BACKGROUND:
This lesson contains a series of interactive activities designed to visually aid students' understanding of genetics and how traits are passed on to offspring.
The Genetics Interactives used in this lesson were created by scienceprimer.com, which features content information, interactive illustrations and simulations, and problem sets for a number of science topics to promote student understanding through interactive experiences with the content. For this lesson, a worksheet has been created as a supplement to guide students through the information presented in the readings and interactive illustrations.
By completing this lesson, students will gain scientific literacy skills through the understanding of how genetic traits are passed on from parents to offspring to predict patterns of inheritance and understand why some traits are more prominent than others in a population.
21st Century Student Outcomes:
Learning and Innovation Skills - problem solving skills
ICT Literacy Skills - use digital technology to research, organize, evaluate, and communicate information
Life and Career Skills - initiative and self-direction to work independently
OBJECTIVES:
Students will be able to understand the differences between genotypes and phenotypes, and predict patterns of inheritance of genetic traits from parents to offspring using Punnett Squares.
STANDARDS:
Heredity L.12.A.1 - Students know genetic information passed from parents to offspring is coded in the DNA molecule.
Heredity L.12.A.5 - Students know how to predict patterns of inheritance.
MATERIALS:
- Computer with internet access to Genetics Interactive Illustrations website - http://www.scienceprimer.com/genetics-organisms
- Genetics Interactive Worksheet (click here to download PDF file)
TIME FRAME:
2 to 3 days (designed for 50-60 minute class periods)
STEPS:
DAY 1-3:
Introduction to genetics and genetic traits - Have students stand up and move to one side of the room or the other depending on whether they have:
- free or attached ear lobes
- straight or hitchhiker's thumb
- ability or inability to roll tongue
Explain that these traits were passed along to us from our parents through genetics and some traits are dominant while others are not.
Have students log on to the Genetics Interactive Illustrations website using the web address above. Students should complete the Genetics interactive worksheet as they read through each section. Click on the first link titled Alleles, Genotype and Phenotype to access the interactive. The webpage provides information on alleles, genotypes, and phenotypes for the students to read first. After they've read the information and watched the video link, students can play around with the interactive to understand the differences between alleles, genotypes, phenotypes, and complete or incomplete dominance.
Here is a link to a 10 question problem set to test their knowledge of the material: http://www.scienceprimer.com/problem-sets/allele-genotype-phenotype-qs
Next, have students go back to the home page and click on the second link Punnett Square. After reading the information and watching the video link, students can play around on the interactive to create Punnett Squares to predict the genotypes and phenotypes of offspring using different parent allele combinations.
Test their knowledge of the Punnett Square using this link: http://www.scienceprimer.com/punnett-square-qs
Test their knowledge of the Punnett Square using this link: http://www.scienceprimer.com/punnett-square-qs
Last, have students go back to the home page and click on the third link Genotype and Phenotype Probabilities. After reading the information and watching the video link, students can play around on the interactive to create Punnett Squares to predict the probabilities of genotypes and phenotypes of offspring using different parent allele combinations in a monohybrid cross.
Test their knowledge of genotype and phenotype probabilities here: http://www.scienceprimer.com/genotype-and-phenotype-probabilities-monohybrid-cross-questions
Test their knowledge of genotype and phenotype probabilities here: http://www.scienceprimer.com/genotype-and-phenotype-probabilities-monohybrid-cross-questions
Students can also click on the Glossary link at the top of the page at any time to get definitions for these terms.
Click below to download this entire lesson as a PDF file
Click below to download this entire lesson as a PDF file
genotypes_phenotypes__punnett_squares.pdf | |
File Size: | 313 kb |
File Type: |