Around six percent of babies are born with serious genetic disorders. Young scientists learn more about what causes these disorders and the effect they have. They begin with a case study of cystic fibrosis before expanding to research...

How did scientists determine the cause of illness before technology? Science scholars play the role of medical researcher in an engaging guided inquiry activity. Using observations, technical reading, and Punnett squares, learners...

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...

Ever been told you have your father's eyes? How did it happen? Young biologists get a hands-on experience in meiotic gene expression with a fun pairs-based activity. Participants use pipe cleaner chromosomes with trait beads to make...

The second lesson in the series begins with a starter activity discussing wild versus domesticated animals. Then, scholars play a card game, with optional variations, to emphasize artificial selection. Next, they attend a field trip to a...

Where is a geneticist's favorite place to swim? A gene pool. Young geneticists complete hands-on activities, experiments, and real-world problem solving throughout the unit. With extra focus on dominant and recessive genes, Punnett...

Help build young scholars' understanding of living things with the tools provided in this comprehensive life science resource. Including a total of nine lessons that cover topics ranging from plant and animal life cycles to heredity and...

What does DNA have to do with me? Learners watch a short animated video to learn about cells and DNA. Scholars learn that DNA is the building block of chromosomes within the cells of every living thing.

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...

Which traits are more prevalent in a population? Learners explore their physical features and determine how their traits relate to those of their classmates. They compile data in bar graphs and analyze similarities and differences with...

How do family traditions influence how people look? Learners explore the idea in a match game to complete the final installment of the eight-part Introduction to Heredity unit. Players flip over cards to find matches and, while doing so,...

How does DNA code for genetic traits? Young scientists explore the concept of DNA and learn how patterns determine traits in the DNA in the seventh of the eight-part Introduction to Heredity unit. They randomly select DNA sequences for a...

Which traits are inherited and which traits are acquired? Pupils explore the difference between inherited and acquired traits among their family members in part six of the eight-installment Introduction to Heredity unit. They interview...

Which traits are unique to you? Scholars play a fun game of Bingo using their own traits in the fifth installment of the eight-part Introduction to Heredity unit. After reviewing what each trait on the Bingo card represents, they mark...

How do people get their unique combination of traits? Explore how traits pass from grandparents to parents to children in the fourth installment of the eight-part Introduction to Heredity unit. Learners get hands-on with colored pom-poms...

How unique are you? Learners evaluate their own families at home in part three of the eight-part Introduction to Heredity unit. They determine which traits are prevalent among their families by showing 10 different traits. Pupils then...

Some traits tend to show up in populations along with other specific traits. Why is this? Learners explore the phenomenon in part two of the eight-part Introduction to Heredity unit by identifying the presence of three traits: tongue...

What, exactly, causes lactose intolerance? Scholars view a video describing a Finnish study that determined why some people are tolerant while others are intolerant. They then use the data from the study to reenact the experiment and...

Believe it or not, birds are dinosaurs! Scholars view evidence that connects birds to dinosaurs in a video lesson. The narrator outlines factors that prove birds are descendants of dinosaurs.

We've heard about pygmy pigs—why not pygmy mammoths? Fossil evidence proves their existence, but the dilemma is figuring out where they lived. A video describes different theories on their evolution and migration.

You may struggle to find similarities between humans and many of our ancestors. Fossil evidence finds more and more signs of similarities between humans and many other species. A lesson outlines the fossil evidence and the questions...

Some genes link to others that have implications for inheritance. A set of resources lead pupils through the history of this discovery. They explain how chromosomes recombine and which parts are more susceptible to this linkage....

Mendel was the first to look at individual traits within a species. Step in his shoes as an interactive lesson takes users through his journey. An animation describes the design of his experiments and how he isolated individual traits to...