Veggies
Background Information:
The
color of your eyes, the shape of your nose, and the color of your hair depend
on your genes. Genes are the long strands of chemicals in your cells. Genes are
the blueprint for your body. All living things have genes in their cells and
they pass their genes on to their offspring. Genes determine the shapes, sizes,
and behavior of things.
Genes are long strings of
chemicals that are inside every part of every living thing. Humans have about
80,000 genes in their DNA. Genes stick together to make long strands of a
chemical called DNA, which stands for deoxyribonucleic acid.
You get your genes from your
parents. Your parents got their genes from their parents, your grandparents.
Living things pass down their genes from generation to generation. Genes from a
mother's egg cell mix with genes from a father's sperm cell to make a complete
set of plans for a baby. Baby humans, baby animals, and baby plants all grow up
to look at least a little like their parents because of genes.
Audience:
Early Elementary Students (K-3)
Timeline:
This may continue over a week completing
additional generations.
Materials needed:
Veggie worksheet or real vegetables and the
features cut from the worksheet
Glue or pins to attach the features
Activity:
This activity involves students working
individually to create a "veggie" and then working in pairs to
simulate the production of an offspring veggie and additional veggie generations. In
order to accomplish this, the students create their first veggie choosing from
the veggie traits. Next each student will locate their partner (using partner
sticks [matching stickers stuck on popsicle sticks] )
and each partner will create their own offspring based on shared traits and the
roll of the die. Begin to create the offspring by determining which traits they
share. Example: both veggies are onionheads, that is the trait that is passed
on and so, the offspring will be an onion head. If each veggie carries
different kinds of a traits each partner will take turns flipping a coin to
decide which trait will be passed on to their individual offspring. Upon matching the resulting genotypes with
illustrations provided to represent them, the students will create the veggies
encompassing the indicated features. Using partner sticks again, find a partner
for your second generation veggie and establish traits for that generation.
Continue on for four generations. Attach your Veggies to the big wall in the
hallway to build a family tree with your partners from each generation Complete
the class survey. Graph the results.
Observe the family trees and notate in your
journal what you observe.
For extended learning go to http://www.people.virginia.edu/~rjh9u/domrec.html
to use
the Hardy-Weinberg Equation to Determine the Mode of Inheritance of a
Trait
Learning Objective:
This
activity will demonstrate the principle of dominant and recessive traits. It
also shows the role that probability plays in genetics.
This activity involves students working in pairs
to simulate the production of a baby veggie with certain head and facial
features. In order to accomplish this, the students see if the traits match,
and if they don't they take turns flipping coins and from the outcome of each
flip, indicate which trait they will contribute to their offspring. This
activity addresses the following standards:
Curriculum Standard: Students will demonstrate an increasing ability to
recognize patterns and products of evolution, including genetic variation,
specialization, adaptation, and natural selection.
Proficiency Standards
Students will be able to:
- Describe/identify random differences between individuals
of the same species of plant or animal, e.g. students can examine parts of
plants of the same species and recognize variations, and can construct
graphs and charts showing the variations
- Describe/identify similarities and differences
among multiple offspring of same parents, and between parents and
offspring
- Collect data on inherited characteristics and
use the data to explain how traits are passed from generation to
generation
Assessment:
Final Discussion Questions:
1.) Do your veggies look like anyone else's veggies in
the class? Why or why not?
2.) Think about your family or a friend where the
offspring look very different from the parents.
3.) What do you think would happen if we made one
parent's genes dominant (or recessive) for all the traits?
4) What do you think of the results of the graph?
5) What did you notice about the family trees?
Teacher
Links:
* Discovery.Com
For
educators, this site gives background information and resources for teaching
genetics.
http://school.discovery.com/homeworkhelp/worldbook/atozscience/g/220280.html
* Genetics, you are unique.
This site has some additional lesson plans on genetics. http://www.eecs.umich.edu/mathscience/funexperiments/agesubject/lessons/genetics.html
* Genetic
Helping
people understand how genetics affects our lives.
http://gslc.genetics.utah.edu/
*
For educators interested in human genetics and the human genome
project. Includes lesson plans, activities,
http://www.kumc.edu/gec/
*
Gene School 99
This award-winning student-created site offers a basic but thorough tour of
genetics, from the Mendelian basics up through cloning and gene therapy.
http://library.thinkquest.org/28599/
*
MendelWeb
MendelWeb is an educational resource for teachers and students interested in
the origins of classical genetics,
introductory data analysis, elementary plant science, and the history and
literature of science.
http://www.netspace.org/MendelWeb/
*
National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)
http://www.nhgri.nih.gov/index.html
Veggie
Worksheet
Veggie Class Survey
Name_________________________________
Directions: The teacher will
assign you a trait. Write the trait in the space below labeled ‘trait.” Ask
each class member which trait their Veggie had for each generation. Record your
data with a check if their Veggie had the trait -- no check
if they didn’t have that trait. When you have surveyed everyone in the class,
total the checks and people. Then, sit and wait for the teacher’s directions.
Trait ____________
People ___________
Generation Generation
1 2
3 4 1 2
3 4
Column 1
Column 2
Column 3
Totals
From the Class Survey for Traits
Generation
1 2 3 4
Head Type
Pepper ________ ________ _______ ________
Onion ________ ________ _______ ________
Potato ________ ________ _______ ________
Eyebrow
Column 1 ________ ________ _______ ________
Column 2 ________ ________ _______ ________
Column 3 ________ ________ _______ ________
Mouths
Column 1 ________ ________ _______ ________
Column 2 ________ ________ _______ ________
Column 3 ________ ________ _______ ________
Noses
Column 1 ________ ________ _______ ________
Column 2 ________ ________ _______ ________
Column 3 ________ ________ _______ ________
Hair Color
Column 1 ________ ________ _______ ________
Column 2 ________ ________ _______ ________
Column 3 ________ ________ _______ ________
Eyes
Column 1 ________ ________ _______ ________
Column 2 ________ ________ _______ ________
Column 3 ________ ________ _______ ________
Eyebrows
Column 1 ________ ________ _______ ________
Column 2 ________ ________ _______ ________
Column 3 ________ ________ _______ ________