1. Genetically Modified Organisms GMOs
Found in Hunger Games
CC Literacy & Science ITQ

2. Essential Questions
What is the value of creating genetically modified organisms?
What are some of the concerns surrounding GMOs?
How is bioethics considered or not considered in both the Hunger Games and in contemporary society?

3. Science Content Foundational Information Key Concepts
Traits
Cell
Genes
Protein
Chromosome
Genetic information
Heredity
DNA
Breeding
Sex cell
embryos
Genetic engineering
Natural selection
Artificial selection
Transgenic species
Genetically Modified Organism, GMO
Recombinant DNA

4. Literacy Content Concepts Skills Claim Counterclaim Argument
Counterargument
Refutation
Text-based evidence
Citation
Analyze technical and information texts
Discriminate between fact and opinion
Cite relevant text-based evidence
Employ argumentative techniques and strategies
Outline 5-paragraph argumentative essays

5. Pre-Assessment Questions
Plickers
Classroom polling system
Each student gets a card that can be attached to back of interactive notebook
Teacher displays multiple choice questions. Ss hold card in direction to indicate their answer.
Student responses are recorded individually with an immediate graph of the aggregate results.
Teacher scans student cards using iPhone, iPad, or Android device
I will print the cards on cardstock Monday morning. I set up a Plicker account and have created a class for the grant. The cards are numbered and I have assigned each teacher a number so that we can use them with the questions. Looking forward to testing this out!
Great to use when they don’t have access to Clickers – can be used throughout a lesson to assess understanding and provide evidence at the end of the lesson to help determine if objectives have been addressed.

6. Question 1
Which of the following is TRUE regarding most currently genetically engineered (GE) plants? A. Most GE plants are designed to have better flavor and be more nutritious. B. There are serious biological and environmental issues regarding their use. C. There has been worldwide acceptance of their use. D. Only a few commercially available processed foods contain GE plants in the US. B.

7. Question 2
Why is it more difficult to create transgenic animals than transgenic plants? A. Plants and animals use a different code. B. It is more difficult to introduce foreign DNA into animal cells. C. Animal cells cannot replicate foreign DNA. D. Animal cells cannot transcribe and translate foreign DNA. B

8. Question 3
Bacteria are the “workhorses” of genetic engineering because they ___.
They provide the polymerase chain reaction.
Reproduce very slowly and accurately
Can readily take up plasmids containing human genes and then produce the human proteins encodes by those genes
Are always homozygous C

9. Question 4 What best describes plasmids?
Plasmids are clones of bacteria or DNA segments.
Plasmids are enzymes used to cut DNA at specific locations.
Plasmids are circular pieces of DNA that can be used to carry foreign DNA into cells such as bacterial.
Plasmids are transgenic bacteria. C.

10. Question 5
Organisms that have been genetically engineered to carry one or more foreign genes are known as ___.
Ligated organisms
Homogeneous organisms
Plasmids
Transgenic organisms D.

11. Question 6 The procedure illustrated in the Figure is an example of:
genetic testing.
B. DNA finger printing.
C. gene therapy.
D. cloning. C
Picture is fuzzy but I’ll help translate it for them when we use it.

12. Question 7 Which of the following is true of patents in biotechnology?
Scientists are only allowed to patent genes; they cannot patent techniques they use in the lab.
A scientist who holds a patent can demand high fees that block others from doing certain research.
Human genes cannot be patented because they belong to everyone.
Genetically modified foods cannot be patented. B

13. Question 8
Which of the following findings, if true, would support an argument IN FAVOR of GM foods?
Farmers using herbicide-resistant crops pollute groundwater more than farmers growing non-GM crops.
The cost of using GM crops is prohibitively expensive for 75 percent of all farmers.
Farmers who grow GM crops have much higher yields than farmers growing unmodified crops.
The populations of bees on farms growing insect-resistant crops are half as large as bee populations on other farms. C

14. Question 9
Which statement below might be used by someone who is arguing against the use of GM crops?
GM crops reduce the amount of land and energy that need to be devoted to agriculture because they have high yields.
GM crops need more insecticide to be used than other crops because they grow faster.
The patents for the seeds of GM crops are held by big companies, which may raise prices and force small farmers out of business.
No studies have shown that GM crops are dangerous to human health. C

15. Question 10 In recombinant DNA technology, plasmids may be used to:
Introduce foreign DNA into bacteria
Activate restriction enzymes
Cut DNA at a specific location
Introduce foreign DNA into human cells A

16. Mockingjay/Jabberjay Excerpt Ch. 3
At the last minute, I remember Madge’s little gold pin. For the first time, I get a good look at it. It’s as if someone fashioned a small golden bird and then attached a ring around it. The bird is connected to the ring only by its wing tips. I suddenly recognize it. A mockingjay.
Read-aloud and pause to ask questions – pause to highlight key scientific information on the SMART board.

17. Mockingjay/Jabberjay Continued
They’re funny birds and something of a slap in the face to the Capitol. During the rebellion,the Capitol bred a series of genetically altered animals as weapons. The common term for them was muttations, or sometimes mutts for short. One was a special bird called a jabberjay that had the ability to memorize and repeat whole human conversations. They were homing birds, exclusively male, that were released into regions where the Capitol’s enemies were known to be hiding. After the birds gathered words, they’d fly back to centers to be recorded. It took people awhile to realize what was going on in the districts, how private conversations were being transmitted. Then, of course, the rebels fed the Capitol endless lies, and the joke was on it. So the centers were shut down and the birds were abandoned to die off in the wild.
“Muttation” has the word “mutt” in it. What’s a mutt?

