What makes muscle proteins so different from other proteins in our body? (Playlist Version)

High School | Daily Do

What makes muscle proteins so different from other proteins in our body? (Playlist Version)

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Teachers and families across the country are facing a new reality of providing opportunities for students to do science through distance and home learning. The Daily Do is one of the ways NSTA is supporting teachers and families with this endeavor. Each weekday, NSTA will share a sensemaking task teachers and families can use to engage their students in authentic, relevant science learning. We encourage families to make time for family science learning (science is a social process!) and are dedicated to helping students and their families find balance between learning science and the day-to-day responsibilities they have to stay healthy and safe.

Interested in learning about other ways NSTA is supporting teachers and families? Visit the NSTA homepage.

What Is Sensemaking?

Sensemaking is actively trying to figure out how the world works (science) or how to design solutions to problems (engineering). Students do science and engineering through the science and engineering practices. Engaging in these practices necessitates that students be part of a learning community to be able to share ideas, evaluate competing ideas, give and receive critique, and reach consensus. Whether this community of learners is made up of classmates or family members, students and adults build and refine science and engineering knowledge together.

Lesson Snapshot

High school students, as scientists, investigate differences among proteins to answer the following driving question: What makes muscle proteins so different from other proteins in our body? Students interact with images, videos, and simulations to discover that different DNA sequences found in different genes result in different proteins that have different structures and functions. This discovery can help explain how many different proteins (including muscles) can be made from the amino acids in the foods we digest.

Click the Download PDF button above for the complete Lesson Plan.

Materials

Student Materials

Per Student

Transcription and Translation Practice Sheet
Protein Folding Investigations Activity Sheet
Amino Acids Chart (grouped by hydrophobic and hydrophilic)
Protein Folding Simulation
Instructions for paper version of the Actin Structure Investigation (paper-and-pencil version) or Actin Structure Investigation Slides
Final Model Template
A laptop or Chromebook to work with the simulation and modeling investigations

Teacher Materials

Several pieces of chart paper and chart markers or another space to record student ideas publicly
Protein Folding Simulation
Protein Folding Explained video

Proteins and Muscles Playlist

Storylines and Phenomena

This lesson is the fourth lesson in the Proteins and Muscles playlist. Storylines start with an anchoring phenomenon that raises questions or introduces a problem. Each step in a storyline unit is then driven by students’ questions that arise from the phenomenon.

In this case, the anchoring phenomenon is professional athletes with muscular bodies who are vegan. Students investigate the diets of these athletes to answer this question: How do people build muscles if they are not eating muscle protein? This gives them a reason for investigating the formation, structure, and function of proteins. In doing so, they will make sense of Disciplinary Core Ideas related to genetics and genomics.

The protein and muscles storyline allows students to develop science ideas related to LS1.A Structure and Function and LS3.A Inheritance of Traits.