How would you explain the process of protein synthesis if it were assigned to you as a class project?
In Mrs. Reid’s 7th grade Life Science Class, Anna Jiang and Anyssa Lin used their creativity, technical knowledge and writing skills to turn science into a story titled “Mary’s Adventure: Transcription to Translation”.
In the story, Mary meets her brand new baby cousin Henry who has Down Syndrome and she is troubled by the fact that her little cousin looks different. She muses “I wish I could see why Henry has a mutation and has Down Syndrome” and there begins her adventure as she is pulled into her cousin’s body and begins to see firsthand the beautiful process of protein synthesis from the inside. As she travels through his cells, she sees that Henry has a mutation because an extra nucleotide is added to the DNA strand and understands why a mutation is genetic and how easily it can occur. When she reaches the end of her journey, Mary now only finds that she knows more about DNA, RNA and protein synthesis, but also that she now has a deeper affection for her little cousin.
The best teachers ask students not only to listen but to articulate what they are hearing through presentations, creative writing, poster projects, and “turn and talk” moments in class. This has always been the lynchpin of the Veritas science curriculum. But Anna and Annyssa took the process a step further, as they wrestled with the human side of science with remarkable creativity and talent.
In Mrs. Reid’s 7th grade Life Science Class, Anna Jiang and Anyssa Lin used their creativity, technical knowledge, and writing skills to turn science into a story entitled “Mary’s Adventure: Transcription to Translation”.
In the story, Mary meets her brand new baby cousin Henry, who has Down Syndrome. She is troubled by the fact that her little cousin looks different, and muses “I wish I could see why Henry has a mutation and has Down Syndrome”. There begins her adventure as she is pulled into her cousin’s body and begins to see firsthand the beautiful process of protein synthesis from the inside. As she travels through his cells, she sees that Henry has a mutation because an extra nucleotide is added to the DNA strand and understands why a mutation is genetic and how easily it can occur. When she reaches the end of her journey, Mary now only finds that she knows more about DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis, but also that she now has a deeper affection for her little cousin.
The best teachers ask students not only to listen, but to articulate what they are hearing through presentations, creative writing, poster projects, and “turn and talk” moments in class. This has always been the lynchpin of the Veritas science curriculum. Anna and Anyssa took the process a step further, as they wrestled with the human side of science with remarkable creativity and talent.
