Students enter personal information into a database. The information is used to reinforce the ideas of inheritance that is found in 1st Grade Science. Access to technology is essential for this lesson. Adding the use of a mirror for...

Help mice beat the odds with an exciting activity about traits. Biologists discover the role of diet and other factors on animal traits by participating in a simulation activity. Teams collect and evaluate data to understand how certain...

Explore the science behind Earth's amazing diversity of life with this instructional activity on genetics. Looking at specific traits in piebald deer, carnations, and roan cattle, young scientists use Punnett...

Sixth graders list traits that all sixth graders share. They receive worksheets "Tracking Down Traits," working in groups to complete the chart. Students share results with the class and a class summary is tallied. Students discuss the...

Two individuals share 99.9 percent of their genetic codes, yet diversity is observed everywhere. Young scientists learn about diversity through hands-on activities and an experiment. They apply the concepts of independent assortment and...

Become familiar with the basic concepts of inheritance. Your junior high learners work through mulitple examples of crosses and calculate probabilities of trait occurance. The explain the concept that each parent contributes one half of...

Learners discuss inherited traits and relate to the inherited traits in a cicada.  In this cicada lesson, students follow the life cycle of the cicada and observe the changes as it grows. Learners discuss the characteristics of the...

How did scientists determine the cause of illness before technology? Science scholars play the role of medical researcher in an engaging guided inquiry activity. Using observations, technical reading, and Punnett squares, learners...

Selective breeding has resulted in some novel and beautiful or useful dogs over the years. Using the American Foxhound as an example, genetics learners find out how and why they came about. Then, in small groups, they select breeds to...

Students investigate genetics as the study of inherited traits. They complete a worksheet.

What makes each one of us unique? Lead your class in this exciting and educational activity as you uncover traits that show how each individual is different from another. Pupils explore facts about DNA technology and predict the...

Students model traits on genes using colored paper and tongue depressors to represent chromosomes. In this heredity lesson plan, students use their "chromosome sticks" to understand chromosome pairs, genes, dominant traits, recessive...

This is mostly an exploration of race through an interactive website, class readings, and discussion. Individuals take an online quiz about race, they answer questions on a worksheet by visiting another website, and discover that race is...

Really a unit, this resource exposes middle schoolers to genetics at their level. They read interviews and biographies, trace a family tree, play games that simulate inheritance concepts, and more! Teacher's procedures, student...

Reebops are cute, marshmallow-based creatures that can be used to teach inheritance. Beginning biologists draw strips of paper that represent chromosomes from two envelopes, one for the father, and one for the mother. Each parent...

Students examine their concepts of "beautiful" and "ugly" and the social influence on this perception. They look more closely at the role genetics plays on determining the way a person looks. Students explore ways to enhance their own...

Students explore the mode of inheritance of chromosomes. Given a scenario, students use the Human Genome sheet to determine inherited chromosomes. They illustrate the difference between genotype and phenotype. Students develop a model...

How did Mendel know which pea plants would demonstrate certain characteristics? Pupils explore the answer this question, among others, as they complete Punnet squares, research dominant and recessive traits, and explore hereditary...

Did she cheat on her husband? Did the hospital switch the babies? Should they have children? As much as this sounds like the plot for a soap opera, all of these questions fit into a single lesson on genetics. Scholars read about three...

Young scholars discern that dominant and recessive traits occur in a variety of combinations in any given group of people.

Students explore Gregor Mendel's work with genetics. They complete a survey of their friends and family in order to identify dominant and recessive traits. Once their surveys are complete, students discuss the ways in which dominant...

If Parseltongue is a genetic trait, what is the probability a wizard will inherit the ability to speak Parseltongue? Scholars investigate magical and biological genetics with Punnett squares.

Students identify inherited traits. In this genetics lesson, students participate in a discussion about traits and use a checklist to identify inherited traits. Students complete a hand-out.

Four different-shaped and dyed pasta types represent four different alleles. Following a guide sheet, young geneticists practice randomly selecting alleles and discover the traits of the resulting offspring. This is a fun and solid...