Gene therapy, viral vectors, somatic vs. germline editing, CRISPR basics, reproductive screening.
Your PLTW coursework: Medical Interventions ▸ Unit 2: How to Screen What is In Your Genes ▸ Lesson 2.2 Our Genetic Future ▸ "Activity 2.2.1 Gene Therapy"
What to do if absent- CER:
- Claim, Evidence, Reasoning: make a claim, back it with evidence, explain your reasoning.
- SOP:
- Standard Operating Procedure, the exact steps to follow (especially in a lab).
- Tracker:
- Your PLTW progress log where you record completed evidence.
- myPLTW:
- The PLTW course site where you do the online activities. Find it in Clever with your Microsoft sign-in, right next to Schoology.
Week overview - Editing the Code: Gene Therapy and Its Ethics
Use a article to build a claim-evidence-reasoning argument about whether or should be allowed for a given case.
- 1Open the article in the PLTW course shell and annotate where it explains vectors and Cas9.
- 2In your notes, define versus in one sentence each.
- 3Circle one place in the article that mentions effects and note why that worries scientists.
- 4Write a claim stating whether the case should use or .
- 5Add two pieces of evidence from the article that support your claim, including .
- 6Finish your CER with reasoning that connects the evidence to your claim in two sentences.
- • You'll be able to tell from .
- • You'll be able to explain what a viral vector and do.
- • You'll be able to write a CER argument grounded in an article.
Daily lessons this week
Open any day for its full lesson, the work due that day, and guided notes.
One CER on whether gene editing should ever be permitted, plus a reflection naming one counterargument about consent of future generations.
Viral vector delivery diagram with labeled components, vs. distinction, two-vector comparison row, and one sentence on vector-cell targeting.
Annotated article (guide RNA, Cas9 cut, repair step marked; defined) plus a CER on using CRISPR in the reproductive screening case.
Complete ethics CER: claim on whether the case patient should receive therapy, two evidences from vector chart and work, reasoning naming one risk.
Quick intro to the week
- Today matters because is moving from science fiction to clinics, and you get to weigh in.
- Goal for today: read a article closely and turn it into a clear claim-evidence-reasoning argument.
- Monday's debate is : should we make changes that pass to a person's children and beyond?
- Your annotations and CER are graded from what you turn in, so submit them on the class site.
Your PLTW coursework this week
Do this: Advance the Unit 2 gene-therapy benchmark by submitting your -article CER on the class site.
- • delivers corrected genes, often using a viral vector.
- • edits affect one patient while edits pass to descendants.
- • can cut DNA at a target, but effects are a real risk.
- • Distinguish from .
- • Build a CER argument from an article with evidence and reasoning.
📋 Tracker evidence due this week: your annotated article and completed CER argument uploaded to the class site.
All PLTW activities are completed inside the PLTW course environment: this page only gives direction.
This week's PLTW tracker
Your week at a glance. Check off each deliverable as you finish it, then submit so Mr. Mendoza can see how the class is pacing.
Use the code Mr. Mendoza gave you, not your name. Saved on this device.
| Day | Date | Focus | Key deliverable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Mon, Oct 26 | Germline editing debate | One CER on whether germline gene editing should ever be permitted, plus a reflection naming one counterargument about consent of future generations. |
| Tuesday | Tue, Oct 27 | Viral vector chart | Viral vector delivery diagram with labeled components, somatic vs. germline distinction, two-vector comparison row, and one sentence on vector-cell targeting. |
| Wednesday | Wed, Oct 28 | CRISPR and reproductive screening | Annotated CRISPR article (guide RNA, Cas9 cut, repair step marked; off-target defined) plus a CER on using CRISPR in the reproductive screening case. |
| Thursday | Thu, Oct 29 | Gene therapy ethics CER | Complete gene therapy ethics CER: claim on whether the case patient should receive therapy, two evidences from vector chart and CRISPR work, reasoning naming one risk. |
- M: germline debate
- T: vector chart
- W: no school
- Th: reproductive screening case
- F: ethics CER
Due by week's end: Gene therapy ethics CER.
4 panels from the illustrated semester.
Fiction. There is no such student. The lessons, labs and dates are the real planned course; the student, the classmates and the conversations are invented.
What to do when absent
Most days, this class is your PLTW coursework: and PLTW is online and individual. So being out usually just means doing exactly what we did in class, from home.
Open Clever, then myPLTWHow to get there: open Clever and sign in with your Microsoft (district) account. Both myPLTW and Schoology are in Clever. Do the activity in myPLTW. Turn the work in on this site or hand it to Mr. Mendoza, because that is the step that counts as submitted. Schoology only shows your report-card grade later.
You can't do those from home: do this instead: article annotation and CER.
Class still runs. A substitute will post today's plan: complete the online activity above; it's built to be self-guided. Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
MedlinePlus: What is gene therapy?Vocabulary
Teacher-posted resources
Classroom documents for this lesson are posted in Schoology. Open Clever, then Schoology, and find each one by the name shown on its card.
Use this if you were absent, got stuck, or need another pass before you submit the lesson artifact.
Placement rationale
Matched , , reproductive ethics by path:Medical-Interventions/Unit-2_How-to-Screen-Your-Genes/2.2_Our-Genetic-Future; keywords:gene therapy, reproductive. Score 138. Visibility: student-schoology (student-facing resource; link through Schoology rather than local path).
Open this when the class reaches this activity and use it to complete the required lesson artifact.
Placement rationale
Matched , , reproductive ethics by path:Medical-Interventions/Unit-2_How-to-Screen-Your-Genes/2.2_Our-Genetic-Future; keywords:ethics, reproductive. Score 138. Visibility: student-schoology (student-facing resource; link through Schoology rather than local path).
Use this after the required lesson work when you are ready for a harder application or a deeper connection.
Placement rationale
Matched , , reproductive ethics by path:Medical-Interventions/Unit-2_How-to-Screen-Your-Genes/00_Unit-Overview; keywords:gene therapy, crispr. Score 134. Visibility: student-schoology (student-facing resource; link through Schoology rather than local path).
How to get there: open Clever and sign in with your Microsoft (district) account. Both myPLTW and Schoology are in Clever. Do the activity in myPLTW. Turn the work in on this site or hand it to Mr. Mendoza, because that is the step that counts as submitted. Schoology only shows your report-card grade later.