CEP Lesson Plan Form

Teacher: Sarah Coleman Date: Thurs, Feb.

16th

School: FCHS Grade Level: 11th & 12th Content Area:

Anatomy & Physiology

Title: Zombie Lunch Day

Lesson Idea/Topic Provide an opportunity for students to be exposed to and

and explore real human brains, spinal cords, and meninges. This
Rational/Relevanc activity is near the end of a unit on the central nervous
e: What are you system so it ideally will allow students to make connections
going to teach and and solidify their knowledge of the brain and spinal cord.
why is this lesson of
importance to your
students? How is it
relevant to students
of this age and
background?

The students in this class are juniors and seniors who self-
Student Profile: selected into the course. It is an elective biology course so
Write a narrative most of the students have at least some interest in the
about your learners. content. The only special needs in terms of 504s and IEPs are
What are their extra time requirements on exams or quizzes. Most of the
special needs? students are fairly mature due to their age and the nature of
Exceptionalities? how they got into the course. They are typically fairly
Giftedness? engaged, but are definitely motivated by their grades more
Alternative ways of so than their interest in the material.
learning? Maturity?
Engagement?
Motivation?

Content Standard(s) addressed by this lesson: (Write Content Standards

directly from the standard)

NGSS HS-LS1-2. Develop and use a model to illustrate the hierarchical

organization of interacting systems that provide specific functions within
multicellular organisms.

Disciplinary Core Ideas:

LS1.A. Structure and Function Multicellular organisms have a hierarchical
structural organization, in which any one system is made up of numerous parts and
is itself a component of the next level.

Understandings: (Big Ideas)

The central nervous system is a complex interaction of many physiological

processes and anatomical structures.

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CEP Lesson Plan Form

The function or physiology of our bodies and cells is reflected and based on the
structure or anatomy of our bodies and cells.

Inquiry Questions: (Essential questions relating knowledge at end of the unit of

instruction, select applicable questions from standard)

See CNS Organ Discussion Questions

Evidence Outcomes: (Learning Targets) AND (Success Criteria)

I can: Observe human brains and spinal cords to make connections and conclusions
about the unit material.

This means: I will actively engage in the organ stations by handling or viewing the
organs, and engage in discussion about the central nervous system with my peers.

List of Assessments: (Note whether the assessment is formative or summative)

Active participation and engagement in observation and discussion. (Formative)

If time, responses to discussion questions. (Formative)

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CEP Lesson Plan Form

Planned Lesson Activities

Name and Purpose of Lesson
Should be a creative title for you and the Zombie Lunch Day
students to associate with the activity. The purpose of this lesson is to expose students to central nervous
Think of the purpose as the mini-rationale system anatomy by giving them time to explore real human brains,
for what you are trying to accomplish dura mater, and spinal cords.
through this lesson.
Approx. Time and Materials
How long do you expect the activity to I expect the activity to take at least 30 minutes. Materials include the
last and what materials will you need? organs, trays, gloves, and pipe cleaners. Handouts include
identification guides for each organ, atlas images to help identify
structures, and discussion questions.
Anticipatory Set
The hook to grab students attention. Im planning on using novelty and the excitement of seeing these
These are actions and statements by the organs as a hook for students. I will be wearing CSU scrubs and Ill have
teacher to relate the experiences of the all the organs in a bucket sitting in the room.
students to the objectives of the lesson,
To put students into a receptive frame of Before presenting the organs I have to explain the rules expected by
mind. the Colorado Anatomical Board so I want to get into the meat of the
To focus student attention on the activity as quickly as possible so that students have the most time to
lesson. interact with the organs.
To create an organizing framework
for the ideas, principles, or
information that is to follow
(advanced organizers)
An anticipatory set is used any time a
different activity or new concept is to be
introduced.
How do you intend to engage your
students in thinking during the The strategy I intend to use is novelty.
Anticipatory Set?
I am using this strategy here because: I want to quickly grab students
Why are you using it at this point in attention.
your lesson?

