Intrigue the class by completing a lesson plan on meiosis, filled with challenging and insightful activities to spark the interest of every person in the room. Each member of the class learns about genetic disorders due to faulty meiosis, and they participate in activities designed to simulate the process of meiosis from beginning to end. They also babysit an egg for the weekend, thus learning parenting skills, and participate in web research to further enhance concepts presented.

Concepts

gametes, meiosis, zygotes

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Ask each member of the class to research a genetic illness and present their findings to the class; they should report the specific problems associated with the illness as part of this presentation
• Expand the Birth Certificate portion and have each member create two or three siblings, detailing similarities and differences in each offspring 

Classroom Considerations

• Prior knowledge of genetics, heredity, and basic fertilization concepts is very helpful

Pros

• Raw egg portion of lesson will prepare individuals for the responsibilities of parenting while allowing them to return to non-parental status upon completion of the segment
• Research into genetic diseases and creation of offspring allows each class member to better understand the concepts of genetics and heredity 

Cons

• None