MYP Curriculum Outline: Grade 9

Interdisciplinary Essential Question for the Year:

Science – Living Environment

Unit Title, Length / Area(s) of Interaction / Essential Questions / Activities / Assessment(s)
MYP Course Objectives
Sept/Oct
Principles of Ecology
5-6 weeks / Environment / To what extend do politics, cultures, and environmental issues affect life on Earth? / -Field trip
-Al Gore video
-Construct a food web/chain
-Using city parks to identify abiotic and biotic factors
observe. / -Quiz
-Test
-Journal Writing
-Summary Writing
-Write a poem that includes vocabulary terms and concepts.
Oct/Nov
Cells – The basic units of Life
5-6 weeks / Health and Social Education / To what extent does the structure of an entity relate to its function? / -Build a cell model using candy and Jell-O
-Label a diagram of an animal cell and plant cell
-Write and enact a play about the role of the organelles
-Diffusion through a membrane lab
-Osmosis lab / -Test
-Quiz
-Vocabulary review
Nov/Dec
Introduction to Biochemistry
5-6 weeks / Approaches to Learning / To what extent do we place our loyalty in a system that we are unable to see or touch? / -Lab to test for carbohydrates
-Lab to test for protein
-Lab to test for lipids
-News articles relating to bulimia and anorexic / -Test
-Quiz
-Formative assessment:
Evaluate by relating the specificity of an enzyme to the analogy of a “lock and key.”
Dec/Jan
Homeostasis and the Human Anatomy
5-7 weeks / Health and Social Education / To what extent does environment influence integrated systems? / -Museum trip
-Making Connections Lab / -Test
-Quiz
-Write a product guide and care instructions for the heart.
Creative writing:
Students will imagine that they are RBC’s
Jan/Feb
Evolution-
History and Biological Diversity
4-5 weeks / Approaches to Learning / To what extent does a hypothesis become an accepted theory? / -Mini-lab: Observe the functions of an Opposable Thumb
-Beaks of Finches Lab
-Lab: Is spontaneous Generation possible?
-Museum Trip
-Research: Create a travelogue about the Galapagos Islands
-Create an Early Human Timeline / -Test
-Quiz
-Vocabulary chart
-Summary writing
Feb/March
Genetics and Molecular Biology
4-5 weeks / Health and Social Education / To what extent has technology helped or harmed society? / -DNA Lab
-Make a diagram of the general reproduction cycle of a cell that contains 6 chromosomes
-Write a poem about the stages of Meiosis I and II
-Plant seeds to represent Mendel’s Experiments / -Test
-Quiz
-Vocabulary review
-Predict inherited traits using Punnett Square