Here's a topic classes can really dig—the fossil record. Use the well-organized and thoughtful road map to take eighth graders back in time to unearth the answer. Learn how our climate has changed, and how organisms have...

What does your class know about GMOs? Are they savvy to selective breeding? Challenge young minds to engineer the greatest crop of all time using a hands-on genetics unit. Learners discover the good and bad details of selective breeding,...

Students explore heredity by examining how traits are passed from parent to offspring. Genetic terminology is examined and examples of inherited traits discussed. calculating genetic probability is also investigated in this lesson.

Students explore genes and inheritance. After listening to a story describing a rare genetic disease, students discuss inheritance and how living things pass on traits to their children. In groups students, students decipher code...

Does where we live influence how our bodies express genetic traits? Explore variation in human skin color with an activity that incorporate video and hands-on learning. Individuals model the relationship between phenotypes and genotypes,...

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...

What's the link between lactase persistence and dairy farming? Biology scholars analyze data to find evidence of the connection, then relate this to human adaptation. Working individually and in small groups, learners view short video...

Can your class solve the Mystery of the Crooked Cell? Junior geneticists collaborate to learn about sickle cell anemia in a fascinating lesson plan. The included materials help them to examine the genetic factors behind the disease...

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...

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...

Fifty eye-catching pages contain six lessons about Roald Dahl's novel, Matilda. Each lesson has a theme and covers a different subject—literacy, social-emotional learning, science, and geography. Scholars analyze characters, examine...

Three autosomal pedigrees are printed on this assignment. Biology scholars read them and determine the phenotypes for several individuals and find which ones inherit different genetic disorders. This fundamental skill can be reinforced...

Harness young scientists' knowledge of genetics with an engaging science activity. Students start by flipping a coin to determine the genotypes and phenotypes of two parent monsters, before using Punnett squares to...

Looking for a quick, hands-on activity to teach young scientists about Punnett squares through monohybrid crosses? then check out this one.

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...

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...

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.

Dominate a lesson on genetic traits. Young scholars learn about the difference between dominant and recessive traits with an interactive lesson. An animation demonstrates Mendel's work on the inheritance of traits, and interactive...

What's your type? Genetically speaking, of course! Immerse your class in the world of karyotypes through an insightful activity from the K20 Center. Scholars take on the role of genetic counselors to determine the karyotype of offspring...

Students observe the inherited traits in earthworms and mealworms. In this organisms lesson, students view a live mealworm and earthworm on a tray and identify the body parts. Students measure the worms and observe the behavior....

In this biology worksheet, students track and record the passage of colored pom pom traits through three generations of ginger-bread people. Then they describe that traits are passed from parents to offspring and that siblings may or may...

Students make comparisons about themselves and others, which are real and meaningful. They study some basic concepts in the area of genetics and do a complimentary series of experiments, or explorations that illustrate these concepts

Some traits only exist in males and some only in females. Pupils learn how the location of genes on sex chromosomes determines them using an interactive lesson. An animation illustrates how scientists know this to be true and shows how...

A handout on genetic inheritance begins with a reading on alleles and how they can result in albinism. Junior geneticists learn to complete Punnett squares and participate in a coin toss simulation of allele pairing. They also learn...