April 2024 Indigenous Student Researchers Workshop

MSSE 5E Lesson Plan Model

Science Content: IF you are writing for a science content course, list the specific science content you are addressing in a bulleted list. Then weave the content into the 5 E stages so that it’s clear to the reader. For education courses, you don’t need the science content listed.

Engage

Explore

Explain

Elaborate

Evaluate

Engineering Design Process: For including engineering content, address the stages of one of the Engineering Design Models

Include a page in the appendix that addressed the science & engineering practices and crosscutting concepts (Appendix A).

If figures or tables are used, be sure to format according to the guidelines in the template resources.

APPENDIX A

SCIENCE & ENGINEERING PRACTICE & CROSSCUTTING CONCEPTS TABLE

NOTE:  Since there is only one appendix item, you don't need the APPENDICES title page. If you have more than one appendix item, use the APPENDICES title page as well.

Connecting to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013)

5 E LESSON PLAN EXAMPLE

Science Content

• cell respiration
• chemical bonding
• anaerobic fermentation
• cell energy

Engage

            Opening: This lesson is designed to be the opening of a unit focused on Cell Energy. Specifically, the topics of metabolism, respiration, and fermentation. The core idea covered in this lesson is Organization of Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms. As students enter class, the teacher will present a mason jar containing 50g of Magic Dough to students for the anchoring phenomenon of the unit. Students will not be told what it is in the Magic Dough, just that it contains a mixture of water and flour that has been sitting in the mason jar for about a week. Teacher Note: the Magic Dough should be made 6 days prior to the lesson, following the recipe for maximal yeast cultivation (Appendix B). Also, since the Magic Dough is a type of cultivated yeast starter, yeast activity depends on a range of environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity, which could elicit variable responses for your anchoring phenomenon demo. Teachers should elicit student experiences with the following questions (5 minutes).

1. Where in the world have you encountered mixtures of flour and water before?
2. Are water and flour classified as living organisms?

            As you are having this conversation on the phenomenon, add your 75 grams of warm water (approx. 98 degrees for optimal yeast activity) and 75 grams of All Purpose Flour to your Magic Dough. Stir to combine. Tell students to record observations about the phenomena in their notebooks using all five senses (5 minutes).

            Potential Observations: Smells Sour, bubbles forming, foamy top, liquid at the top of the mason jar, air pockets inside the dough. After students are done with recording their initial observations, the Magic Dough starters should already start to increase in volume in the jar and give off a gas. If the Magic Dough being used isn’t increasing in volume in the jar, show the following video. This will show students how the magic dough rises in volume over time.

            Explanation of Phenomenon: The wild Baker’s Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) in the Magic dough took the starch in the flour, started breaking into glucose, and produced CO₂ as a byproduct of Cellular Respiration. Some ethanol was made as a byproduct of Fermentation, giving the sour smell. Both processes can occur simultaneously.) Understanding this phenomenon fully requires the Core Idea of Organization of Matter and Energy Flow. New matter (CO₂ gas + Ethanol) came from existing matter (Flour & Water) in the Magic Dough Phenomenon. As the yeast metabolized the flour and made new molecules, energy was transferred/ used for growth.

Explore

            Debrief with students on the results of the video and/or the class Magic Dough Phenomenon (Appendix B). Consensus observations should include: the dough has risen, a new smell was produced, and bubbles have formed (5 minutes).

            Revisit the question: Was the Magic Dough system a living thing? At this point, most students will respond yes. Discuss another item that could have been in the dough to cause it to rise. Students will draw on their past experiences with baked goods and/or bread to hypothesize perhaps there was yeast or another leavening agent in the Magic Dough. Describe to students that yeast can be found on flour, is a living organism much like humans, and depends on food for energy as a consumer.

            Let students investigate how yeast functions. Divide students into 7 lab groups. Each group will need 1 pack of instant quick rise yeast, 75 grams of lukewarm water (from sink is ok), and a chosen amount of sugar no greater than 20 grams. Have one group be the 0 grams sugar (control). Combine sugar, yeast, and water into the 250 mL beaker. Have students record their observations of the yeast + water + sugar mixture in their science notebooks. Students should see that the mixture in beaker bubbles like the magic dough, produces a gas, and rises in volume (15 minutes).

Explain

            After students made observations and recorded questions about the Magic Dough Phenomenon in their Science Notebooks, and using their personal yeast investigations as a guide, have students whiteboard what they think the yeast were doing in the Magic Dough phenomena on whiteboards as a group. Tell students to represent the flour, yeast, water, and gas by using simple shapes such triangles, circles, and squares. Be sure to include a before picture when the flour was first added and an after picture when the gas was being produced. Allow students to do a quick gallery walk once their boards are done to see other groups’ work. Have students take a picture of their group’s whiteboard and submit it to your Learning Management Site when done (10-15 minutes).

            Closing:  When done whiteboarding, watch the Yeast Fermentation under Microscope video: until the 2:00 mark.  Discuss the source of sugar in both the opening phenomenon (the flour added) and their experiment. Have a concluding discussion on how it may be possible to manipulate yeast mixtures and the magic dough to get it to produce more gas from the sugar, rise faster, and acquire energy to grow over time Also, revisit the Magic Dough opening phenomena. Note any changes that are seen in the mason jar since the start of the period. Record these ideas in a new section of the students’ science notebooks (5 min).

            Note: The more specific details of cell respiration and fermentation are expected to be covered in the next series of lessons within this unit, allowing the anchor phenomenon to be fully explained.

