Genetics in Science

Go back to the beginning
Genes may be the building blocks of all life, but human understanding of them is a relatively recent development. Get your class up to date with this interactive timeline. It offers an overview of our understanding of genetics from back in 1865, when German-speaking monk Gregor Mendel first presented the findings of his experiments on pea plants, right through to the discovery of the double helix in 1953. To explore Mendel’s pea theory in more depth check out TEDed’s interesting animated video.

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Make a bite-size lesson: The concept of genetic drift can be pretty tricky to understand, but sweets make it much easier. This investigation for key stage 4 students transforms M&Ms and a paper towel into an imaginary society, enabling pupils to explore the impact of migration and natural disasters on the gene pool. Start by picking a cup of 24 plain M&Ms, representing the original population. Each colored one represents alleles (a variant form of a gene). Get your class to count the initial alleles and how this changes over time depending on what’s happening in society.

Get personal
Freckles? Dimples? Allergies? The traits that make us unique are fascinating, so get students exploring their own genetic inheritance with a game of bingo to establish the most common variations. You’ll need 20 minutes for this lesson. Bingo questions include asking students whether they cross their right thumb over their left when they clasp their hands and if they can roll their tongue.
For a broader view of pupils’ personal histories, get them to create their own DNA family trees. By interviewing parents, siblings and other relations about lifestyles and health conditions they can create a detailed map of their genetic make-up.

Solve a genetic mystery
Play Sherlock Holmes and solve a series of genetic mysteries. The first involves a mother who is convinced there’s been a mix-up and she has brought home the wrong baby from hospital. How can they prove she’s right? With that puzzle cracked, ask students to investigate the murder of Shamari Davis using their knowledge of blood testing.

Debate the ethics of genetic modification
No genetics lesson would be complete without a debate on the ethics of genetic modification (GM). The BBC offers an overview of the topic, which starts by getting students to describe the GM process, and ends exploring some of the ethical issues around it. The resource includes prompts to trigger discussion, such as asking whether the process is like “playing god” and what uses genetic modification has been put to in medicine.

Standards

Again, Students will also learn about energy and how it is passed on through trophic levels and many other organized groups. From that they will understand how things got to where they are today and theories.

Credits

Kahoot.com has been a great deal of help. I honestly believe that this can be helpful for both parties in this scenario as well. 

Other

Other fun ideas ...
Bring out your students competitive spirit with a Jeopardy-style quiz, or get them to crack the code through a key stage 4 activity calling on them to decode mutant DNA. You can also get them to explore why people have different eye colors and genetic diversity. Finally, get animated by looking at these videos and fact sheets, which explore everything from what a genome is to the discovery of DNA. Kids LOVE games!!!