Below you will find links to each of our class presentations. These can be used to help students review information that has been presented in class throughout the unit. While these presentations do not fully capture the material covered in class, they can be used as a tool to reinforce key concepts.
Students focus on the question: Why do traits for silk flexibility vary within this family of Darwin's bark spiders? A fascinating video about a real spider researcher, Dr. Cheryl Hayashi, introduces students to the spider research context. Then, after reading a compelling text about variation in spiders, making physical models of proteins, and investigating traits in the Traits and Reproduction simulation, students discover the connection between the protein molecules produced in cells and the traits of an organism. As they investigate this concept, students learn that variation in the structure of protein molecules affects their function and how they interact with other molecules, which leads to variation in observable traits.
Lesson 1.1- Pre-Unit Assessment
Lesson 1.2- Introducing Silk Spider Research