Quick Read Lesson

Name: John Ly
Subject(s): Biology
Grade Level: 9

1. Standards (CA Common Core Standards; NGSS/Content Standards) or major area

RST.11-12.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to
important distinctions the author makes and to any gaps or inconsistencies in the account.
(HS-LS3-1),(HS-LS3-2)

2. Objectives
Content: Students can self-modify text by searching for figures and key words and breaking
down content using a graphic organizer to improve understanding of the text.
Language/Key Vocabulary: Students will create a vocabulary list from the reading in
handout.

3. Assessment: How will you check for understanding informally and formally?
Informal or Formative: Filling out worksheets with partners as I walk around. Can answer
my questions as Im going over activity.
Formal or Summative: Completion of activity worksheet which I will collect at end of
class.

4. Instructional Strategies and Learning Tasks

Anticipatory Set
How many of you have reptiles at home? Any bearded dragons? We will be reading
about how bearded dragons change their sex today! How many of us read through papers and
then realize halfway through that we do not understand what we just read? We will use these
techniques to find what you need without having to read the whole article. After learning these
techniques, you will be able to self-modify your own articles.
Motivation: To have the ability to read less and understand more. Learning about how
bearded dragons change their sex.
Activate Prior Knowledge: You have learned about how DNA is the code for life but
here is an example where something goes against what the DNA codes for.

Instruction

Hello class How many of you have reptiles at home? Any lizards? Any bearded dragons?
Well, we will be reading about something cool about them. How bearded dragons change their
sex! How many of us read through papers and then realize halfway through that we do not
understand what we just read? We will use these techniques to find what you need without
having to read the whole article. So, lets start. Please open up the link supplied for you:
https://goo.gl/2wGzQK
 First and foremost, you need to know why you are reading! You have to ask yourself why
you are reading this paper and what exactly are you looking for in this text. You should know
this before diving into a text. So what do you think could be reasons why we are reading this
text? Great! I need a text to understand something or use it as a source! You will learn to modify
the text for yourself. The techniques will help you better read the paper and find what you need.

Now that we know why we are reading this, what do we see first thing? The title! What
does the title tell us? How about the picture? Look at all the information that we have attained
from simply looking at the title and figures! So first thing you should do is look at the title,
understand it and then move onto the figures in the papers. These figures at created by the
researchers to help explain what they have written about so we should take advantage of these
reading aids. In many scientific papers, you can understand most of the paper by simply looking
at all the figures. So what can we learn from the image? What is the point of this figure? To
show how increasing temperature resulted in higher proportion of female offspring. Again, we
are doing two things: looking for a paper that has information that we need and trying to focus on
information that we need in the paper. So if I were looking for a paper talking about how bearded
dragons switch their sex, is this a good paper? Why?

So after looking at the title and figure, we have a general understanding of what the
article is about. Now, we will dive more deeply we will actually begin to read the article.
Notice how we spent all this time and we havent even started to read the article. We will start
with ctrl+f key words of things you need. Why do you think we should search for temperature?
Look at the figure we looked at above. I am looking for an answer to my question how and why
do bearded dragons switch their sex. The figure showed that temperature is the cause so
temperature will be a key word in finding out what we need to know. In the hand out, you will
see 3 columns. Ive set it up so that you will see a simplified version of the article. It is simplified
because I just took the sentences containing temperature in the quick sentences column. This
will help us understand the general idea of what the paper is talking about and will again, help us
with where in the paper we should place our focus. The meaning of what you think the sentences
mean should be placed in the meaning column as shown in the handout. Vocabulary that you
need to know should be in the vocabulary section. Make sure you look up the terms to know
what they mean if you are unsure. Lets work through the first part together.

Okay, youve seen how Ive done the first few parts so now, I want you to work with
partners to do the next sections. Then I want you to work alone on the last section. This is
difficult so feel free to ask me and people around you when you need help. Remember that
google is your friend! When youre done, fill out the review part I made. All the answers can be
found in the handout!

What connections can you make from this phenomenon to global warming?
 I. Guided Practice

Activity is modeled by me and they will go along with me as I fill out the handout.
Students will then work together to complete the next sections.

II. Independent Practice (summative assessment)

Work by themselves after working with partners on activity. Answer review questions.

III. Closure (student summary of learning)

Review text-based questions with scaffolded sentences. A short discussion on why this
happens.

5. Differentiation Strategies, this is when your students might fall in one of these.
a. ELL Extra help, Partners, Word bank
b. IEPs None severe. Partnering up. Word bank
c. 504 None in class

6. Instructional Resources and Materials

Website: https://goo.gl/2wGzQK
In class handouts
Name/Grade:

Website: https://goo.gl/2wGzQK (case sensitive)

Title: How bearded dragons switch their sex

What does the title tell us?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

What are we looking for?

How do bearded dragon switch their sex?
Why do they switch their sex?

Pictures/Figures
What do the pictures/figures tell us?

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

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What to find (use command+f or ctrl-f)?

Temperature

Quick Understanding

Quick Sentences Meaning Academic

Language
New analyses, reported Sex switch may be from Induced
online June 14 in Science temperature induced changes in RNA
Advances, reveal that RNAs protein-making
temperature-induced instructions.
changes in RNAs protein-
making instructions might
set off this sex switch.
The findings might also Influenced
apply to other reptile
species whose sex is
influenced by temperature.
Instead, they develop into Temperature is responsible for
males at certain the bearded dragons developing
temperatures and females into males or females.
at others.
Bearded dragon lizards are
an unusual case because
chromosome combinations
and temperature are known
to influence sex
determination.
When eggs are incubated Below 32 degrees C, bearded Embryonic
below 32 Celsius, dragons with ZZ become male Incubated
embryonic bearded and ZW become female. Above
dragons with two Z 32 degrees C, bearded dragons
chromosomes develop as with ZZ become female
male, while dragons with a
Z and a W chromosome
develop as female. But as
temperatures creep above
32, chromosomally male
ZZ dragons will reverse
course and develop as
females instead.
They have two sex
chromosomes, but they
also have this temperature
override, Holleley says.
Its not clear whether the
different RNA means a
protein doesnt get made at
all in dragons incubated at
high temperatures or
whether the proteins made
are modified, smaller
versions of their usual
selves.
That suggests that RNA
editing differences might
start early in development,
and might extend to other
reptiles who use
temperature (hot or cold)
as a sex-determining cue.
Check for Understanding

1) Male bearded dragons switch to _________________ bearded dragons when

temperature goes ________________.

2) When temperature is above _______ degree C, chromosomally ZZ

____________ bearded dragons turn into ZZ ______________ bearded

dragons.

3) According to the paper, _____________________-induced changes in

_________s protein-making instructions might set off this sex switch.

Making Connections

1) What connection can you make from this phenomenon to global warming?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________
 Word Bank
Temperature: a measurement of how hot or cold something is

Reveal: tell, give out, let out

Induced: cause, bring about

RNA: ribonucleic acid. Carries instructions from DNA to create proteins

Influenced: affected, determined, shaped, controlled

Develop: become, turn into

Male: man, boy

Female: Girl, woman

Unusual: not normal, rare

Combination: arrangement, order, combo

Determination: results

Ecologist: Person who studies ecology/habitats

Incubated: kept at, warmed at

Embryonic: unborn, unhatched

Creep: crawl, slowly climb

Override: overlap, take over, replace

Modified: changed

Versions: editions, types, sort

Development: early growth, baby forming

Extend: cover larger area