Humans aren't the only ones with DNA—fruit has it too. Using a extraction solution, pupils pull the DNA out of a piece of fruit. Learners crush up a piece of fruit with the solution and filter out the solids. Scholars then add cold...

Before a cell replicates, its DNA must replicate. Take advantage of a hands-on guided lesson to teach budding scientists how this happens. Using a set of nucleotide cards, learners become the DNA and work to create matching strands...

Everyone loves a good mystery ... can your class actually solve one? Partnered pupils take on the role of forensic investigators during a three-part activity focusing on DNA evidence processing. Learners discover the methods used to...

How do viruses hijack our cells to produce more viral particles? Junior immunologists model how viral RNA integrates into a host cell's DNA using pop beads and use interactive tools to explore a virus' genome. The teacher's guide...

In a fun and interactive two-day lesson, learners sort anole lizard pictures by appearance. Next, they watch a video about the anoles and re-sort based on the information in the video. In addition to physical characteristics, budding...

Use food coloring in electrophoresis. The last segment in a four-part series mimics DNA fingerprinting by using chromatography. Teams conduct chromatography on food coloring to find colors that use similar pigmentation in their makeup.

String up a message. Pupils string together colored beads to code a word or short phrase. Each color represents one of the four DNA bases. Using a combination of three bases, learners create an amino acid that stand for each letter of...

On the Caribbean islands, lizards expanded into different niches instead of competing for resources. Scholars discuss and learn from experts in a video how scientists prove the theory. They build phylogenetic trees based on appearances...

Help! Someone's trying to take my DNA! An interesting lab experiment has scholars use basic materials to extract DNA. By applying ethanol, cold water, and a protease enzyme, like pineapple juice, they pull strands of DNA from peas,...

Get up close and personal with DNA! A two-part hands-on activity has learners extract DNA from a small organism and then their own cheek cells. Scholars then explore DNA replication using questions to guide their analyses.

Police find a man murdered in a local hotel, DNA everywhere, and now they need scholars' help. Budding detectives step into a crime scene playing the roles of victim, suspects, and investigators. They apply knowledge of criminology and...

Get your class to take a closer look at DNA. Pupils conduct research to determine the methods used by scientists to analyze the molecular structure of DNA. The class members investigate different types of molecular imaging along with gel...

How do reverse transcriptase inhibitors work? Young virologists examine the function of azidothymidine, a drug doctors use to treat HIV patients, during a hands-on modeling activity. Groups create a strand of DNA from an HIV RNA strand...

How effective are cells at repairing UV damage? An inquiry-based lesson has learners experiment with organism by exposing them to various levels of UV light and then examining their DNA after a period of time. Pupils test different...

Seeing is believing! Bring DNA to life for young biologists using a simple extraction lab. Individuals extract the DNA from wheat germ, then place it in a microcentrifuge tube for observation. They thread yarn or other material through...

Forensic scientists depend on their observation skills to analyze evidence down to the molecular level. Middle and high schoolers practice making observations and predictions with a series of crime scene activities, which includes a...

Scientific knowledge of genetic information has grown quickly over the last decade. An interactive lesson has learners research the role of science and medicine in diagnosing and treating genetic disorders. They consider the job of the...

DNA is the code for all biological traits, both plant and animal. Using an exploratory lesson, learners begin to explore the concept of a biological code by decoding word puzzles. They then extract DNA from plant cells using detergent to...

Experimental design can make or break an experiment. Young scholars analyze the pulse-chase analysis procedure by studying the Meselson-Stahl experiment. Using a video presentation, they discover how the pulse-chase analysis led to the...

While much of prehistory is cloaked in mystery, ancient ancestors left evidence in DNA, languages, and materials from their time. Using photographs of items such as cave paintings and ancient tools, as well as maps of linguistic patterns...

Getting bored with the typical review strategies? Why not turn it into a game! Learners practice their DNA vocabulary by trying to get their partner to guess the word they're describing. To complicate things a bit, there are words that...

Match my cereal sequence. Pupils view a sequence made by colorful cereal rings and create copies of it. Learners must either remember or write down the sequence to transport the code to another location. Scholars replicate the cereal...

Rotating through five stations, evolutionary biologists explore the question of how changes in DNA facilitate the changes in a population over time. High-quality, colorful cards of animals, skeletons, skulls, and DNA sequences can all be...

DNA carries the codes for creating just the right protein. A well-designed lesson leads pupils through the process from start to finish and everywhere in between. Guiding questions with supporting video help scholars understand the...