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CEP Lesson Plan Form

Teacher Actions Student Actions

Procedures
(Include a play-by-play account of what
students and teacher will do from the
minute they arrive to the minute they
leave your classroom. Indicate the length
of each segment of the lesson. List actual
minutes.)
Indicate whether each is:
-teacher input/actions, student actions
-modeling
-questioning strategies
-guided/unguided:
-whole-class practice
-group practice
-individual practice
-check for understanding
-other
0-5 minutes: Introduction of
Zombie Lunch Day including
CAB regulations NO PHOTOS.
Brief instructions for stations.
Break-up the talking by having
students move to get gloves and
then to one of four large tables
before giving instructions for
identifying structures.
Teacher will distribute organs to
each group when 1-2 students
from each table come up to the
front to get materials.
5-25 minutes: Organ stations.
(Five minutes per station.)
As students rotate through organ
stations and observe the CNS
structures, the teacher will be
available to answer questions,
monitoring the handling of organs,
and keeping track of the time at
each station (giving cues as to
when to rotate stations). The
teacher will also be making notes
of what questions students have
(catch & release if patterns
appear) and what general
understanding students have as
they
25-30 minutes: Closure & clean-
up.
0-5 minutes: Students will listen to
rules for viewing the human
organs, have the opportunity to
ask questions about the cadaver
preservation process, and move
into one of four groups/tables after
grabbing gloves.
After all instructions have been
given, one or two students from
each group will come up to the
front of the room to grab a tray
(with organ given by teacher) and
matching identification guide &
images for their table.
5-25 minutes: Organ stations.
Students will work through
identification guide, observe the
organ at their station, and answer
discussion questions in their
science notebook if they have the
time.
At teachers signal, students will
leave their organ at the table, and
rotate to the next station. This will
proceed until all four stations have
been visited.
25-30 minutes: Closure & clean-
up.
Students will be responsible for
throwing away their gloves and
washing their hands. As the

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CEP Lesson Plan Form
How do you intend to engage your
students in thinking during the
PROCEDURE?
Why are you using it at this point in
your lesson?
Closure
Those actions or statements by a teacher
that are designed to bring a lesson
presentation to an appropriate conclusion.
Used to help students bring things
together in their own minds, to make
sense out of what has just been taught.
Colorado State University College of Health and Human Sciences
Teacher will select one to two teacher walks around to collect
questions from the discussion the organs, she will be calling on
questions to have a handful of one student per table to share
students answer as a whole group their answer to one of the
(depending on time). discussion questions. If there is
The priority is to have students any extra time, students can bring
think either comparatively about back handouts and wipe down
the sheep and human brains or tables.
identify concepts that make more
sense since seeing the real
anatomical structures or new
questions that have come up. (So
being, teacher will take most of
responsibility for clean-up unless
there is a lot of time left over.
Clean-up includes returning
organs to bucket, washing off
trays, and collecting handouts.
Students will be responsible for
throwing away gloves and
washing hands.
The strategy I intend to use is active engagement with the organs.
I am using this strategy here because: My main goal is just to expose
students to these organs and give them a chance to observe and ask
questions.
25-30 minutes:
The last five minutes of class, will be split between clean-up and cold
calling answers to one of the two questions below.
1. What concepts were more clear or easier to understand for after
seeing the human brain, meninges, and spinal cord?
2. What questions do you still have?
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Any Questions? No. OK, lets move on is

not closure. Closure is used:
To cue students to the fact that
they have arrived at an important
point in the lesson or the end of a
lesson.
To help organize student learning
To help form a coherent picture and to
consolidate.
How do you intend to engage your
students in thinking during The strategy I intend to use is cold call for reflection questions.
CLOSURE?
I am using this strategy here because: I want to hold all students
Why are you using it at this point in accountable for thinking about the connections between what theyve
your lesson? been learning and the organs. For closure, I want to have a few
students share things that make more sense in case it helps other
students and end with a few questions to encourage future
investigation and hint and the ongoing nature of science.

