John Hay
John Hay Biomedical
Student Hub · Go Hornets 🐝
My ClassAboutFeedback
Wed, Feb 10, 2027Spring (Semester 2) · Week 4Day 17 of 7080-min block

Sarcomere and contraction

Today's target

Describe sarcomere structure and explain contraction using the sliding-filament model.

Due today · Notebook check Required

Labeled sarcomere diagram (Z-lines, A-band, I-band, actin, myosin) plus a two-sentence sliding-filament contraction explanation.

Your 4 steps today
  1. 1
    Do this
    Describe sarcomere structure and explain contraction using the sliding-filament model.
  2. 2
    Use this resource
    Open the vetted readings in the Resources section below
  3. 3
    Submit this
    Notebook check: Labeled sarcomere diagram (Z-lines, A-band, I-band, actin, myosin) plus a two-sentence sliding-filament contraction explanation.
  4. 4
    Submit it here
    1. 1CMSD website. Go to clevelandmetroschools.org and click the Clever button.
    2. 2Clever. Clever opens. Sign in if it asks.
    3. 3Microsoft (district) login. Use your district Microsoft account (the one for school).
    4. 4Schoology. Open Schoology, then your class, then Assignments, and find the file named below.
    The file to submit is named: Human Anatomy & Physiology (Human Body Systems) › Unit 1.2 Muscles and Motion: Muscle contraction, muscle orientation, Maniken muscle build, movement and biomechanics. › Notebook check
    Open Schoology
Were you absent? Jump to the make-up plan
Open PLTW / submit on Schoology Guided notes PDF If you were absent
AgendaPLTW WorkDaily TrackerResourcesLab & SuppliesVocabularyWebXamCareersAbsent
Where this fits
Tested on (Ohio WebXam)
Human Anatomy and Physiology · 072040
PLTW lesson
HBS · Sarcomere and contraction
WebXam domain
Human Body Form, Function, and Pathophysiology
Evidence to produce
Notebook check
Lab / skill
Khan Academy: Muscular System
Quick glossary
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 — you open it through Schoology.
Learn first

Minute-by-minute · 80-minute block

💡 Big idea: Every voluntary movement in the body is driven by sarcomeres shortening through actin-myosin cross-bridge cycling.

  1. 0-8Intro: scale from whole muscle to sarcomere
  2. 8-25Notes: sarcomere structure and sliding-filament mechanism
  3. 25-45PLTW online task: sliding-filament mechanism
  4. 45-62Label sarcomere diagram: Z-lines, A-band, I-band, actin, myosin
  5. 62-75Write two-sentence explanation of band changes during shortening
  6. 75-80Submit diagram and explanation; preview Maniken build
Mr. Mendoza's 5-minute intro
  • • You can move your hand right now because thousands of tiny protein filaments inside your muscle cells are sliding past each other.
  • • Today we zoom into one sarcomere and watch that process step by step. This is the sliding-filament model.
  • • The diagram you produce today is the foundation for Thursday when we look at agonist and antagonist pairs. You need it to be accurate.
  • • High-yield vocabulary for the WebXam: sarcomere, actin, myosin, Z-line, A-band, I-band, sliding-filament model.
Do this, step by step
  1. 1Read the notes on the sarcomere, actin (thin) and myosin (thick) filaments.
  2. 2Label a sarcomere diagram including the Z-lines, A-band, and I-band.
  3. 3Complete the PLTW online task on the sliding-filament mechanism.
  4. 4Explain in two sentences what happens to the bands when a muscle shortens.
  5. 5Submit your labeled sarcomere diagram and contraction explanation.
You'll be able to
  • • You can label the parts of a sarcomere.
  • • You can explain contraction with the sliding-filament model.
Know by the end
  • • A sarcomere is the functional unit of a muscle fiber, bounded by Z-lines. It contains thick (myosin) and thin (actin) filaments.
  • • In the sliding-filament model, myosin heads pull actin toward the center of the sarcomere; the A-band stays constant while the I-band and H-zone narrow.
  • • ATP powers the cross-bridge cycle; without ATP, myosin heads cannot detach (explaining rigor mortis as a pathophysiology example).
📺 Tutor me: Khan Academy: Muscular system
Do the work

Your PLTW work today

Open this PLTW section today

Unit 1.2 Muscles and Motion: Muscle contraction, muscle orientation, Maniken muscle build, movement and biomechanics. · Sarcomere and contraction

Day 2 of this lesson. Open this exact section in myPLTW (reached through Schoology), then do the work below.

Do this: Complete the sliding-filament mechanism task in Lesson 1.2 Muscles and Motion on myPLTW; work through all screens on sarcomere structure and contraction.

Complete

Mark the sliding-filament task complete after submitting your labeled sarcomere diagram.

How far to get

Introductory task is done; by end of today the sliding-filament task should show complete.

Upload as evidence

myPLTW completion status plus your submitted diagram.

All PLTW activities are completed inside the PLTW course environment — this page only gives direction. Submit producibles on Schoology.

The plan

Today's PLTW tracker

Check things off as you work, then submit. This tells Mr. Mendoza how you're doing so he can help the class. It does not replace turning in your producible on Schoology.

Use the code Mr. Mendoza gave you, not your name. Saved on this device.

