Rough draft.This research track is under review with Dr. Atit's lab. Content and sequence may still change.
The Baby Mateo Case
Developmental domainPrinciples of Biomedical Science (PBS)Lesson 1 of 20Your seat: Embryologist
When Could Mateo's Cleft Have Happened?
Discovery question
During which weeks of development does the face form, and when could a like Mateo's have started?
💡 A structure can only break during the window when it is being built, so timing the event tells the team when to look, not yet what or why.
Learn first
What you will learn
Goal: Place the major events of human on a week-by-week timeline (weeks 4 to 12) and identify the time window in which a lip or must originate.
Know by the end
- Human runs mostly from week 4 to week 12 of the .
- Many face structures are made by separate blocks of that grow toward each other and then fuse, and a is a that did not happen on time.
- The upper lip closes by about week 6 and the is fully fused by about week 12.
- Each structure has a critical window, so a disruption can only cause a given if it happens during that structure's window.
Learn first
Model: A craniofacial development timeline (human weeks)
Read the timeline like a calendar of construction. In week 4 special migrating cells arrive and pile up into five small swellings (prominences) around the future mouth, and two pits that become the nostrils split the top swelling. During weeks 4 to 6 the upper lip closes as the swellings grow toward each other and join. The small front triangle of the roof of the mouth forms in weeks 5 to 6.
The rest of the roof of the mouth comes from two shelves that start to grow downward beside the tongue at about week 6. By week 8 those shelves lift up to above the tongue, in weeks 8 to 9 they meet in the middle and begin to join, and by week 12 the roof of the mouth is fully fused and closed. The lab keeps a mouse timeline too, because most experiments use mice, but for Mateo we use the human weeks.
Do the work
Explore (work the model before reading on)
- In which week does the upper lip finish closing, and by which week is the roof of the mouth fully fused?
- What is the very first face event on the timeline, and in which week does it happen?
- Mateo has a of both the lip and the . Looking at the timeline, what is the full span of weeks during which either the lip or the palate is being built and joined?
- Why can a structure only be damaged during the window when it is being built, and not before or long after?
- If something interfered with development only during week 10, predict whether it would more likely affect the lip or the , and explain using the timeline.
The plan
Guided notes
1
The face is built early
Model start: In humans, runs mostly from about week 4 to week 12 of the .
- The upper lip closes by about week ____, and the is fully fused by about week ____.
- Many face structures are made by separate blocks that grow toward each other and then ____ (join).
2
Why windows matter
- Because each structure is built in its own window, there is a ____ window for each one.
- A disruption can only cause a given if it happens during that structure's ____.
- For Mateo, who has both a lip and a cleft, the window of interest spans roughly weeks ____ to ____.
3
An honesty note for scientists
- Knowing the window tells us ____ something could have gone wrong, not yet what or why.
- We are not diagnosing Mateo today, we are only ____ the event.
Explore
Reading the Research
What to read
Read the title and the abstract only, not the whole paper. Lan & Jiang 2015, Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Palatogenesis (Curr Top Dev Biol)
Why this source matters
This is the published evidence behind today's idea: A structure can only break during the window when it is being built, so timing the event tells the team when to look, not yet what or why.
Words to unlock first
Reading moves
- Skim the title and abstract first to get the gist.
- Circle the one sentence that states the main claim.
- Box the evidence the authors give for that claim.
- Mark one sentence that confuses you, and move on.
Stop point
You do not need the methods or statistics yet. If a sentence is about lab technique or math you have not learned, mark it and skip it.
Your output
Write one claim-evidence sentence: what this source claims, and the one piece of evidence that backs it up.
Where this fits
Tested on (Ohio WebXam)
Genetics of Disease · 072130
PLTW lesson
MI · Developmental domain · Human development foundations; the craniofacial timeline and critical windows
WebXam domain
Bio-Molecular Technology
Evidence to produce
On a blank timeline strip (weeks 4 to 12), mark two brackets: one over the weeks when the lip is forming and closing, and one over the weeks when the palate is forming and fusing. Then write one sentence for Mateo's chart: "Mateo's cleft of the lip and palate must have begun sometime between week ____ and week ____ of development, because that is the window when these structures are built."
Lab / skill
Principles of Biomedical Science (PBS) · Medical Interventions (MI)
The plan
Track your progress today
Check these off as you work through the lesson, then submit. This tells Mr. Mendoza how you're doing so he can help the class. It does not replace turning in your producible.
Use the code Mr. Mendoza gave you, not your name. Saved on this device.
Check off as you finish
- Read the Model and answered the Explore questions.
- Filled in the guided notes in my own words.
- Defined the new vocabulary with an example.
- Built the producible: On a blank timeline strip (weeks 4 to 12), mark two brackets: one over the weeks when the lip is forming and closing, and one over the weeks when the palate is forming and fusing. Then write one sentence for Mateo's chart: "Mateo's cleft of the lip and palate must have begun sometime between week ____ and week ____ of development, because that is the window when these structures are built."
- Wrote my Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning exit ticket.
Pick your period and code first.
Check yourself
Exit ticket (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning)
- Claim: Mateo's began during a specific window of development, roughly weeks ____ to ____.
- Evidence: On the timeline, the lip forms and closes during weeks ____ to ____ and the forms and fuses during weeks ____ to ____.
- Reasoning: A structure can only be disrupted while it is being built, so the must trace to the window when the lip and were forming, not before and not after.
How this is graded (rubric)
For: On a blank timeline strip (weeks 4 to 12), mark two brackets: one over the weeks when the lip is forming and closing, and one over the weeks when the palate is forming and fusing. Then write one sentence for Mateo's chart: "Mateo's cleft of the lip and palate must have begun sometime between week ____ and week ____ of development, because that is the window when these structures are built."
| Criterion | Proficient | Developing | Beginning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Complete | Every required part of the artifact is present and filled in. | Most parts are present, but one is missing or left blank. | Several parts are missing. |
| Accurate | The science and data are correct and match the evidence. | Mostly correct, with a small factual slip. | Key science or data is wrong. |
| Scientific reasoning (CER) | States a claim, backs it with specific evidence, and explains the reasoning. | Has a claim and evidence, but the reasoning is thin or missing. | Gives an answer with no evidence or reasoning. |
| Professional communication | Clear, organized, and labeled the way a clinician or scientist would write it. | Readable but disorganized or missing labels. | Hard to follow. |
| Submitted | Turned in the right way (Schoology for routine work) and confirmed. | Turned in, but in the wrong place or unconfirmed. | Not turned in. |
How the model answer scores against this rubric
- CompleteProficient: Nothing is left blank: the model fills every part of "On a blank timeline strip (weeks 4 to 12), mark two brackets: one over the weeks when the lip is forming and closing, and one over the weeks when the palate is forming and fusing. Then write one sentence for Mateo's chart: "Mateo's cleft of the lip and palate must have begun sometime between week ____ and week ____ of development, because that is the window when these structures are built."".
- AccurateProficient: Every number and claim matches the case evidence.
- Scientific reasoning (CER)Proficient: It names a claim, cites the specific evidence, and explains the reasoning, not just the answer.
- Professional communicationProficient: It is organized and labeled like a real chart note.
- SubmittedProficient: It would be turned in on Schoology and confirmed.
Explore
Where this leads: careers
Embryologist Developmental biologist Pediatric craniofacial surgeon
What's next: We answered today's question: Mateo's started in a window between about week 4 and week 12. But if a cleft is a that did not happen, then which exact building blocks of the face were supposed to grow toward each other and fuse? We chase that next time.