This lesson was inspired by a POGIL lesson on proteins, though I have made this one for remote learning and shortened it. Like other process oriented guided learning activities, this one gives students graphics and information and then has them perform tasks to build their knowledge and understanding of the topic.
The slides start with the basic structure of an amino acid, where students identify the carboxyl and amine groups. Then moves onto R groups and how each R group has its own properties, such as being polar or having an aromatic ring. Students then learn about dehydration synthesis and see how amino acids form peptide bonds to create long chains.
The twenty amino acids are also discussed and students are asked to identify molecular models, though I do not expect them to memorize the chemical structures, just to look at the chart and compare them to other models. Finally, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structures are discussed with a focus on the proteins myoglobin and hemoglobin.
Students can work on this individually, though I plan to open breakout rooms in Zoom so that students can work on it in small groups, similar to how they might complete pogils in class. This also allows me to bounce between
There are a couple of areas where students are given links to go outside the document, mainly to clear up any confusion or to view the 3D version of myoglobin, though mostly they do not need to leave the Google Slide document to complete the assignment. The answer key is available on TpT, which also includes a PowerPoint version of the slides.
