Activity
Curated OER

Activity: Gummy Bear Genetics

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Who's your Daddy ... and Mommy for that matter? Given a first-generation group of gummy bear offspring, young scientists must determine which bears are their parents. An activity worksheet covers the differences in genotypes and...
Lesson Plan
Serendip

Soap Opera Genetics – Genetics to Resolve Family Arguments

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
Activity
Serendip

Understanding How Genes Are Inherited via Meiosis and Fertilization

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Bring the excitement of genetics to scholars with a dynamic hands-on meiosis modeling experience. During the activity, biologists follow step-by-step procedures to build chromosomes, model independent assortment, learn about crossing...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Effect of Natural Selection on Genes, Traits and Individuals

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
Serendip

Should States Repeal Their Laws Banning First Cousin Marriage?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Around half of the states in the US ban first cousin marriage, but does science support that ban? Scholars work through genetic analysis of the risks to understand if more states should ban the practice—or if some should remove it. They...
Activity
Biology Corner

Pipe Cleaner Babies

For Students 9th - 12th
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...
Activity
Oklahoma State University

Oklahoma State University: Ag in the Classroom: Hairy Heredity [Pdf]

For Students 3rd - 8th
A simulation where students flip coins to mimic how parents pass genetic traits to their offspring through heredity. This activity also illustrates the difference between dominant and recessive genes, and how they interact with each...
Activity
Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments: Numb3 Rs: All in the Family

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Based off of the hit television show NUMB3RS, this lesson shows students the scientific reasoning behind the societal taboo of incest. Students complete a Punnett square to determine the chances of an offspring inheriting two recessive...