MYP unit planner

Unit title

Genetics

Teacher(s)

L. Hickey

Subject and grade level

9th Grade Biology

Time frame and duration

Weeks 16-20

Stage 1: Integrate significant concept, area of

interaction and unit question
Area of interaction focus

Significant concept(s)

Which area of interaction will be our focus?

Why have we chosen this?

What are the big ideas? What do we want our

students to retain for years into the future?

Health and Social Education

Replication/Transcription/Translation of
DNA and being able to view mutations in
DNA via a family pedigree.

The AOI will help students dive into human

issues concerning the health of the
community and themselves.

MYP unit question

How do specific codes on DNA strands keep you alive and
why do they make you unique?

Assessment
What task(s) will allow students the opportunity to respond to the unit question?
What will constitute acceptable evidence of understanding? How will students show what they have understood?

DNA Double Helix Activity (Criterion B, C Formative)

Students will model the structure of a DNA molecule and demonstrates the variety that can be
generated by only using 4 bases.
DNA Structure and Replication, Lab Part 1 (Criterion B, C Formative)
Students will construct a model of a cell showing DNA replication. Students will cut and color
nucleotides, gluing them as a snapshot of replication. Analysis questions follow.
DNA Transcription and Replication, Lab Part 2 (Criterion B, C Formative)
Students will construct a model of a cell showing protein synthesis, transcription, and translation
occurring simultaneously. Analysis questions follow.
Berry Full of DNA (Criterion C, D, F Formative)
Students will investigate the properties of DNA in strawberry cells by separating molecules in a test
tube.
Crabtree Pedigree Worksheet (Criterion C, D Formative)
Students will complete several family pedigrees using recessive and dominant traits passed down
through generations such as haemophilia and color blindness.

Non-fictional Informational Text and Questions (Criterion A, B - Formative)

Students will answer questions based on a recent science article relevant to the unit. Questions
will have students identify main idea, supporting evidence, and relate the ideas to their own life.
Unit Exam (Criterion C - Summative)
Students will be responsible for demonstrating knowledge of a variety of scientific concepts and
content.
Which specific MYP objectives will be addressed during this unit?

A. One World
Give examples of science and scientific applications and discuss some of their positive and/or
negative effects on people, societies and the environment.
B. Communication In Science
Understand and use scientific language relevant to the units of work covered.
Provide scientific information using appropriate modes of communication.
C. Knowledge and Understanding of Science
Recognize and recall scientific information relevant to the units of work covered.
Explain and apply scientific information to solve problems in familiar and, with guidance, in
unfamiliar situations.
Which MYP assessment criteria will be used?

MYP Criteria A-D, F (All criteria will be assessed formatively or summatively)

Stage 2: Backward planning: from the assessment to the

learning activities through inquiry
Content
What knowledge and/or skills (from the course overview) are going to be used to enable the student to respond to the unit
question?
What (if any) state, provincial, district, or local standards/skills are to be addressed? How can they be unpacked to develop the
significant concept(s) for stage 1?

Unit Skills:
Analyze the structure of DNA.
Determine how the structure of DNA enables it to reproduce itself accurately.
Relate the concept of the gene to the sequence of nucleotides in protein synthesis.
Sequence the steps involved in protein synthesis.
Interpret a pedigree.
Identify human genetic disorders caused by inherited recessive alleles.
Predict how a human trait can be determined by a simple dominant allele.
Analyze the pattern of sex-linked inheritance.
Illinois State Standards:
12.11.21: Understand that, in all living things, DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid carries the instructions for
specifying the characteristics of each organism. Understand that DNA is a large polymer formed
from four subunit: A, G, C and T (adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine, a 5-carbon sugar and a
phosphate). The chemical and structural properties of DNA explain how the genetic information
that underlies heredity is both encoded in genes (as a string of molecular letters) and replicated (by
a templating mechanism). Know that each DNA molecule in a cell is a single chromosome.
12.11.22: Understand that a gene is a set of instructions in the DNA sequence of each organism that
specifies the sequence of amino acids in polypeptides characteristic of that organism.
12.11.23: Understand the general steps by which ribosomes synthesize proteins, using information
from mRNA and from amino acids delivered by tRNA.
12.11.24: Understand that specialization of cells in multicellular organisms is usually due to different

patterns of gene expression rather than to differences of the genes themselves.

