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This Secret Codon - Write a Message in DNA activity also includes:
String up a message. Pupils string together colored beads to code a word or short phrase. Each color represents one of the four DNA bases. Using a combination of three bases, learners create an amino acid that stand for each letter of the message. Classmates exchange strands and decode the message.
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Concepts
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Instructional Ideas
- Provide clear instruction that helps individuals understand that a single letter abbreviation of an amino acid is used to code messages
- Conduct a lesson on how DNA is a carrier of a message
Classroom Considerations
- Requires using colored beads
Pros
- Provides a scientific explanation of how nucleotides encode each amino acid
- Includes an example of a message
Cons
- It is not very clear about how to use the Codon table to create a message