Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Q&A: Unit 1 of Biotechnology Curriculum, Technological Innovations

Unit 1 of the Biotechnology Curriculum at Milwood Magnet School focuses on Technological Innovations. Each core area has essential questions to help guide lesson plans to focus on curriculum content.

Questions for Unit 1 include:

Grade 6
Math: How do technological innovations affect the efficient use of our resources?
Social Studies: How do we understand our place in the world?
ELA: How does our changing world affect your life?
Science: How does research and technology improve society?

Grade 7
Math: How have technological innovations affected the society in which you live?
Social Studies: How do we understand other cultures' place in the world?
ELA: How does interacting with others help construct meaning and promote innovation?
Science: How does research and technology improve our quality of life?

Grade 8
Math: How has technology changed the movement of people?
Social Studies: How do we understand our country's place in the world?
ELA: How do interactions with others help you contribute to society?
Science: How does research and technology improve our understanding of the world?

Students complete assignments and projects based on the curriculum. One example is in seventh grade science, students experimented with calcium chloride (CaCl) to see if it could have been what was used to heat "Spagbol" in The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, which Milwood Magnet is using as the all-school read this school year to reinforce the Biotechnology theme. Students used different amounts in water (H2O) and measured the temperature change. Their response: "The more chemical we added, the hotter the water got. So it could have been used to heat the 'Spagbol'."

As we begin to wrap up the first unit, more completed projects will be featured from Unit 1.

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