Approaches to learning
How will this unit contribute to the overall development of subject-specific and general approaches to learning skills?

Collaboration: Working in Groups and Accepting Others

Students in all of the labs must delegate roles, take responsibility, and respect others points of view.
Organization: Time management
Students will use time effectively in class when they conduct their own procedures and data collection
for labs.
Communication: Literacy
Students will use reading strategies to identify main ideas and answer questions located in science
articles related to the content.
Information Literacy: Accessing information
Including research from a variety of sources using a range of technologies, identifying primary and
secondary sources.
Thinking: Applying knowledge and concepts
Including logical progression of arguments.
Planning including storyboarding and outlining a plan

Learning experiences
How will students know what is expected of them? Will
they see examples, rubrics, templates?
How will students acquire the knowledge and practise
the skills required? How will they practise applying
these?
Do the students have enough prior knowledge? How will
we know?

Expectations: Task-specific rubrics and prior

examples will be presented and discussed
before assignment is given.
Learning Experiences:
Building Blocks of DNA Foldable
organizes information in chapter,
including new vocabulary
DNA Double Helix Activity collect and
demonstrate in logical sequence
DNA Structure and Replication, Lab Part 1
construct and model DNA replication
in a cell
DNA Transcription and Translation, Lab
Part 2 construct and model DNA
transcription and translation in a cell
Berry full of DNA separate DNA from a
strawberry cell
Hidden Message Worksheet translate
mRNA strands into amino acids
Non-Fictional Informational Text, Science
Article

Teaching strategies
How will we use formative assessment to give students feedback
during the unit?
What different teaching methodologies will we employ?
How are we differentiating teaching and learning for all? How have
we made provision for those learning in a language other than their
mother tongue? How have we considered those with special
educational needs?

Structured Notes
Guided notes for students while teacher uses a
PowerPoint presentation. Allows for teacher to
extrapolate ideas and for students to focus on
big ideas rather than completed of notes.
DNA Double Helix Activity (Criterion B, C - Formative)
Structure of DNA is investigated in groups and
findings are presented to the class
DNA Labs Part 1 and 2 (Criterion B, C Formative)
In-depth construction of DNA processes in a cell.
Students can visualize the sequence of steps
while working with a partner.
Hidden Message Worksheet and Crabtree Pedigree
Worksheet (Formative)
Completed during class as teacher walks around to
assess student work individually. Based on
progress, a second review worksheet might be
needed.

Crabtree Pedigree Worksheet construct

a pedigree using familial genotypes

Resources
What resources are available to us?
How will our classroom environment, local environment and/or the community be used to facilitate students experiences during
the unit?

Science Folder (all students are provided with one)

Class set of Biology textbooks
Science department laptop cart
Variety of Non-fiction science articles from various magazines, including National Geographic.
Wall-mounted projector

Ongoing reflections and evaluation

In keeping an ongoing record, consider the following questions. There
are further stimulus questions at the end of the Planning for
teaching and learning section of MYP: From principles into
practice.
Students and teachers
What did we find compelling? Were our disciplinary knowledge/skills challenged in any way?
What inquiries arose during the learning? What, if any, extension activities arose?
How did we reflectboth on the unit and on our own learning?
Which attributes of the learner profile were encouraged through this unit? What opportunities were there for student-initiated
action?

Possible connections
How successful was the collaboration with other teachers within my subject group and from other subject groups?
What interdisciplinary understandings were or could be forged through collaboration with other subjects?

Assessment
Were students able to demonstrate their learning?
How did the assessment tasks allow students to demonstrate the learning objectives identified for this unit? How did I make
sure students were invited to achieve at all levels of the criteria descriptors?
Are we prepared for the next stage?

Data collection
How did we decide on the data to collect? Was it useful?

Figure 12
MYP unit planner