Lesson Plan
MENSA Education & Research Foundation

Peas in a Pod: Genetics

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Can peas have grandparents? Learn about inherited traits and heredity with a set of activities focused on Mendelian genetics. As your class learns about the process of passing traits along in Punnett squares, they take on the role of...
Activity
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Understanding Variation

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed Standards
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,...
Lesson Plan
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University of Colorado

Punnett Squares with Piebald Deer

For Teachers 5th - 10th Standards
Explore the science behind Earth's amazing diversity of life with this instructional activity on genetics. Looking at specific traits in piebald deer, carnations, and roan cattle, young scientists use Punnett...
Unit Plan
Columbus City Schools

Heredity: Traits, Genes, Alleles

For Students 8th Standards
If you knew people would pay extra for a bald dragon, could you pick which parents you should breed in order to get the highest number? The unit examines heredity and genetics through breeding dragons, mice, dogs, and tries to figure...
Activity
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

The Teosinte Hypothesis

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Don't want to sound corny, but your class will be a-maize-d by an engaging activity! Explore the history of the modern corn plant through a video and Punnett squares. Junior genetics experts get hands-on experience with actual research...
Assessment
American Museum of Natural History

Nature or Nurture Quiz

For Students 6th - 12th
Eighteen questions ask pupils whether certain behavior or trait is based on nature or nurture. Scholars take a quiz, reflect on their answers, then challenge a friend or family member to complete it.
Worksheet
Serendip

Genetics

For Students 7th - Higher Ed
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...
Lesson Plan
Kenan Fellows

A Farmer’s Challenge to Breed to the Greatest of Grapes

For Teachers 7th Standards
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,...
Unit Plan
Anthropological Association

Race: Teacher Guide: Race

For Teachers 6th - 8th
How has the concept of race changed over time? Explore the genetic, cultural, and social aspects of race through a series of impactful activities. Scholars discover how race is influenced by inherited traits, examine census records to...
Unit Plan
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Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl Matilda Lesson Plans

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
Serendip

Should States Repeal Their Laws Banning First Cousin Marriage?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Around half of the states in the US ban first cousin marriage, but does science support that ban? Scholars work through genetic analysis of the risks to understand if more states should ban the practice—or if some should remove it. They...
Unit Plan
North Carolina State University

Exploring Genetics Across the Middle School Science and Math Curricula

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
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...
Lab Resource
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US National Library of Medicine

Monster Genetics Lab

For Students 6th - 10th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
Agriculture in the Classroom

Roll of the Genes

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
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...
Unit Plan
Columbus City Schools

Diversity of Living Things

For Teachers 8th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
Towson University

Mystery of the Crooked Cell

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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...
Activity
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Lactase Persistence: Evidence for Selection

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
Unit Plan
Kenan Fellows

Unit 4: Bioethics and the Future of Biotechnology

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What's the future of biotechnology? Explore a hot topic in the fourth and final unit in a series of Biotechnology lessons. Learners develop an understanding of the many issues in bioethics, then create an argument for or against the role...
PPT
US National Library of Medicine

Basic Genetic Concepts and Terms

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Have you ever wondered why you aren't taller or invisible? It all comes down to your dominant and recessive genes. Introduce your class members to genetics with a presentation that includes worksheets for young geneticists to...
Lesson Plan
Agriculture in the Classroom

A Rafter of Turkeys

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
How did that turkey get from the early Aztec culture to your table? Learn about the history of wild and domesticated turkeys in North America, as well as their inclusion in Thanksgiving traditions, with a two-part agricultural science...
Activity
University of Utah

University of Utah: Genetic Science Learning Center: Traits Activities

For Students 3rd - 8th
A collection of genetic learning activities provides an engaging way to learn about traits, or better understand disease risk.
Unit Plan
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry

Abpi: Genes and Inheritance

For Students 9th - 10th
A complete, student-paced lesson on genetics and inheritance. Students work their way through illustrations and animated tutorials, and answer review questions along the way. There is a self-checking quiz at the end of the lesson.
Interactive
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Mendel's Laws of Genetic Inheritance

For Students 9th - 10th
This interactive activity, adapted from the Dolan DNA Learning Center, uses Punnett squares to illustrate Mendel's laws of inheritance and how a particular gene combination results in a 3-to-1 ratio of dominant-to-recessive traits.
Interactive
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Dolan Dna Learning Center: Inheritance Calculator: Genetic Traits

For Students 9th - 10th
An interactive Punnett Square inheritance calculator helps students work out patterns of recessive inheritance for a trait, such as straight or peaked hairline.

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