Traits and Heredity Introduction with DNA lab, Reading Passage, & Worksheets

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Are you looking for easy and creative ways to explore genetics with your middle school science students?

Do you want to provide your middle school science students with a foundational understand of genetics before diving deep?

The Introduction to Genetics, DNA, and Genes lesson is an excellent way to spark curiosity with engaging inquiry activities and provide foundational information about genetics with an informative, accessible reading passage and teacher presentation.

This resources is packed full with everything you need to start your genetics unit including:

• an inquiry worksheet activity to spark discussion about traits and genetics
• printable materials and instructions for a hands-on DNA extraction lab (2 versions!)
• Introduction to Genetics, DNA, and Genes reading passage (PDF and digital versions!)
• Teacher presentation (PowerPoint and Google Slides)
• Teacher Tips Pages

Middle school science students begin the lesson with the 2-page worksheet activity “Where’d You Get Those Traits?” In this activity, students will think about their own traits using some of the most common human traits determined by genetics such as how their earlobes are attached and if they can roll their tongue. Students will also think about the traits of the people around them, such as family members, and discuss why it might be that some people have very similar traits while others have very different traits.

Next, your science students will engage in a very fun hands-on activity – extracting DNA from a living cell! There are 2 versions of this lab available in this resource, allowing you to have students extract DNA from their own cheek cells or from strawberries. The DNA Extraction Lab uses everyday materials such as salt, dish soap, and rubbing alcohol. It’s made even easier with all the resources provided here including printable labels for your materials, printable instruction cards, and easy-to-follow lab directions for both teacher and student (all materials available for BOTH versions of the lab).

By day 3 of this lesson, science students are sure to be very curious about DNA and genes! The included Introduction to Genetics, DNA, and Genes Reading Passage will provide your middle school students with accessible, foundational information about the structure of DNA and chromosomes. They will be introduced to genes and alleles and will start to understand genes roll as instructions for traits. The reading passage is available as a printable PDF as well as a digital version.

Along with the reading passage, a teacher presentation is also included (as both a PowerPoint and Google Slides resource). This ready-to-go resource saves you time and gives you all the tools you need to present information to your students in whatever format works best for you and them!

Also included are the Teacher Tip Pages, providing you with lots of support, tips, and ideas, so that you can easily implement this inquiry introduction to genetics into your science classroom!

Be sure to check the preview to see all that’s included and how you can use it in your classroom as you prepare your middle school science students to discover the world of genetics!

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