Unit 1.2 Muscles and Motion: Muscle contraction, muscle orientation, Maniken muscle build, movement and biomechanics.Day 2 of this projectSee the full week plan
Today's PLTW target

Unit 1.2 Muscles and Motion: Muscle contraction, muscle orientation, Maniken muscle build, movement and biomechanics. · Sarcomere and contraction

Complete the sliding-filament mechanism task in Lesson 1.2 Muscles and Motion on myPLTW; work through all screens on sarcomere structure and contraction.

Introductory task is done; by end of today the sliding-filament task should show complete.

This is how Mr. Mendoza sees the class keeping pace with PLTW. Be honest, it only helps if it is accurate.

1 · What you do today

🎯 Describe sarcomere structure and explain contraction using the sliding-filament model.

  • Read the notes on the sarcomere, actin (thin) and myosin (thick) filaments.
  • Label a sarcomere diagram including the Z-lines, A-band, and I-band.
  • Complete the PLTW online task on the sliding-filament mechanism.
  • Explain in two sentences what happens to the bands when a muscle shortens.
  • Submit your labeled sarcomere diagram and contraction explanation.
2 · Turn in today

Notebook check: Labeled sarcomere diagram (Z-lines, A-band, I-band, actin, myosin) plus a two-sentence sliding-filament contraction explanation.

Submit on Schoology

Upload by 11:29 PM for full credit.

Where to find it
Open the vetted readings in the Resources section below
3 · Who's doing what (team)
TaskWho
Read the notes on the sarcomere, actin (thin) and myosin (thick) filaments._______
Label a sarcomere diagram including the Z-lines, A-band, and I-band._______
Complete the PLTW online task on the sliding-filament mechanism._______
Explain in two sentences what happens to the bands when a muscle shortens._______
Submit your labeled sarcomere diagram and contraction explanation._______

Working solo? Put your own name in "Who" for every row.

4 · Words I can use correctly
5 · I'm successful today when I can…
  • You can label the parts of a sarcomere.
  • You can explain contraction with the sliding-filament model.
6 · Reflection & next steps
Where are you today?0/7 checked
Pick your period and code first.
Explore

Resources & readings

Vetted readings and references for this unit. Use them to prepare, to catch up if you were absent, or to go deeper on today's target.

Khan Academy: Anatomy and PhysiologyOpen MedlinePlusOpen
Lab day

Lab & supplies

Bring / set up
Maniken modelClay or modeling material for muscle buildMuscle reference diagramsSculpting toolsLab notebookCamera or tablet to document the build
Khan Academy: Muscular System
Words

This unit's vocabulary

sarcomereactinmyosincontractiontendonorigininsertionlever

Tap the speaker to hear a term. Weekly vocabulary task: add two of these terms to your notebook glossary with a definition and an example in your own words.

Check yourself

WebXam practice

Tap an answer to check it · nothing is recorded or graded
The basic contractile unit of a skeletal muscle fiber is the:
According to the sliding-filament theory, muscle shortening occurs when:
The relatively immovable attachment point of a muscle is called its:
A tendon functions to:
Check yourself

Cumulative WebXam review

A quick mixed-review pulling questions from earlier units plus today, so the WebXam material stays fresh.

Tap an answer to check it · nothing is recorded or graded
[Review: Course Launch: PLTW access, the lab notebook, and the language of anatomy] Homeostasis is best defined as:
[Review: Beginning with Bones: regional terms, body planes, cavities, and tissues] A transverse (horizontal) plane divides the body into which two parts?
[Review: Bones: structure, fractures, and how the skeleton repairs itself] Which connective tissue structure attaches one bone to another bone at a joint?
The basic contractile unit of a skeletal muscle fiber is the:
Explore

Where this leads — careers

What today's skills lead to. These are real health-science careers this course builds toward. Tap one to see, on the US Department of Labor's O*NET site, what the job actually involves, what it pays, and how fast it is growing.

SurgeonOperate to repair injury and disease across the body's systems.Physical TherapistRestore movement and function after injury, surgery, or illness.Athletic TrainerPrevent, assess, and rehabilitate musculoskeletal injuries.EMT and ParamedicStabilize patients in emergencies and read vital signs fast.CardiologistDiagnose and treat the heart and circulatory system.
Safety net

What to do if you were absent

If YOU are absent

Today is individual PLTW work, so do exactly what we did in class, from home: complete the same PLTW target above, then submit your Notebook check.

Open Schoology (CMSD) and keep going

How to get there: open the CMSD website, click Clever, sign in with your Microsoft (district) account, then open Schoology from Clever.

If MR. MENDOZA is absent

Class still runs. Complete the online activity above (it's self-guided). Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:

Khan Academy: Muscular System
How this is graded
For: Notebook check — Labeled sarcomere diagram (Z-lines, A-band, I-band, actin, myosin) plus a two-sentence sliding-filament contraction explanation.
  • Complete
    Every required part of the artifact is present, nothing left blank.
  • Accurate
    The science and the data are correct and match the evidence.
  • Scientific reasoning
    You explain your claim with evidence and reasoning (CER), not just an answer.
  • Professional communication
    Clear, organized, labeled, and written the way a clinician or scientist would.
  • Submitted
    Turned in the right way (Schoology for routine work) and confirmed.
Submission Zone

Drop your Wed, Feb 10, 2027 · Sarcomere and contraction here. Use a clear file name (your initials + project). Routine work still goes to Schoology (via the CMSD portal).

Upload a project
Previous dayThis week's overviewNext day
Was this helpful?
Give quick feedbackAsk a question Family feedback