Students have the opportunity to read through a bioethical scenario related to biotechnology, then answer a few discussion questions related to the reading  I have students read one scenario on their own and highlight the FIVE most important ¨facts¨ of that scenario (I tell students there isn´t a wrong answer, they can highlight which ever pieces they feel are the most important from the reading- this allows different viewpoints to be demonstrated when they do the next part)  Then students get into a small group with others that read the same scenario.  They first discuss which items they each highlighted and what they thought about the article.  Next I hand out the discussion questions related to their reading passage and have the students answer the questions as a group.    For the last part of the discussion, I have students regroup so that each new group has ONE person from eaching reading passage.  Students share out a quick summary of their passage and then ask the new group if they think biotechnology should continue related to the information in the article.  If time permits, we have a whole class discussion about the ethics behind biotechnology and the different examples demonstrated in the reading passages.  

Students research and construct an oral debate about a topic related to Genetically Modified Organisms.

Students will read and evaluate different perspectives related to the Green Revolution and analyze how different perspectives can shape the public´s perception of agriculture and biotechnology.  Students read different articles written about the Green Revolution and answer questions to encourage them to interpret the meaning behind each article.  I use small and large group discussions after students read the articles to also stimuate discussion in my classroom about perceptions of the public.  You can extend this activity by having students conduct surveys or additional reseach about more recent topics related to biotechnology and find other articles that showcase different sides of an issue.  

Students read two articles about transgenic animals (EnviroPig and Spider Goat).  With each article there are some guiding questions to make sure students understand the information in the articles.  At the end of the worksheet, student then need to form their own opinion about transgenic animals and construct a short essay about their thoughts on transgenic animals.  Allows students to utilize literacy concepts in biotechnology.