Nuffield Foundation
Extracting DNA from Living Things
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,...
Curated OER
Photo Synthesis and Transpiration
Students germinate pea seeds and plant the seeds. They experiment with different amounts of light and darkness on the plant growth.
Curated OER
You Are What You Eat: Chemical Residues and Consumers
Students determine how evidence gained from a simulated test for the presence of pesticide residues can be used to determine risk. They use peas to simulate pesticide residue testing.
US Department of Agriculture
Serving Up My Plate
Offer your youngsters an extra helping of nutritional knowledge and healthy tips with this resource, which centers around the MyPlate nutritional guide and offers three "courses" of plans and worksheets on the food groups and the...
Curated OER
Ready, Set, Go!
Middle schoolers predict if the height of a ramp affect how far an object travels. They design and conduct an experiment to test their predictions. The results are recorded and a graph is created to show the relationship between ramp...
Curated OER
A Field of Beans
Beans, or legumes as they are sometimes called, are the topic for an integrated multi-subject lesson. Youngsters will read, write, observe, and research everything there is to know about beans. They read a bean story, conduct a bean...
Curated OER
Mendel and Heredity
Young scholars identify the investigator whose studies formed the basis of modern genetics (Mendel). They list characteristics that make the garden pea a good study organism, and summarize the 3 major steps of Mendel¿¿¿s experiment.
Curated OER
Introduction to Natural Selection
High schoolers develop an understanding of natural selection, specifically, how it unfolds from generation to generation. They work in small groups to perform an experiment using beans. They use a worksheet imbedded in this plan to guide...
Curated OER
Rock, Paper, Scissors - Dominant and Recessive Traits from Parent to Offspring
Fifth graders understand the meaning of dominant and recessive. For this dominant and recessive traits lesson, 5th graders participate in a game and record results on a chart. Students relate experiment to genes. Students describe plants...
Curated OER
Where Do Plants Get Their Food?
Students think about the historical development of the scientific method. They design an experiment that replicates van Helmont's, using only specified materials. Pupils then improved upon van Helmont's procedure and also consider the...
Curated OER
PLANT LIFE CYCLES
Student learns about the life cycle of plants by watching a time-lapse video. This activity provides students with further evidence that all living things grow and change as they progress through their life cycle. Student conducts a...
Curated OER
Nitrogen Fixation, OR What a Gas!
Students gain skill in the design, implementation, and reporting of a scientific research project using the scientific method. They set up an experiment to determine the effect of adding the Rhizobium bacteria to one group of legume...
Curated OER
Magnet Mania
Students explore magnetic fields. They listen to a teacher-led discussion, and conduct an experiment in which they create a magnetic field using electricity and observing its effect on the magnetic needle on a compass.
Curated OER
Where Will It Go?
Students attempt to determine where a ball will travel when it is bounced. They set up an experiment in which they predict the line a ball will follow when it hits an object and bounces off. They draw the line that predicts where the...
Curated OER
Charge Challenge
Students explore electrical charges. They listen to a teacher-led discussion, conduct an experiment charging different objects and observing the results, and recording the results on a worksheet.
Curated OER
Mendelian and Non-Mendelian Heredity
Tenth graders discuss their physical features, and why they look the way they do. They listen as the teacher discusses DNA, alleles, and dominant or recessive genes. Students perform an experiment with different colored markers...
Curated OER
Lesson 5: Untangling DNA
Young scholars extract DNA from split peas. In this biology instructional activity, students research how chromatin form into chromosomes. They draw the stages and present their work in class.
Curated OER
Radioactive Beans
Students investigate radioactive atoms. In this radioactive beans lesson, students experiment with split peas and beans to determine what happens when a radioactive atom decays.
Core Knowledge Foundation
Genetics and the Master Race
How did the beginnings of genetic research influence the Nazi party? A thorough, engaging unit incorporates the work of Gregor Mendel, the study of inherited traits, and the use of racism and discrimination during the Holocaust.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Chromosomes Carry Genes
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...
American Museum of Natural History
What's the Big Idea About Genetics?
Here's a quick read on genetics. An engaging online resource provides six slides of information about genetics. Learners read about the meaning of genetics to information about DNA. They also learn about the study of genes and the...
Curated OER
Photosynthesis: An enlightening experience
Students observe the effect of light on plants. They illustrate the exchange of gases between the atmosphere and the plant. Students see that plants are part of many natural cycles. They investigate how green plants use the sun's energy...
Curated OER
Dna in the Garden - Where It All Began
In this DNA instructional activity, students read about Gregor Mendel and his experiments with plants and DNA. Students complete a crossword puzzle using 10 vocabulary words from the selection.
Curated OER
Heredity Worksheet #1
In this genetics learning exercise, students review the experiments on pea plants that Mendel used to explain dominant and recessive alleles. This learning exercise has 10 fill in the blank questions.