Interdisciplinary integrated unit on DNA and genetics Part A: Science

The first part of an interdisciplinary week-long unit on DNA and genetics, focusing on science. Parts B and C of the unit focus on math and language arts.

A lesson plan for grades 7–9 Information Skills and Science

By Jane Lentz, Jimmy White, Tori Goldrick, and Marlene Smith

Photo credit.

Learn more

• Interdisciplinary Integrated Unit on DNA/Genetics Part B: Math The second lesson of an interdisciplinary integrated unit on DNA and genetics, focusing on math. The other lessons in the unit focus on science and language arts.
• Interdisciplinary Integrated Unit on DNA/Genetics Part C: Language Arts The third lesson of an interdisciplinary integrated unit on DNA and genetics, focusing on language arts. The first two lessons in the unit focus on science and math.
• Discovery Education Streaming Find membership information and Basics of DNA video here
• Teacher-made scavenger hunt Example on DNA, genetics, and cloning, takes a while to load
• Sites for student use A list of recommended websites that students might use when creating their own scavenger hunt, take a while to load

Related pages

• Comparative anatomy: A continuum: In groups, students will design a presentation that will trace the development of an organ system through the major phyla of the animal kingdom looking for the relationships between structure and function by documenting adaptations.
• Low-tech PCR: This simulation and manual PCR demonstration is designed for classrooms without a thermocycler and those that do not have enough time to do a full manual PCR. It is designed to give students the concepts and vocabulary as well as give them a visual representation of the process.
• Marker-assisted selection: In this lesson students will learn about marker-assisted selection in trees. Marker-assisted selection is an indirect selection process where a trait of interest is selected based on a marker linked to a trait of interest. Students will conduct two labs. In one, they will extract DNA from a peach and in the other, they will use gel electrophoresis to test tree DNA for frost resistance.

Related topics

• Learn more about DNA, biology, cloning, genetics, information literacy, research skills, science, and technology skills.

Help

Please read our disclaimer for lesson plans.

Legal

Learning outcomes

Students will:

• investigate the basics of DNA, genetics, and cloning
• learn to use Frontpage Express software
• apply research skills to gather information from the internet

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

4–5 days

Materials/resources

• current seventh grade science book
• pen and paper for each pair of students
• teacher-made scavenger hunt

Technology resources

• computer with internet access for each pair of students
• Smart TV for showing the video clip from the United Streaming website
• access to Discovery Education Streaming
• Frontpage Express on all computers being used for project
• Smart Board or projection screen, data projector, and computer for media lesson

Pre-activities

The teacher should have an understanding of the program Frontpage Express. The teacher will need to create an internet scavenger hunt that will allow the students to learn the basics of DNA, genetics, and cloning through investigation. The teacher will also need to create a list of recommended sites for the students to use during the construction of their own scavenger hunts. This step will save a great deal of time during the project. Samples of both a teacher-made scavenger hunt and a list of recommended sites are listed in the sidebar. The teacher will also need to have access to the streaming videos on the United Streaming website or have a copy of the Basics of DNA video. The teacher may also choose to create a folder of clipart for the students to use on their scavenger hunts. This is a step that can be skipped depending on the computer skills of your students.

Activities

Day 1

1. The teacher will take the class to a computer lab where all students have access to the internet. Students will work individually or in pairs, if needed, to complete the teacher-made scavenger hunt on the basics of DNA, genetics, and cloning. When the students are finished putting in their answers, the teacher may require them to print out their screens for review or may review the answers as a class using a Smart TV. This activity will probably take about 30–45 minutes.
2. Depending on the amount of time in your class period, you may have time to view and discuss the Basics of DNA video from United Streaming. This video comes with blackline masters and a teacher’s guide to aid in discussion. This can be shown on a Smart TV and can be done while in the computer lab.
3. For homework, the class should read the chapter in the science book that deals with genetics and DNA. This will give students more background knowledge about the topic.

Day 2

1. The students will go as a class to the media center for a class lesson on how to use Frontpage Express to create an internet scavenger hunt. This will need to be pre-arranged with the media coordinator. This instruction works well with the whole group gathering in front of a Smart Board or a projection screen. The students will receive a handout that covers the basic directions for creating a scavenger hunt. Students should keep this as a reference sheet for doing the actual project.
2. The media coordinator may also conduct a lesson on internet research. This will help if the students are going to be gathering their own information and their own websites for use on the scavenger hunt. The media coordinator will need to go over search strategies with emphasis on how to limit a search and how to make sure information is relevant to the topic they are researching. I have found that this step can be omitted if the teacher prepares a list of recommended websites for use. When I have prepared the list of sites my students may use, I do not have to worry about the sites not having the information they need, being too complicated, or the students spending all their time looking through thousands of websites instead of doing their project.

Days 3 and 4

1. Divide the students into pairs and assign specific topics from the areas of genetics, DNA, and cloning. These topics can be such things as: DNA, meiosis versus mitosis, heredity, Gregor Mendel, genetic diseases, basics of cloning, etc. The teacher may also decide to have the students choose their own part of DNA, genetics, and cloning to research or may even have the students create scavenger hunts that contain an overview of all three areas. I prefer to assign the topics to each group to ensure that all areas are covered.
2. Once the students are split into pairs and assigned their topics the class will need to move to the computer lab to begin work. At the very beginning of this step, I usually give the students a quick review of the Frontpage Express program, have them set a background, save the file where it can be accessed later (on a network drive), remind them of the list of recommended sites, then allow them to begin work. I have found it easier to control if the students are required to come up with a list of about 20 questions about their topic and write those on a piece of paper. They will need to write down not only the question, but also the website where they found the answer. This step will make adding links to their scavenger hunt much easier. This also gives them a few extra questions. I limit my students to 12–15 thought provoking questions on their scavenger hunts.
3. While the students are working, the teacher moves around the room to make sure students are on task and not running into problems.
4. During the second day of work on the projects, I encourage students to find graphics to add to their internet scavenger hunts. I normally limit the students to 5–8 pictures. If they start putting on more, it tends to get a bit cluttered. The graphics should enhance their work, not detract from it.

Day 5

1. This is the day for the student pairs to present their project to the class. This can be done in the media center with a Smart Board or projection screen if available, otherwise, it can be done in any room with a SmartTV. Each pair will explain their scavenger hunt and then will guide the rest of the class through it. The rest of the class will have a rubric to grade each project. The teacher may also choose to have the students in the class complete each other’s scavenger hunts for a quiz or class activity.

Assessment

Student-created internet scavenger hunts ready for uploading onto the Internet. (Rubric used for grading is attached.) The scores in the various categories range from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest). After the students have graded each others’ work, I take an average of all the marks given. There are 4 categories, which will give the students a total of 40 points. 35–40=A; 30–35=B; 25–30=C; 20–25=D; below 20=F

Students complete each other’s scavenger hunts as a short quiz or class activity.

Supplemental information

Attachments:

• handout on Frontpage Express
• rubric for grading students’ products
• author’s reflection on this lesson plan

Comments

This lesson should run very smoothly with enough pre-lesson work. I have tried both having a list of links and letting the students find their own websites to use. I found that giving them a list of sites to use will help them get information they will understand and to avoid the long tedious searches through hundreds of sites. As with any plan, each individual teacher will know his or her students the best and will be able to adapt parts of this lesson to better fit their class.

In pairing students, I found that it was very successful to pair an EC child with an AG student. I did not think it would work at first, but as long as I was careful not to choose an AG student who would want to control everything, this was the pairing that worked the best to get the most out of my EC students.