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24 Alike and Different
BROWARD COUNTY ELEMENTARY SCIENCE BENCHMARK PLAN
Grade 4—Quarter 3
Activity 24
SC.F.1.2.3
The students knows that living things are different but share similar structures.
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The student knows that many characteristics of an organism are inherited from the parents
of the organism, but that other characteristics are learned from an individual’s interactions
with the environment.
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The student knows that a successful method to explore the natural world is to observe and
record, and then analyze and communicate the results.
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The student knows that to work collaboratively, all team members should be free to reach,
explain, and justify their own individual conclusions.
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The student knows that to compare and contrast observations and results is an essential
skill in science.
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ACTIVITY ASSESSMENT OPPORTUNITIES
The following suggestions are intended to help identify major concepts covered in the activity
that may need extra reinforcement. The goal is to provide opportunities to assess student
progress without creating the need for a separate, formal assessment session (or activity) for
each of the 40 hands-on activities at this grade level.
1. Tell students to imagine two sisters. Gwen has brown hair and brown eyes. Her younger
sister Laura has blond hair and blue eyes. Their ears are very similar, and they both have
long, narrow feet. They both have the same Mommy and Daddy. Gwen wants to know how
it is possible for two sisters who came from the same parents to look so different. What
would you tell her? (Answers will vary, but students should mention the fact that we
inherit some traits from each parent, that we do not all receive the same genes from our
parents as our other siblings, and so on.)
2. Use the Activity Sheet(s) to assess student understanding of the major concepts in the
activity.
In addition to the above assessment suggestions, the questions in bold and tasks that
students perform throughout the activity provide opportunities to identify areas that may
require additional review before proceeding further with the activity.
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activity 24 Alike and Different
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24 Alike and Different
OBJECTIVES
Students observe the physical traits of their
classmates and note ways in which they are
alike and different.
The students
observe their classmates’ eyes, ears, and
hair
note similarities and differences in their
physical traits
infer that each person has a unique set of
physical characteristics
SCHEDULE
About 20 minutes
VOCABULARY
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cell
gene
inherited
trait
PREPARATION
1
Make a copy of Activity Sheet 24 for each
student.
2
Find a color photograph of a horse (or
other animal) in a magazine.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Each person has a combination of traits, or
characteristics, that no other human has.
Although all humans have hair, two eyes and
ears, two arms and legs, and other traits that
identify them as human, each trait can look
different. For example, eyes can be brown,
blue, grey, or green. Hair can be brown, black,
blond, or red. It can be straight or curly. Every
person has a unique combination of physical
traits.
Most physical traits are inherited, or passed
down, from parents to children through
genes. Genes are structures that carry
information that codes for a physical trait.
Genes are located in the cells of an organism.
Each gene codes for one particular trait.
MATERIALS
For each student
1
Activity Sheet 24
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Activity Sheet 24
Alike and Different
Trait
Number of eyes?
Student 1
Student 2
Student 3
Answers will vary.
Eye color
Wears glasses?
Number of ears?
Earlobes attached
or unattached?
Has pierced
ears?
Has hair
Hair color?
Straight or curly
hair?
Short or long
hair?
Which traits are the same in all three students? Which are different?
All students have two eyes, two ears, and hair.
All other traits will vary among students.
Guiding the Activity
1
Show students a color photograph of a horse,
and ask them to describe it. List their
responses on the board.
Additional Information
Students may suggest that the horse has a
long black tail, four legs, two ears, a black
mane, brown fur, and so on.
Point out that while all horses have some
traits in common, many of their traits vary.
Ask, What traits do all horses have in
common?
Ask, What traits can be different?
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activity 24 Alike and Different
All horses have four legs, two ears, a mane
and tail, and so on.
Fur color, height, weight, mane and tail
length, and so on.
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Tell students that they have named the traits
of a horse. Write the term trait on the board.
Explain that a trait is a characteristic of an
organism.
Guiding the Activity
2
Additional Information
Ask, What are some traits of humans?
Students may suggest hair color, eye color,
skin color, height, having freckles, and so
on. List these traits on the board also.
Ask, How does a person get these traits?
