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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Genographic's legacy: Preservation and projections

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/09/g912/genographic4.html

A lesson plan for grades 9–12 Science and Social Studies

Provider: National Geographic


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In this Xpeditions lesson, the fourth of a set, students explore The Genographic Project, a partnership of the National Geographic Society and IBM, is a five-year study to understand the human journey—where we came from and how humankind came to populate the planet. Students follow different populations through generations to reveal a genetic tree on which today’s many diverse branches may be followed back to a common African root.

Students will:

  • learn about the inheritance the Genographic Project will leave for future generations, both in cultural preservation as well as in knowledge that will help us understand our common ancestry and make educated projections about our common future;
  • examine why the timing of the project is critical;
  • consider ways in which the project is impacted by scientific and technological advancements, including those in life sciences, communications, and transportation;
  • consider the impact of increasing globalization;
  • demonstrate their understanding of the project’s many facets by assuming the role of a researcher in the project tasked with documenting the contributions indigenous groups have made to the story of the human journey;
  • understand why indigenous communities play such a crucial role in unlocking the secrets of our common ancestry;
  • examine how those communities are being threatened, make projections about future challenges to their ways of life;
    viii. and consider how research such as the Genographic Project can play a role in preserving them.

Xpeditions provides links to all necessary web resources, directions for activities, questions for discussion, and suggestions for assessments and enrichment activities.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Science (2005)

Grade 9–12 — AP Biology

  • Goal 1: The learner will develop abilities necessary to do and understand scientific inquiry.
    • Objective 1.01: Identify questions and create hypotheses that can be answered through scientific investigations.
    • Objective 1.02: Design and conduct scientific investigations to answer biological questions.
      • Create testable hypotheses.
      • Identify variables.
      • Use a control or comparison group when appropriate.
      • Select and use appropriate measurement tools.
      • Collect and record data.
      • Organize data into charts and graphs.
      • Analyze and interpret data.
      • Communicate findings.
    • Objective 1.05: Analyze reports of scientific investigations from an informed scientifically literate viewpoint including considerations of:
      • Appropriate sample.
      • Adequacy of experimental controls.
      • Replication of findings.
      • Alternative interpretations of the data.
  • Goal 5: The learner will develop an understanding of biological evolution.
    • Objective 5.01: Examine the evidence that supports an evolutionary view of life.
    • Objective 5.04: Analyze the mechanisms of evolution, their role, results and implications.
      • Identification of patterns and the responsible mechanisms.
      • Analyze heredity and its link to natural selection.
      • Examine speciation.
      • Examine macroevolution.
      • Recommended laboratory - Population Genetics and Evolution
    • Objective 5.05: Investigate the contributions of early researchers, (e.g. Pasteur and Darwin) and their impact on the current view of evolutionary biology.
  • Goal 6: The learner will develop an understanding of the unity and diversity of life.
    • Objective 6.04: Analyze evolutionary relationships.
      • Investigate evidence.
      • Explore research methods.
      • Analyze use of research.
    • Objective 6.06: Examine past and present research on the unity and diversity of life.

Grade 9–12 — Biology

  • Goal 4: The learner will develop an understanding of the unity and diversity of life.
    • Objective 4.04: Analyze and explain the interactive role of internal and external factors in health and disease:
      • Genetics.
      • Immune response.
      • Nutrition.
      • Parasites.
      • Toxins.

Social Studies (2003)

Grade 9

  • Goal 8: Patterns of History - The learner will assess the influence of ideals, values, beliefs, and traditions on current global events and issues.
    • Objective 8.05: Analyze how the changing and competing components of cultures have led to current global issues and conflicts, and hypothesize solutions to persistent problems.
    • Objective 8.06: Analyze the meanings of "civilization" in different times and places and demonstrate how such meanings reflect the societies of which they are a part.