Examples

A child who is learning about basic math skills can use his or her knowledge when assigned to run a
lemonade stand. Now, he or she can use subtraction to return change to customers and can practice
the skill. Suddenly, math is more than numbers on a page.

Students who are studying geology can go on a trip analyzing various sediments and reporting about
their impact on the land. Biology students may be given the chance to go snorkeling and make a
presentation on the issues of overfishing.

There are any number of tasks that can be given to students to make class material useful, relevant
and interesting.

Basic Tenets
Let's look at the basic tenets of authentic learning activities:

1. Learning activities relate to the real world/real life

The most fundamental premise of authentic learning activities is that they are based outside the
classroom. The idea behind this is that material that is hand fed to the student via lectures and notes
can only go so far, but when students are given the chance to use what they have learned, and to
use it in a real life setting, they have the chance to personally own this material through practice.
They also get the chance to see the ideas they learned come to life and recognize why they are
important: because they are relevant to life.

For example, the study of flooding may not reveal to the student its degree of impact, but when
students take a trip to an area that has been flooded, they can see more clearly its results and why
its study and prevention is so crucial.

2. Tasks that are applicable and of interest to learners

Activities can only become more useful to students when the students have an interest in them.
Ideally, authentic learning activities are meant to match students up with projects that will both
complement and arouse their personal interest. For example, is there an issue in a student's
community that can use the concepts they are learning in class?

3. Students are encouraged to think critically, organize and evaluate data

Rather than being merely told information by the teacher, students are guided into doing much of
their own learning. While being given certain guidelines for activities, students have to figure out
other details in managing the project as it proceeds. They will be in charge of taking the steps
necessary to reach the end goal and then to assimilate and judge the results.

4. Students produce a product or share results with a real audience

Social Studies

Authentic assessment has also become a regular part of many social science teachers repertoire. History teachers
may assign groups to plan the founding of a moon colony, analyzing what would be necessary to make it succeed. A
Venn diagram comparing the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution is a simple way to determine how
well students truly understand the documents, while writing help wanted ads for members of the branches of
government allow assessment of both government concepts and writing skills. Geography students can show what
they know by creating travel brochures for the regions, states, or countries the class is studying. Older students can
show their understanding of both significant court cases and the judicial process by holding mock court to argue"
the Marbury vs. Madison or Brown vs. Board of Education cases.

VENN DIAGRAM: BATERIA & VIRUSES TASK #4 STANDARDS: 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 14 TASK: In

groups of three, students will use a larger model of the following diagram to
compare and contrast the characteristics of viruses and bacteria. They will be
analyzing the structures, methods of reproduction, methods of classification, and
protection against disease for each.

VIRUSES BOTH BACTERIA

Bacteria

Bacteria are one-celled organisms visible only with a microscope. They're so small that
if you lined up a thousand of them end to end, they could fit across the end of a pencil
eraser.

Not all bacteria are harmful, and some bacteria that live in your body are helpful. For
instance, Lactobacillus acidophilus a harmless bacterium that resides in your
intestines helps you digest food, destroys some disease-causing organisms and
provides nutrients.

Many disease-causing bacteria produce toxins powerful chemicals that damage cells
and make you ill. Bacteria cause diseases such as:

Strep throat

Tuberculosis

Urinary tract infection

Viruses

Viruses are much smaller than cells. In fact, viruses are basically just capsules that
contain genetic material. To reproduce, viruses invade cells in your body, hijacking the
machinery that makes cells work. Host cells are often eventually destroyed during this
process.
Viruses are responsible for causing numerous diseases, including:

AIDS

Common cold

Ebola hemorrhagic fever

Genital herpes

Influenza

Measles

Chickenpox and shingles

Antibiotics have no effect on viruses

Bacteria are single-celled organisms that reproduce by cell division, while virusesare not cells
and are incapable of reproducing on their own. Viruses must invade other cells and use the
cells' machinery to reproduce their own genetic material.

What are the differences between bacteria and viruses?

FULL ANSWER

Bacteria are prokaryotic cells; their DNA is not contained within a nucleus. Bacteria are
among the oldest life forms on Earth, with fossils dating back billions of years. Not all
bacteria are harmful, and most are not. Some bacteria are photosynthetic and are
responsible for contributing the majority of the Earth's oxygen. Other bacteria are
extremophiles and exist in habitats unsuitable to most other forms of life. Still other
bacteria are necessary to human survival and exist naturally in human digestive
systems. Among bacteria that are harmful, the Mayo Clinic points out diseases such as
tuberculosis, urinary tract infections and strep throat as having bacterial causes.

Viruses are much smaller than bacteria, and many scientists do not consider them to be
alive. Viruses are not cells; they exist as nothing more than DNA or RNA enclosed in a
protein coat. Viruses must inject their genetic material into host cells in order to
reproduce. This hijacks the machinery of the host cell, turning it into a virus-producing
factory. Unlike bacteria, nearly all viruses are harmful. The Mayo Clinic points to AIDS,
chickenpox and the common cold as examples of viral diseases.