Using Information Processing

This is how I will use the Information Processing model to teach mitosis to my students.

First, I will get their attention by saying “Today we will be learning about how cells divide! This will be on the unit test” and then show a short animated video on mitosis.

Then I will introduce them to the stages of mitosis, and have them rehearse it several different ways:

1.     I will talk about the key points of mitosis

2.     Then I’ll use the smart board to draw the stages of mitosis and have the students do the same in their notes with colored markers

3.     Using the elmo, I’ll demonstrate to the students how to demonstrate mitosis using pieces of yarn as chromatids

4.     The students will then explain the process of mitosis to each other using the yarn

5.     We’ll review the stages of mitosis one more time.

6.     Then I’ll have them take home a blank flip book and fill draw the stages of mitosis in it, cut it out and put it together.

Practicing it by drawing it, modeling it with yarn, explaining it to each other while modeling, and filling out the flip book will also help them to encode the process more effectively.