Inheritance and Variation of Traits lesson for upper grades
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What are Inheritance and Variation of Traits?
In short, variation of traits is the mixture of traits an offspring receives from their biological parents. NGSS aligns this concept in life sciences being taught in first and third grade; and refined in middle and high school. When teaching science, inherited traits are one of my favorite concepts. Kids are always excited and interested because it is about them! Even as an adult, I occasionally fall down the Ancestry rabbit hole.
This post will share one of my favorite activities with my older students.
I used a version of this lesson years before NGSS was created in fifth-grade science. Since the introduction of NGSS, I feel this lesson best meets NGSS High school standard HS-LS3-1 Ask questions to clarify relationships about the role of DNA and chromosomes in coding the instructions for characteristic traits passed from parents to offspring.
The inheritance and variation of traits lesson focuses on creating a DNA code for an alien species. Instead of Adenine, Cytosine, Guanine, & Thymine for coding traits, the alien’s chromosomes contain hearts, stars, happy faces, and hands! The students think it is fun and a great way to introduce some complex concepts.
Steps for Lesson
Give students data sheets that contain the alien’s physical traits. Either digital copy or paper hard copy.
Have students spin and determine which of the four sequences the alien has and record it on the datasheet.
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Create drawings of the alien with the traits.
Discuss how the aliens share some traits, but each alien’s overall combination of traits is unique.
Extensions
- Create a Dichotomous Key of different aliens based on their traits.
- Modify the alien drawing to depict an acquired trait such as piercings, tattoos, or missing limbs from an accident.