This is a fairly unstructured activity, so I will have lots of resources for

Differentiation: students including atlas images of the structures, identification guides
Differentiation should be from a college-level anatomy course, and teacher support. I also have
embedded throughout your whole discussion questions for each station that I do not expect the students
lesson!! to have time to complete, but if anyone finishes early or would like to
This is to make sure you have met the go deeper, they can work on the discussion questions.
needs of your students on IEPS or 504.
Consider your student profile narrative
at the beginning. What do your
students need to be engaged and
successful?
To modify: If the activity is too advanced
for a child, how will you modify it so that
they can be successful?
To extend: If the activity is too easy for a

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CEP Lesson Plan Form

child, how will you extend it to develop

their emerging skills?
Assessment Reflection: (data
I will be assessing whether students met the learning targets
analysis) throughout the activity. Because the primary objective was to expose
How will you know if students met the
students to the real organs, I will be watching and engaging students
learning targets? Write a description of
with discussion questions as I walk around. It should be fairly obvious if
what you were looking for in each
there are students who are not observing or participating in the
assessment.
activity.

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CEP Lesson Plan Form

Post Lesson Reflection

1. To what extent were lesson objectives achieved? (Utilize

assessment data to justify your level of achievement)

Because of the time limitation on this activity, I decided that the lesson
objective would center around engaging the students in the
observation and interaction with the organs. I didnt want to take time
away from their interactions by requiring them to write notes and
answers down. Ideally, I would have liked to have had more time for
the students to be at each station so they could diagram, label, and
make notes of their observations in their science notebooks. Along with
this, I would have had them discuss and write responses for one or two
of the discussion questions per organ station.

I think as it was, the students were actively engaged at each station

with many of the students asking questions and getting to handle the
organs. However, while I was running around to different groups during
the stations, I was not able to observe all students in all the groups at
all times, so I cant say for sure if everyone was continuously engaged.
My goal for this lesson was for the students to be able to make
connections and comparisons with what they had already learned, and
while the conversations I had during the activity seemed to support
that this was happening, I dont have any assessment data to know
whether each student was meeting this objective.

Additionally, I would have liked to plan the logistics of the activity a

little more thoroughly so that we could have had a more formal
closure. Michelle has set the expectation that students can stand
around at the end of class and I was not prepared to address this. I had
wanted to cold call students to answer the general discussion
questions I came up with, but because I was concerned with clean-up, I
didnt actually use this strategy. I think if I had, I would have been able
to get a better feel for where the students were at the close of the
lesson.

2. What changes, omissions, or additions to the lesson would

you make if you were to teach again?

I mentioned some of the changes I would have liked to make above,

mainly more time so I could include more higher-level thinking
opportunities and places for more assessment. Within the same time
constraints, I think I would have focused on my management a little
more so that the closure was a little more structured and students
could have reported out or written answers to one of the two
discussion questions.

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CEP Lesson Plan Form

We didnt have time to use the identification guides for each organ, but
I think it was still a useful resource to have at each station.

3. What do you envision for the next lesson? (Continued practice,

reteach content, etc.)

The students took a unit exam on the central nervous system the day
after this lesson. I had hoped that the lesson would provide an
opportunity for the students to make connections and conclusions
about what they had learned. I think if I were planning the entire unit, I
would also have envisioned some sort of summative assessment after
this activity, but likely not a written test. One of my goals is to avoid
traditional tests and quizzes as much as possible and to incorporate
the nature of science when I teach. So I would envision some sort of
research project on the central nervous system where students have to
use what they learned in the unit to answer a question about the brain
or spinal cord. An interesting idea might be some sort of case study in
which student groups have to apply their knowledge of neural
physiology and brain anatomy and function to figure out whats wrong
with a patient. It would be cool to mirror the way that medical
researchers or clinicians present their findings so that students have a
real-world application.

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