MAKING SENSE OF THE LIVING WORLD: LEVEL 6

ACHIEVEMENT OBJECTIVES

Students can

investigate and describe examples of different types of helpful and harmful micro-organisms, e.g., bacteria, fungi, viruses and diseases such as HIV/AIDS or leukaemia, bacteria and fungi in biotechnology;
and 3.
(a) describe cell division and explain how genetic information is passed from one generation to the next, e.g., chromosomes and DNA, simple Mendelian genetics; also
(b) investigate examples of the contemporary application of genetics, e.g., animal and plant breeding;
investigate a New Zealand example of how people apply biological principles to plant and animal management, e.g., hydroponically grown vegetables, fish farming, pine forestry, dairy farming.

Students could be learning by:

making yoghurt, using a starter culture, to test their predictions about the conditions needed for bacterial growth;
designing and carrying out experiments to test the anti-microbial effectiveness of disinfectants;
role playing some significant aspect of the work of Pasteur, Semmelweiss, Jenner, Lister, or Fleming to show how these people have contributed to our understanding of the impact of micro-organisms on our lives;
investigating the DNA helix model, which won Watson and Crick the Nobel Prize, to show how the work of several scientists can be combined to increase our understanding;
interviewing a plant or animal breeder about plant or animal genetics;
investigating pandemics, such as HIV/AIDS, to to establish the nature of viruses and modes of virus transfer;
investigating breeds of sheep that have been selected or bred especially for New Zealand requirements;
working in groups to research and record the impact of fishing quotas on New Zealand's fishery resources;
investigating the management of New Zealand's indigenous forests to find out about replanting programmes;
growing lettuces hydroponically and investigating the effect of adding nitrate to the water.

Teachers and students could assess the students':

ability to interpret experimental results, when the students write a consumer report based on their trials on the anti-microbial effectiveness of a range of disinfectants;
ability to design and carry out experiments, when students test their predictions about the conditions needed for bacterial growth;
understanding of cell division, when students describe the difference between cell division for growth and cell division for gamete production;
ability to gather information, when the students prepare a report on breeds of sheep which have been bred for different physical conditions;
investigation of an artificial environment for growing tomatoes, when the students design, construct, and use a simple hydroponic system;
ability to carry out a 'fair test', when the students investigate the effect of different planting densities on radishes.