National Endowment for the Humanities
Albert Sabin and Bioethics: Testing at the Chillicothe Federal Reformatory
Do the ends justify the means? Getting a drug approved in the US is a long and involved process. But at some point out, it involves testing on humans. The ethics of such testing is the focus of a resource that uses Dr. Albert...
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Whose Genes Are These, Anyway?
Young scholars explore some of the ethical questions raised by genetic testing. They answer the question of whom, if anyone, has rights to knowledge of each person's genetic make-up.
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Module #1
Students explore and can explain genetic diseases, and how the central dogma plays a key role in genetic diseases. They comprehend what DNA probe is and how it is created and that there is an ethical component to biotechnology.
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Genetic Mistakes
High schoolers explore genetic disorders. They examine the genetic structure to physicial manifestations of various disabilities. Using internet sources, students analyze the characteristics of genetic disorders, whether they can be...
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Lesson 10: Karyotypes
Students predict traits of future offspring. In this biology lesson, students study karyotyping to predict genetic disorders. They research an assigned karyotype and present information about it.
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Food's Altered Ego
Students write in their journals where they believe food comes from. After reading an article, they examine the proceses of cultivation and sale of genetically modified foods. Using the internet, they research specific countries and...
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Ethics and Reproductive Issues: The Dilemma of Choice
Students research various websites to answer questions and take part in class discussion regarding Prenatal testing. Students listen to an audio file and complete student worksheet. Students discuss different roles of people and...
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Biotechnology: Monster or Miracle
High schoolers explore biotechnology. In this scenario-based lesson, students take a survey on what they know about genetic engineering, view a PowerPoint, and conduct a web quest. High schoolers will then be placed in groups, and...
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Heredity And Environment
Learners complete a pre-test on the relationship between heredity and the environment. As a class, they write down descriptions of themselves and identify which traits can be changed and not changed. In groups, they determine which...
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The Effects of Alcohol and other Teratogens: A model using Zebrafish
Students investigate the interference of various drugs on an embryo through experimentation. This is an open-ended lab to allow students to see effects of various chemicals humans choose to put in their bodies and create questions they...
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Development of I.Q. and the Degree of Relatedness
Studnets, in groups, analyze data regarding genetic and nongenetic relationships of I.Q. They make observations and discuss correlations from a diagram. Cooperative learning teams discuss a given set of questions and present information...
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Lesson 16: DNA Technology
Students research different areas of biotechnology. In this biology lesson, students create a presentation about their research. They debate the topic presented and share their views on the subject.
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Pedigree Charts
Pupils explain how offspring inherit traits from their parents. In this biology lesson, students investigate the genes for nicotine addiction using an interactive website. They construct a fictional pedigree using their chosen...
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Race Toward a Cure
Students come to explain how the presence of a mutation in the BRCA-1 or BRCA-2 gene, along with another acquired sometime after birth, affect the chances developing breast cancer.
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Create a Creature
Students design, build, draw, or bake a creature of their choice and present to the class. They write a paper including the creature's habitat, method of getting energy, their creature as a producer or consumer, predator or prey species...
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Red Mangroves Of Southern Florida
Middle schoolers engage in a unit plan to examine the ecological background for the Mangroves of southern Florida. They conduct research using print and computer technology sources. They use the information in a number of other extension...
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Comparison of Human and Chimpanzee Chromosomes
Students actively engage in the careful analysis of chromosome banding patterns and identify examples of inversion in homologous chromosomes.
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Decoding DNA
Third graders complete their KWL charts from the first lesson of the unit as a review for the summative. Then they decode a secret message using the four basic components of DNA, adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine.
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Learning about Biotechnology and GMO’s
Tenth graders describe the different methods of biotechnology. In this biology lesson, 10th graders assess the pros and cons of using GMO's. They create posters that either supports or discourages its use.