Evaluate

            During this lesson, the teacher will visit lab groups around the room when while students are discussing. The teacher should be asking probing questions to keep students on task and challenge them to apply concepts as well as scientific vocabulary learned in previous lessons. To promote crosstalk, the teacher should redirect some questions directed to the instructor to another member in the lab group so that they share knowledge with one another.

            The day after this lesson, students will complete a claim, evidence, reasoning statement (CER) to evaluate their understanding on the products of the Magic Dough Phenomenon (Appendix C). This CER will extend the students’ understanding of this phenomenon to another area: baking and brewing with yeast. Students will use observations collected in the Day 1 Anchoring Phenomenon lesson to evaluate the potential differences in Baker’s and Brewer’s yeast and engage in argumentation with evidence to hypothesize which variety of yeast was found in the Magic Dough. This leads well into a discussion of the products of Fermentation and Cellular Respiration to further extend the explain domain of the 5E lesson model.

            Students will complete a summative assessment for the overarching unit once the full details of the anchoring phenomenon are covered in class.

Extend

            In the next series of lessons, students will be tasked with investigating the variables that speed up or slow down yeast growth, now that they are aware of the necessary components to activate the Magic Dough and the yeast’s growth (flour, sugar, H2O). Due to the nature of yeast energy production, students may recognize an alcoholic scent being produced from their yeast mixtures. This indeed is the byproduct of fermentation: ethanol. Further lessons can dive into the differences between Brewer’s Yeast (S. pombe) and Baker’s Yeast (S. cerevisiae).

            This lesson provides direct connections to students taking classes in or interested in the culinary arts. As leavening agents such as yeast are often used to make students’ favorite foods, students are more likely to be engaged with a relatable phenomenon. Likewise, many cultures consume fermented foods and/or foods that contain yeast, further providing real world connections as suggested by the 5E model. 

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A

SEPs & CROSSCUTTING CONCEPTS TABLE

APPENDIX B

MAGIC DOUGH RECIPE and MAGIC DOUGH SETUP 

Magic Dough Recipe

You will Need:

¾ L Mason Jar (Use this one)

To create the Magic Dough: Add on Day 1:

60 grams of whole wheat flour

60 grams of tap water

Stir to combine. Let the mason jar sit at room temperature.

“Feed” the starter each day by adding the following to your mason Jar (Days 2-7)

60 grams unbleached all-purpose flour

60 grams of water.

Mix completely and stir to combine. Let the mason jar sit at room temperature.

*Note: Based on my experience and research, use unbleached flour to get maximal yeast populations in your flour mixture*

Magic Dough Phenomenon Setup:

APPENDIX C

STUDENT CER FOR ASSESMENT 

Used by permission, Matthew Hopkins, 2023

Storyline Unit Design

Understanding by Design (UbD) Template*

*UbD Unit Planner is from Wiggins, Grant and McTighe, Jay. Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 2011.

NGSS SEPs/CCS/DCI

Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs)

Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)

A practice of science is to ask and refine questions that lead to descriptions and explanations of how the natural and designed world(s) works and which can be empirically tested.

Developing and using models

A practice of both science and engineering is to use and construct models as helpful tools for representing ideas and explanations. T hese tools include diagrams, drawings, physical replicas, mathematical representations, analogies, and computer simulations.

Planning and carrying out investigations

Scientists and engineers plan and carry out investigations in the field or laboratory, working collaboratively as well as individually. T heir investigations are systematic and require clarifying what counts as data and identifying variables or parameters.

Analyzing and interpreting data

Scientific investigations produce data that must be analyzed in order to derive meaning. Because data patterns and trends are not always obvious, scientists use a range of tools—including tabulation, graphical interpretation, visualization, and statistical analysis—to identify the significant features and patterns in the data. Scientists identify sources of error in the investigations and calculate the degree of certainty in the results. 

Using mathematics and computational thinking

In both science and engineering, mathematics and computation are fundamental tools for representing physical variables and their relationships. They are used for a range of tasks such as constructing simulations; solving equations exactly or approximately; and recognizing, expressing, and applying quantitative relationships.

Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering)

Engaging in argument from evidence

Argumentation is the process by which evidence-based conclusions and solutions are reached. In science and engineering, reasoning and argument based on evidence are essential to identifying the best explanation for a natural phenomenon or the best solution to a design problem.

Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information 

Scientists and engineers must be able to communicate clearly and persuasively the ideas and methods they generate. Critiquing and communicating ideas individually and in groups is a critical professional activity.

Crosscutting Concepts (CCs)

Patterns

Observed patterns in nature guide organization and classification and prompt questions about relationships and causes underlying them.

Cause and effect

Events have causes, sometimes simple, sometimes multifaceted. Deciphering causal relationships, and the mechanisms by which they are mediated, is a major activity of science and engineering.

Scale, proportion, and quantity

In considering phenomena, it is critical to recognize what is relevant at different size, time, and energy scales, and to recognize proportional relationships between different quantities as scales change.

Systems and system models

A system is an organized group of related objects or components; models can be used for understanding and predicting the behavior of systems.

Energy and matter

Tracking energy and matter flows, into, out of, and within systems helps one understand their system’s behavior.

Structure and function

The way an object is shaped or structured determines many of its properties and functions.

Stability and change

For both designed and natural systems, conditions that affect stability and factors that control rates of change are critical elements to consider and understand.

Disciplinary Core Ideas

Engineering Design