Science Unit Plan

I got very into this lesson plan because I saw some interesting topics that I have not seen in years. I really liked the fact that biology was my first major in college so I had to revisit some topics I wanted to include in my unit and lesson plan. Another interesting aspect of biology is that I found some interesting topics that connect literacy with not only biology but culture, family, and traits. A topic I picked to connect Biology to literacy was on a web site that discussed the affects of alcohol on Indians. In the PDF document it stated some misconceptions about the affects of alcohol on Indians. It says that there is no evidence that any particular race genes are susceptible to alcohol. Meaning that we are all equally susceptible to the affects of alcohol no mater what color. I think that this a fine example of critical reading in biology because the students can explore outside of the classroom things that are real and covers what is important about issues and concerns of students. Content is important but ethical concerns must be covered as well so students can widen their perspective and scope of the learning process. The learning process should include reality, morals, and civil rights. Other issues that covers biology are AIDS research and genetic engineering. Teachers in Science can connect mountains of topics dealing with or connecting biology to critical reading skills. Science can in addition to this use multiply teaching strategies because science is all around us- space, the environment- oceans and lands, etc. I think that cloning is a major concern, so I included it in a lesson where students are to answer questions about ethics when science can or seems to overstep it boundaries. The teacher directs the students to answer questions in the first person so that their responses is natural and flows. Improved cognitive development can result if critical literacy and content are connected because the students will remember things that interest them most. I feel that for students success in school we must re-address what we are teaching to match how we test them- there is a gap between student's success verses students'assessment criteria. Critical reading text along with content knowledge can bridge the gap because students are already engaged in issues and concerns of society; and schools using these concerns of students to cover content is important.