Thematic Week 1 Identity

Title: Identity through the human body

Author: Cota

Week: Oct. 3, 2007

Unit/Lesson Plan #: Thematic Weeks

Unit theme:

It is a useful exercise to ask ourselves who we are, and how we came to be who we are. And when we do this, two good things will happen. We will want to investigate our heritage to better understand our roots, and we will want to ask ourselves whether there is anything about ourselves that we would like to change.  And that will lead us to deeper, and more fun, philosophical questions. Are you the same person that you were at aged 5? Of course, you probably have the same name, but it could have been changed. So what makes you the same person? Is it your memories? But would you not be you if you lost your memory? All tough, but fun, philosophical questions.

Textbook references:

 None

Learning objectives:

 Define the elemental composition of the human body as well as discuss a few unique features that the cells of the human body achieve.

Key Questions, Concepts, or Themes:

Stage 1:

The human body is the entire physical structure of a human organism. We will fill out the frame of the body with the percentages of elements we are compsoed of. We will discuss the following:

Humans, or human beings, are bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin: "wise man" or "knowing man") in the family Hominidae (the great apes).[1][2] Compared to other living organisms on Earth, humans have a highly developed brain capable of abstract reasoning, language, and introspection. This mental capability, combined with an erect body carriage that frees their upper limbs for manipulating objects, has allowed humans to make far greater use of tools than any other species. DNA evidence indicates that modern humans originated in Africa about 200,000 years ago,[3] and they now inhabit every continent, with a total population of over 6.6 billion as of 2007.

Stage 2:

By mass, human cells consist of 65-90% water (H2O), and a significant portion is composed of carbon-containing organic molecules. Oxygen therefore contributes a majority of a human body's mass, followed by carbon. 99% of the mass of the human body is made up of the six elements oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus.

The human body consists of systems, organs, tissues and cells. Human anatomy studies structures and systems of the human body. The study of the workings of the human body is called physiology. Ecology focuses on the distribution and abundance of the bodies and how the distribution and abundance are affected by interactions between bodies and its environment.

Stage 3:

Combination of individual atoms: An atom consists of a dense nucleus of positively-charged protons and electrically-neutral neutrons, surrounded by a much larger electron cloud consisting of negatively-charged electrons.

molecules: a molecule is defined as a sufficiently stable electrically neutral group of at least two atoms in a definite arrangement held together by strong chemical bonds.

polypeptides: Peptides (digestible) are short polymers formed from the linking, in a defined order, α-amino acids. The link between one amino acid residue and the next is known as an amide bond or a peptide bond.

Classwork: (attach/link digital resources):

Write a short essay on

Who am I, in relation to the human body? 

Assessments: (attach/link copies)

__ Group assessment

__ Observation of process/student work

__ Self-assessment by student

__ Teacher generated assignment

__ Written project

__ Test/Quiz

__ Other: ____________________________________