling, Barbara K. "Inquiry-based Learning." In Curriculum Connections through the Library, edited by Barbara K. Stripling and Sandra Hughes-Hassell, 3-39. Libraries Unlimited, 2003.

 

 

Teaching with Text Sets

What is Teaching with Text Sets? 

Teaching with Trade Books

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Uncommon Corps

Duet Model

Throughout the unit, the use of text sets is presented as a model of integrating science and literacy. Text Sets can be used to organize the learning process by grouping texts including but not limited to fiction and nonfiction books, eBooks, journal and newspaper articles, audio and video files, and images. They can be multi-modal and multi-genre. Students can gain knowledge on a topic or variety of topics using Text Sets by pairing two texts to initiate the process of comparing and contrasting the texts. In the pre-activity, the Duet Model is used

Solar System Model Text Set:

In the Solar System Model, the “sun” or center represents the content, theme or genre to be examined. Each of the “planets” in the solar system represents a particular text.  In this model, students are asked to examine 3 or more texts in relationship to each other.  They gain a larger sense of content knowledge by comparing and contrasting the materials in each of the “planet” texts.