Microworlds
Lesson 13
Looking at Living Things: Blepharisma
Students will observe living/moving things. They will be working with a pink colored organism called Blepharisma. They will follow the same procedures as in lesson 12.
3. Lesson Set-up and Management
4-5 INQD Investigations involve systematic collection and recording of relevant observations and data.
4-5 LS1A Plants and animals can be sorted according to their structures and behaviors.
4-5 LS1B List parts of an animal’s body and describe how it helps the animal meet its basic needs.
4-5 LS2B Plants make their own food using energy from the sun. Animals get food by eating plants and/or other animals that eat plants. Plants make it possible for animals to use the energy of sunlight.
- Students will use their microscope skills on living organisms.
- Students will recognize individual microbes on a slide.
- Students will observe an organism reproducing by the process of binary fission.
3. Lesson Set-Up and Management
Materials:
- If you want students to pick up their own Blepharisma, you may want to divide the specimen into more than one container for quicker distribution.
- Make sure the students and teacher use a clean dropper for picking up the Blepharisma.
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Students should draw and
record their observations of the Blepharisma, |
Student Management:
- Make sure students do not pick up their microscopes during this rest of the unit, while looking at their specimens. Everything will be in liquid. The specimen will slide off of the slide.
- Students need to make sure they don’t get too much of the liquid on their slide. When they adjust the focus, they may get it wet. Students would then need to use a lens cleaner to dry it off.
- Students should focus their microscopes up and down, while allowing the Blepharisma to swim into view. Moving the slide back and forth will only making it harder to find them, because they move quickly.
- Students should have a drawing and observations in their notebook. Have a circle pattern available to them to trace. This gives them a place to draw the organism to scale. They can write their observations beside it.
- Instead of having students read the information on Blepharisma first, allow them the opportunity to look at the specimen – then do the reading (Activity Before Content).
- Once students have their slide with Blepharisma, encourage them to try and see them with their naked eye. Students will most likely not see anything. They are almost transparent and smaller than the Volvox.
- If students don’t see anything with their microscopes, you may need to get them a different sample. (Their sample may only be liquid.)
- After students have made their observations and drawings, read the selection on Blepharisma together from the Student Activity book. Allow plenty of time for students to go back and make observations – trying to identify the properties and behaviors of Blepharisma from the reading.
- Make sure you discuss how the Blepharisma travels (cilia), and how it gets energy (eating bacteria).
- Discuss binary fission with them. Ask if anyone thought they saw it. A video clip is on the website Cells Alive that show this.
Writing Support:
- To go along with binary fission, ask students to write a story about an imaginary creature that is able to split to make an identical twin. See Extensions #2.
Reading Support:
- The Discovery Deck (that is found in some older STC Microworlds kits) has a card on Blepharisma. It does a good job giving information about Blepharisma.