18. Mockingjay/Jabberjay Continued
Only they didn’t die off. Instead, the jabberjays mated with female mockingbirds, creating a whole new species that could replicate both bird whistles and human melodies. They had lost the ability to enunciate words but could still mimic a range of human vocal sounds, from a child’s high-pitched warble to a man’s deep tones. And they could re-create songs. Not just a few notes, but whole songs with multiple verses, if you had the patience to sing them and if they liked your voice.
Is the Mockingjay a Muttation or is it only a Jabberjay that is a muttation?

19. Compare and contract Muttation and Mutation
Goal: activate prior knowledge of real-world mutations such as albino animals and comparing them with the diabolical muttations in the book.

20. Tracker Jackers Excerpt – Ch. 14
At the end of chapter 13, Katniss is hiding up in a tree; sees Rue hiding in another tree; Rue points to something in the tree above her. Beginning of their alliance.
Video Excerpt
Read the passage from Hunger Games and the accompanying information about Killer Bees aloud with a partner.
Highlight key information and think aloud by asking relevant questions.
Fill in a Venn diagram in your IN comparing/contrasting the 2 organisms.
Set the scene, play video excerpt, ask them to read passages in pairs.

21. Compare and Contrast Tracker Jackers and Killer Bees
Discuss findings as a group and compile responses on SMART board.

22. Checking In Write a short response to a GMO Illustration
This is part of baseline assessment – so you don’t need to cite textual evidence.
Copy page 20 of NYCDOE plan.

23. Genetic Modification – The Basics!
Formative Task
Help name components and structure of DNA
Explain how DNA makes a protein
Define genetically modified organism and recombinant DNA technology
Use Page 7-11 of Genetically Modified Organisms: PCR analysis of DNA (Grades 9-12) – linked to wiki
Copy activity sheet - page from NYCDOE lesson plan
Refer to
Tracking author’s purpose to ID central ideas of text
Deconstruct and reconstruct sentences to unpack concepts, knowledge, and ideas
Chunk Info – pull out significant concepts to fill up organizers
Word wall
Journal entry – such as “describe the process initiated once a gene is “turned on” as describe in the text.

24. Genetically Modified Food
The Debate over Genetically Modified Foods by Kerryn Sakko – Close Read
Complete a T-Chart for IN detailing the pros and cons of Genetically Modified Food
Complete a Frayer model for the vocabulary word transgenic for IN
Print article.

25. T-Chart Pros and Cons of GM Foods

26. Frayer Model - Transgenic
Definition
Facts/Characteristics or Illustration
Examples
Non-examples

27. Who Wants to be a Genetic Engineer?
Simulated Lab Activity
Task: Create both Cinna-apples and Bt-corn.
Complete lab report handout for each and include in IN.
Website linked to wiki.
Print Lab reports – page 37 & 38 of packet

28. Claim and Counterclaim Organizer - Refutations
The Pros and Cons of Designer Babies by Priya Johnson (Linked to wiki)
Use the Claim and Counterclaim Organizer to support a claim regarding “designer babies”. (Tape to IN)
Practice 4-Step refutation process to write an effective refutation.
Step 1: Restate (“They say…”)
Step 2: Refute (“But…”)
Step 3: Support (“Because…”)
Step 4: Conclude (“Therefore…”)
Print page 39 of packet
Link Four-Step Refutation handout to wiki – no need to copy.

29. Suicide Mosquitoes
View the 4 articles rated at different Lexiles taken from Newsela. (Linked to Wiki)
Sending dengue mosquitoes into a dead end (760)
A mosquito created to help fight a deadly disease (830)
Frankenskeeters to seek mosquito brides to curb dengue disease (1020)
Suicide mosquitoes a gene-altered weapon in war against dengue fever (1170)

30. Annotated Drawing
Draw a picture to describe what happens with the suicide mosquitoes and why they were created. Annotate your drawings with brief explanations.
This is one of the FACTs
Link with Think, Pair, Share
Link with Give me 5 – ask 5 people to share their work.

31. Hunger Games Wolf-Mutt Excerpt – Chapter 25
Set the scene… End of Chapter 24….Cato is running away from something, but what?
Read passage – describes the vicious dog-like creature with features of human beings.
Possible Formative TASK: Design a comic strip that depicts in logical sequential order how these creatures may have been created.
Need to highlight clues from passage and activate knowledge about DNA and genetic engineering to make the comic realistic.

32. Additional Questions & Prompts
What predictions can you make for what might happen if the tools of biotechnology spread to everyone, and lead to “an explosion of diversity of new living creatures”?
Consider how responsible Panem was in genetically engineering the jabberjays and tracker jackers, as well as how responsible real-life scientists have been in engineering organisms. Defend and argue your position on genetic engineering with regard to bioethics.
Formulate a plan the United States should have in place to make sure the genetic engineering being done or contemplated is ethical.

33. Final Performance Task
Write a five-paragraph essay analyzing the significance, ethics, and impact of GMO on society, arguing whether it should be continued or regulated.
State a claim. Acknowledge and refute counterclaims.
Cite textual evidence.
Avoid plagiarism and follow standard citation format.

34. Resources Intro Pre-assessment
Using Hunger Games to get students ready for Biology Test (linked to wiki)
Bioethics in the Hunger Games, The Science Teacher, January 2014
NYCDOE – Grade 8 Genetic Modification of Organisms (linked to wiki)