Project Overview
Unit Title: The “Human Cycle”
Target Audience: Middle School Life Science students (typically 7th grade)
Project Description: In groups of three, students will work to create a physical or technological model or demonstration of the human development life stages: from gamete formation to conception, from conception to birth, and from birth to puberty. They will also research information about diseases and disorders common to each development stage. Final group presentations will include an explanation of the models, including the biological processes necessary in each development stage, and the medical research.
Objectives: Students will be able to:
Final Product: A physical or technological model or demonstration of the life stages: from gamete formation to conception, from conception to birth, and from birth to puberty.
Rationale: This unit on human reproduction and development is based on the state and national science education curriculum and standards for middle school students. They are expected to understand the underlying tenants of sexual reproduction and heredity, the general form and function of human reproductive structures, and the stages of human development from gamete formation to old age. This development can be difficult to grasp from simple two-dimensional pictures, or words describing the changes that occur across developmental stages. Having students see and create models will help them apply the information that is critical for this topic; and application of concepts has proven to be one of the most effective learning styles for students. This unit is the foundation upon which students will build further knowledge and understanding of human sexuality and its social contexts, so it is important to use this as a hands-on and investigative an approach as possible so that students have a strong foundational schema for constructivist learning.
Unit Title: The “Human Cycle”
Target Audience: Middle School Life Science students (typically 7th grade)
Project Description: In groups of three, students will work to create a physical or technological model or demonstration of the human development life stages: from gamete formation to conception, from conception to birth, and from birth to puberty. They will also research information about diseases and disorders common to each development stage. Final group presentations will include an explanation of the models, including the biological processes necessary in each development stage, and the medical research.
Objectives: Students will be able to:
- Identify major organs and structures involved in human reproduction and development
- Explain the processes that enable human reproduction, including gamete formation, fetus development and birth, and the development to biological reproductive maturity
- Use technology or physical means to produce a model which represents human biological processes, growth, and development
Final Product: A physical or technological model or demonstration of the life stages: from gamete formation to conception, from conception to birth, and from birth to puberty.
Rationale: This unit on human reproduction and development is based on the state and national science education curriculum and standards for middle school students. They are expected to understand the underlying tenants of sexual reproduction and heredity, the general form and function of human reproductive structures, and the stages of human development from gamete formation to old age. This development can be difficult to grasp from simple two-dimensional pictures, or words describing the changes that occur across developmental stages. Having students see and create models will help them apply the information that is critical for this topic; and application of concepts has proven to be one of the most effective learning styles for students. This unit is the foundation upon which students will build further knowledge and understanding of human sexuality and its social contexts, so it is important to use this as a hands-on and investigative an approach as possible so that students have a strong foundational schema for constructivist learning.