Curated OER
EMS Lesson 1: Variety is the Spice of Life
Students discern that dominant and recessive traits occur in a variety of combinations in any given group of people.
Curated OER
Variety is the Spice of Life
Young scholars 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...
Curated OER
Genes
Students explore the history, inheritance and mutations of genetics. For this genetic lesson students complete experiments on DNA sequences.
Curated OER
High-Tech Food: Science in Your Shopping Cart
Kids are given a lot to think about, as they delve into the world of high-tech foods. They discuss GMOs, biotechnology, food enhancements and domestication. They view videos, engage in class discussions, complete worksheets, and learn...
Agriculture in the Classroom
Roll of the Genes
Animal reproduction in sheep and cattle is explored with the help of Punnet squares. Scholars employ tools using probability to conclude the color of wool a sheep's offspring will have. Acting as animal geneticists, pupils then take...
Give and Let Live
Blood and Transplant: Organs
Who donates organs, and how do organ donations work? The third lesson in a four-part series discusses the tremendous need for donor organs of all ages and backgrounds. A variety of materials, included with the teacher's guide, walk...
Curated OER
A Bug's Life: Diary of an Insect's Metamorphosis
Fifth graders examine the stages of insect's to understand heredity. For this inherited traits lesson, 5th graders explore the life of the honeybee for its inherited traits. Students recognize the difference between inherited traits and...
Curated OER
Pets: Oh Behave
Students develop an understanding of how innate and learned behaviors and the environment determine behavior. They see how a variety of factors affects our pet's behavior-including species-specific traits, the environment, training, and...
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
Genetics
Become familiar with the basic concepts of inheritance. Your junior high students work through mulitple examples of crosses and calculate probabilities of trait occurance. The explain the concept that each parent contributes one half of...
Curated OER
Genetics
Trace simple genetic patterns of inheritance through a small population. Your students create a family pedigree that traces a genetic condition through several generations.
University of California
Artificially Selecting Dogs
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...
Western Kentucky University
Understanding Genetics: Punnett Squares
Can scientists really predict genetic outcomes or are they simply making a lucky guess? Scholars first learn about Gregor Mendel and how to make Punnett squares. Then they extract DNA from a strawberry in a lab with included conclusion...
Curated OER
It's All in the Genes
Twelfth graders investigate the inheritance of traits through several hands-on activities that illustrate the transmission of genetic characteristics. Students study advanced topics including multiple alleles, polygenic traits,...
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
In Sickness and in Health
Based on family history, how likely is it that a couple's children will have a recessive disease? In an in-depth, but easy-to-follow case study, future geneticists learn the story of Greg and Olga, who are hoping to have children, but...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Color Variation over Time in Rock Pocket Mouse Populations
A species-specific look at natural selection, the resource herein examines how adaptations have helped the population of rock pocket mice survive in a changing landscape. To begin, middle or high schoolers watch a 10.5 minute video,...
Serendip
Should States Repeal Their Laws Banning First Cousin Marriage?
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...
Curated OER
Genetic Disorders
Students examine how living cells create new cells and how genetic mutations can cause disorders and be inherited. In this genetic reproductionn lesson students create their own PowerPoint presentation.
Agriculture in the Classroom
A Rafter of Turkeys
How did that turkey get from the early Aztec culture to your table? Learn about the history of wild and domesticated turkeys in North America, as well as their inclusion in Thanksgiving traditions, with a two-part agricultural science...
Serendip
The Molecular Biology of Mutations and Muscular Dystrophy
Different types of mutations cause unique types and degrees of muscular dystrophy. Scholars learn about the types of mutations and the impact on the body. They compare the location of the mutations and draw conclusions about how it is...
Curated OER
DNA, the Awesome Thread of Life
Students examine how traits are passed to offspring. In this genetic reproduction lesson students develop a model of dna and learn about its structure, replication and function.
Curated OER
Family Tree Video
Fifth graders create a video with photos with photos of their family members. They demonstrate an explain of traits that are inherited.
Curated OER
Flower Power: An Introduction to Heredity
Students observe flowers and how they grow according to heredity. In this flowers lesson plan, students observe physical traits that make flowers the offspring of other flowers, and fill out worksheets according to their findings.
Curated OER
Life Cycles
Students identify inherited traits. In this heredity lesson, students watch a video and construct a genetic description of themselves.