Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Genes Can Be Turned On and Off
Regulations exist in many places from business to schools, but what about in our genes? Learn about gene regulation with an online interactive. It uses an animation to introduce the topic, many photographs of the scientists best known...
Curated OER
Characterization of the Bioluminescence (Lux+) Gene E. coli
Students grow E. coli strain HB101, which contains the plasmid pUCD607 with the bioluminescence (Lux+) gene. The plasmid containing the Lux+ gene is isolated from the E. coli, then characterized by restriction analysis.
Biology Corner
Pipe Cleaner Babies
Ever been told you have your father's eyes? How did it happen? Young biologists get a hands-on experience in meiotic gene expression with a fun pairs-based activity. Participants use pipe cleaner chromosomes with trait beads to make...
Agriculture in the Classroom
"Steer" Toward STEM: Careers in Animal Agriculture
Think like an engineer and an agricultural scientist over the course of 12 lessons in a STEM based unit. Young scientists take on the roles of animal physiologists, animal geneticists, agricultural engineers, animal nutritionists, and...
Curated OER
Beauty: Patterns in Nature
Young scholars explore the patterns of nature. In this interdisciplinary lesson plan, students examine beauty in nature and participate in a hands-on simulation that demonstrates how human preferences for beauty have led to an increased...
Curated OER
Raven Chapter 15 Guided Notes: Genes and How They Work
What does it take to produce all of the proteins that make up a living organism? An amazing series of events! Biology novices review the steps of protein synthesis by breaking down transcription and translation in detail. Colorful...
Curated OER
From Gene to Protein Study Guide
In this biology worksheet, students review and answer different questions based upon the molecules of DNA and RNA. They look at the specific protein order of the DNA strand and its synthesis.
University of Colorado
Punnett Squares with Piebald Deer
Explore the science behind Earth's amazing diversity of life with this lesson plan on genetics. Looking at specific traits in piebald deer, carnations, and roan cattle, young scientists use Punnett squares to determine the possible...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Mapping Genes to Traits in Dogs Using SNPs
Genetic analysis has gone to the dogs! Learners use real DNA information collected from dog saliva to study the relationship between genotypes and phenotypes. They analyze alleles to determine correlations to coat color, length, and...
Curated OER
It's in the Genes!
Help your students discover more about themselves with these great lesson ideas involving heredity, genetics, and Punnett Squares.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Regulation of the Lactase Gene
All human infants are lactose tolerant, yet some adults are lactose intolerant—why is that? Individuals discover the process of gene mutation through a study of the lactase gene (LCT). They understand the geographic connections,...
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Genes Can Be Moved Between Species
Biotechnology changes lives every day, but how did it all start? Learn about Cohen and Boyer's technique for recombinant DNA and the founding of this new scientific study. Then, scholars use the online interactive to discover how Hanahan...
Agriculture in the Classroom
Design 'Y'er Genes
How do changes in DNA affect an organism? Scholars explore chromosomes, genes, DNA, and mutations by modeling the DNA of a strawberry. They build a DNA model, then manipulate it to show how changing the genes transforms the strawberry...
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Master Genes Control Basic Body Plans
Have you ever been so tired you missed a major announcement? Eric Wieschaus woke to a call explaining he won the Nobel Prize, but he thought it was just a dream until Christiane Nusslein-Volhard, a co-winner, explained it to him later...
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Chromosomes Carry Genes
Some traits only exist in males and some only in females. Pupils learn how the location of genes on sex chromosomes determines them using an interactive lesson. An animation illustrates how scientists know this to be true and shows how...
Intel
Designer Genes: One Size Fits All?
In this STEM group of 10 activities, lesson two focuses on the question, "Just because we can, should we?" when considering genetically engineered food. Classes hear a scenario and, as young scientists and geneticists, must determine if...
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Genes Are Real Things
Proving microscopic structures exist is a difficult task. Learn how scientists did just that in the mid-1800s as they set out to identify the cellular structures related to genetics. The online lesson explains the collection of work that...
Columbus City Schools
Heredity: Traits, Genes, Alleles
If you knew people would pay extra for a bald dragon, could you pick which parents you should breed in order to get the highest number? The unit examines heredity and genetics through breeding dragons, mice, dogs, and tries to figure...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Peas in a Pod: Genetics
Can peas have grandparents? Learn about inherited traits and heredity with a set of activities focused on Mendelian genetics. As your class learns about the process of passing traits along in Punnett squares, they take on the role of...
Nuffield Foundation
Following Gene Transfer by Conjugation in Bacteria
After the lab, you'll be able to solve this analogy: Natural selection is to vertical transfer of genes as ___ is to the horizontal transfer of genes. Young biologists conduct an experiment on E. coli bacteria to explore the process of...
Biology Junction
Hemophilia: Genetics of the F8C Gene
Queen Victoria, of England, carried the hemophilia gene, and her children passed it on to the ruling families of Russia, Spain, and Germany. Scholars learn how hemophilia passes from generation to generation—usually undetected in women....
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Modeling the Regulatory Switches of the Pitx1 Gene in Stickleback Fish
Gene switches work similarly to light switches in controlling one feature of their environments. Scholars study the Pitx1 gene in a specific type of fish. They learn the different ways this switch controls various body parts and...
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Some Viruses Store Genetic Information in RNA
Can a high school program alter the entire course of your life? David Baltimore and Howard Temin participated in high school programs working in research laboratories and went on to win the 1975 Nobel Prize. Learn about these two...
Curated OER
Cut-Off Genes
Students explain the concept of gene sequence analysis. In this gene lesson, students draw inferences about phylogenetic similarities of different organisms.