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Race to the Double Helix


Author(s): Citlally Ramirez Date/Time Lesson to be taught: TBD Course Description: Advanced Placement Biology is a course offered at the high school level.
The purpose of the rigorous curriculum is for students to understand that living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information critical to life processes. Students have the opportunity to gain college credit upon the successful completion of the course and a passing score on the AP exam.

Name: AP Biology Grade Level: 12th Honors or Regular: Advanced Placement Lesson Source: AP Central College Board http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/cm-bio-from-gene-toprotein.pdf The Double Helix by James Watson Journal article by Watson and Crick: http://www.nature.com/nature/dna50/watsoncrick.pdf Concepts: Students will be expected to be able to correctly construct a molecule of DNA and use it to model the processes of replication, transcription, and translation. This product of the lesson will allow for students to describe important experiments that support the facts that DNA is the hereditary material. This lesson is an introduction to DNA structure and function. It is a critical foundation for subsequent material. Objectives: Students will be able to 1. 2. 3. 4. Communicate scientific opinions in cooperative learning groups. Study and evaluate scientific journal articles Describe the structure of DNA Evaluate the ethics in discovering the double helix.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills/ Standards: 3.A.1: DNA, and is some cases RNA, is the primary source of heritable information. 1. Both have three components sugar, phosphate and a nitrogenous base which form nucleotide units that are connected by covalent bounds to form nucleotide units that are connected by covalent bonds to form a linear molecule

2011 The University of Texas at Dallas

Classroom Interactions

5E Lesson Plan Template


with 3 and 5ends, with the nitrogenous bases perpendicular to the sugarphosphate backbone. Introduction (b) (1) (4) Science and social ethics. Scientific decision making is a way of answering questions about the natural world. Students should be able to distinguish between scientific decision-making methods and ethical and social decisions that involve the application of scientific information.

English Language Proficiency Standards (learning strategies, listening, speaking, reading or writing) (74.4 C.3) Cross-curricular second language acquisition/speaking. The ELL speaks in a variety of modes for a variety of purposes with an awareness of different language registers (formal/informal) using vocabulary with increasing fluency and accuracy in language arts and all content areas. ELLs may be at the beginning, intermediate, advanced, or advanced high stage of English language acquisition in speaking. In order for the ELL to meet grade-level learning expectations across the foundation and enrichment curriculum, all instruction delivered in English must be linguistically accommodated (communicated, sequenced, and scaffolded) commensurate with the student's level of English language proficiency. The student is expected to: (E) share information in cooperative learning interactions; (H) narrate, describe, and explain with increasing specificity and detail as more English is acquired. Materials List and Advanced Preparations: Students were assigned to read chapters 22, 23 and 29 from The Double Helix by James Watson Safety: No horse playing or running in the lab. No feeding the lab pets. Accommodations for Learners with Special Needs (ELL, Special Ed, 504, GT, etc.): Printed copies of the journal article will be provided. http://www.nature.com/nature/dna50/watsoncrick.pdf Students with hearing and vision difficulties will be seated at front of the classroom.

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ENGAGEMENT What the Teacher Will Do Good morning! Well, I hope you all enjoyed yesterdays reading assignment. Lets take a quick look at a lecture given by James Watson at a TEDTalk in 2005. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v =2HgL5OFip-0 What are your first impressions about Watson through the video? [Hes really smart and a little arrogant. He also seems a little socially awkward.] Watson seems to have an interesting personality. The video is a nice introduction to what we will be discussing in class: DNA structure. Watson and Crick were awarded the Nobel Prize after their discovery of the structure of the DNA. Probing/Eliciting Questions/Statements Time: 20 Minutes Student Responses and Misconceptions

The video will be played until minute 1:06

Students will be given the published article by Watson and Crick http://www.nature.com/nature/dna 50/watsoncrick.pdf After reading a couple chapters from of the chapter from The Double Helix, lets read the article that was actually written and published by Watson and Crick

(1) What was different from the model that Pauling proposed to that of Watson and Cricks?

[The placement of the sugar-phosphate] The key element of the model was the placement of

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the sugar-phosphate backbone in the center of the structure. Pauling proposed that hydrogen bonds held the strands together In order for those hydrogen bonds to form, the oxygen atoms that were part of the phosphate groups (above) would have to have hydrogen atoms bound to them. However, at any realistic cellular pH, those hydrogen atoms should have been dissociated, and the phosphate groups should have been negatively charged. ( http://www.brown.edu/Cour ses/BI0020_Miller/dh/guide .html) (2) What do you notice about the structure of the DNA propose? (3) What is said about the nucleotide bases? Double helix, two phosphate-sugar chains, directionality. They are paired: adenine (purine) with thymine (pyrimidine), and guanine (purine) with cytosine (pyrimidine). There is a 1:1 ratio.

(4) Do you think Rosalind Franklin received the recognition she deserved?

This will be purely student opinion. An explanation about why the epilogue was written will be mentioned (Watson was forced to write it.)

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(5) What statement hinted to their next steps in the journal article?

It has not escaped out notice that the specific pairing we have postulated

Well later explore why Watson and Crick thought that Paulings model was incorrect.

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EXPLORATION What the Teacher Will Do Just like Watson and Crick approached the task for DNA structure, we will explore the properties of the structure by building our own model. Students will be supplied with construction paper, markers, and scissors. With the information that you have been given, construct several (at least 24) DNA nucleotides Probing/Eliciting Questions/Statements Time: 20 Minutes Student Responses and Misconceptions Students will have several questions and discussion. My role will be facilitate the discussion while

Some guiding questions can be: (1) How can these molecules bind to one another? (2) What kinds of bonds are being formed?

[Through hydrogen bonds]

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EXPLANATION What the Teacher Will Do Students will be asked to share their model and explain their methods. Probing/Eliciting Questions/Statements These questions will vary on the model presented by the students. However some of the questions I anticipate to ask is: (1) How can these molecules bind to one another? Through H-bonds Time: 10 Student Responses and Misconceptions Students might not know this well. They might know they are hydrogen bonds

The following diagrams will be shown to the students:

What do you notice between the pyrimidines and purines?

Pyrimidines have 1 ring while the purines have 2 rings.

What is the direction of DNA?

Antiparallel

How many bonds are between G and C?

What kind of bonds are they?

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ELABORATION What the Teacher Will Do Based on the last few comments by Watson and Crick: It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material. Students will hypothesize their thoughts on replication in groups and share it as a class. Probing/Eliciting Questions/Statements What did you group hypothesize? And Why?

Time: 15 Minutes Student Responses and Misconceptions There will be varied results.

Next week, we will be exploring this.

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EVALUATION What the Teacher Will Do A short quiz will be given so assess learning. This will be an exit ticket written on an index card. 1. List 5 facts about the structure of DNA. 2. A nucleotide consists of what 3 things? 3. Why is a DNA sequence labeled 5 to 3? Probing/Eliciting Questions

Time: 10 Minutes Student Responses and Misconceptions

The answers will be discussed as a class at the end of class.

1. Antiparallel, double helix, has directionality, has phosphate and hydrogen bonds, has nucleotide bases (A,T,C,G) 2. Nitrogenous base, sugar, phosphate group 3. For directionality. Based on the numbering of the sugar.

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