DNA and Inheritance Activity - For Teachers

While we often talk to students about science discoveries, learning about the researchers responsible is often neglected. Our activity, The DNA Discovery Award is designed to get students to think about how science builds on itself, and that real people are behind all of our greatest (and smallest) discoveries.

For just a quick refresher on the basics of DNA, visit DNA ABCs.

Tips for Classroom Implementation

Time Required: 120-180 minutes over 3 days. Roughly 30-60 minutes on day one, 60 to 90 minutes on day two and 20 to 30 minutes on day 3. If you don't have this much time, you can do a few things to reduce the time for this lesson, such as providing students with the online resources they need for each scientist, or having students read just one poster about each scientist for their judging form.

Classroom set-up:

Make sure you've downloaded and reviewed the PowerPoint presentation.

The genome intro video can be found here: How to sequence the human genome

You can access printable timeline items here, to give out. Only one is needed per group.

You may also want to print out the rubric and an example poster for your students.

This project is fairly reliant on access to a computer, but if you have a well-stocked library (or can bring in outside books for references) you can probably do it based on books alone. Access to the internet is highly recommended.

Tips: For poster making, you can either have students do it digitally via tools such as:

• Google drawings
• Google slides
• Various free art programs
• By hand

Regardless of method, allow time for creation and for printing as necessary.

Posters can be made anonymously to attempt to preserve fairness. If you’d like to do that, have each poster be numbered so that students can vote. Do note that having students hang it up themselves helps reduce the setup time.

To facilitate student peer evaluation, a google form or some other voting method is recommended.

Here is an example poster judging form. If you’d like to make your own, here are the recommended questions:

• Student name
• Which poster was yours (if you made them anonymous)
• Which scientist should win the prize?
• Which poster on [EACH SCIENTIST] was the best?

This form should not be used to actually grade the students’ performance. It is designed more so that students have a reason to go read other student’s posters and learn about other scientists.

Objectives: After completing the lesson, students should be able to:

1. Determine the chronological order of specific achievements in genetics research.

2. Research a chosen scientist to learn about biographical and subject related information.

3. Construct a poster to quickly convey researched information to other students.

Timeline answers:

Charles Darwin proposes the Theory of Evolution (Paper published November 1859).

Gregor Mendel discovers that traits don’t blend, but pass on in discrete bits called alleles (paper published 1866).

The Avery-MacLeod-McCarty experiment discovers DNA is what carries genetic information (1944).

Barbara McClintock discovers transposons, parts of DNA that move (1948).

Rosalind Franklin takes an X-ray diffraction image of DNA, helping to discover it has a double helix shape (1952).

Walter Fiers and his team “transcribe” the first gene, which codes for a viral coat protein (1972).

Dolly the sheep is cloned (1997).

The Public Project publishes the first version of the Human Genome Project (2001).

Standards

Arizona Science Standards

Grade 5

5.SP1.1 Create and use a chronological sequence of related events to compare developments that happened at the same time.

5.SP1.2 Explain how events of the past affect students’ lives and society

5.SP3.7 Construct and present explanations using reasoning, correct sequence, examples and details with relevant information and data.