Students will probably say that people are
born with them.
Write the terms cell and gene on the board.
Explain to students that their bodies are
made of tiny building blocks called cells.
Information about all their traits is found
inside their cells, in even tinier structures
called genes. Each gene contains information
about one particular trait. This information is
passed from parents to offspring. Students
inherited their traits from their birth parents.
Write the term inherited on the board.
Ask, What traits have you inherited from a
parent?
Some of the traits students may mention
include their eye color, hair color, musical
ability, nose shape, and height.
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Note: Be sensitive to students who
are adopted.
3
Distribute a copy of Activity Sheet 24 to each
student. Divide students into groups of four.
Tell students to write the names of their three
group-mates at the top of the columns on the
activity sheet chart.
4
Have students observe their group-mates’
eyes and record their observations for each
student in the activity sheet chart. Have
students decide how the observed traits are
alike and different.
Next, have students observe their groupmates’ ears. Tell students to examine the
bottom of the ears and note whether the
earlobes are attached or unattached. (See
Figure 24-1.) Again, have students record
their observations for each classmate in the
activity sheet chart and decide how the
observed traits are alike and different.
Have students differentiate between
attached and unattached earlobes by
feeling their own ears. Unattached earlobes
hang free; the bottoms of attached lobes
do not.
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Guiding the Activity
Additional Information
Figure 24-1. Attached and unattached earlobes.
Finally, have students observe their groupmates’ hair and record their observations for
each student in the activity sheet chart. Have
students decide how the observed traits are
alike and different.
5
Have students study their completed charts.
Ask, Which traits are the same for all the
students you observed?
All students have two eyes, two ears, and
hair.
Ask, Do any students share all of the traits
you examined?
Answers will vary. The more traits students
examine, the fewer students will share all
the traits.
Ask, What makes a person unique?
Students should recognize that each person
has a particular set of traits that make him
or her unique.
6
Ask, Which traits that you observed are
inherited? Which traits are not inherited?
Help students understand that while
inherited traits like eye color and earlobe
shape cannot be changed, traits like hair
length and color can be changed.
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activity 24 Alike and Different
Students should recognize that wearing
glasses, having pierced ears, and length of
hair are not inherited traits. The other traits
observed are inherited.
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Have students answer the question on the
activity sheet.
REINFORCEMENT
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Have students bring in pictures of a variety
of dogs from magazines and examine their
traits. Have students make a list of traits that
are inherited and those that are not. Have
them determine what traits identify each
breed of dog.
SCIENCE JOURNALS
Have students place their completed
activity sheets in their science journals.
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Connections
Science Extension
Science and Language Arts
Ask students to describe a family they know
or a famous family in which members share a
distinctive trait. For example, the actor Kirk
Douglas and his sons, including
actor/producer Michael Douglas, all have an
unusual cleft chin. Students may know
families in which the combination of red hair
and freckles are common. If students have
difficulty identifying examples, suggest that
they look through magazines and books to
find pictures of families that share distinctive
traits.
Point out that the word cell has different
meanings in life science, physical science,
and everyday life. Ask students to define the
meaning of cell in each usage. Then have
each student write a few sentences using the
word with each meaning. Students may write
about battery cells, body cells, prison cells,
and cells in a honeycomb.
Science Challenge
Have students compare their traits with those
of their extended family members. Be
sensitive to the fact that some students may
be adopted, live in blended or foster homes,
or are unable to observe the features of both
parents or members of their extended
families.
Science and Careers
Invite an animal breeder or pet shop owner to
visit the class and describe some of the traits
they look for in different breeds of animals.
For example, traits of beagles include large
brown eyes, long ears, long body, short hair,
and loud bark. Help students prepare for the
visitor by discussing the traits of their pets.
Ask students to find out who first used the
word cell to refer to the units of which all
living things are made, and why the person
chose that word. (The term was coined in
1865 by English scientist Robert Hooke when
he viewed a slice of cork with the compound
microscope he had constructed. He was
reminded of monks’ small rooms, called
“cells,” in a monastery.)
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activity 24 Alike and Different
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Science and Social Studies