Unit Title: Genetic Bioengineering
iWellness
Lesson Plan
Grade:
6th grade
Teacher:
Anthony M. Gragg
Lesson Title:
Scientific Themes in Personal Genetics
STRANDS
Physical Education:




Skill Movement and Movement Principles and Concepts
Physical Activity
Nutrition
Personal Health and Wellness
Mathematics:
 Statistics and Probability
 Permutations
 Combinations
LESSON OVERVIEW
Summary of the task, challenge, investigation, career-related scenario, problem, or community link.
Genetic analysis is playing an increasingly large role in healthcare and is impacting many aspects of society. New techniques are allowing scientists to better understand
the connections between genes and human health, improve medical care, and help extend people’s lives. Individuals carry a unique set of variations in their DNA
sequence, affecting their outward appearance, their behavior, and from a medical standpoint, their susceptibility to disease. Some of this variation is not yet well
understood. As more and more people are sequenced, scientists will generate larger sets of data from which to learn about the poorly understood regions of the
genome and their functions, including relationships to diseases. Students are likely to become independent health care consumers at about the time that personal
genome sequencing becomes an affordable and accessible option for many people. This lesson introduces students to scientific concepts in genetics that have broad
implications for individuals and for society. Students will be asked to consider the role of DNA in our personal and cultural identities as well as our understanding of
diversity. They will come away with a perspective that the benefits of personal genetics can only come to light when we understand the potential and the concerns.
Hook for the week unit or supplemental resources used throughout the week. (PBL scenarios, video clips, websites, literature)
MOTIVATOR
Students will take a small quiz called “Scientific themes in personal genetics”, to measure prior knowledge about genetics.
DAY
Objectives
(I can….)
1
I can…develop an
understanding of
my genetic
makeup.
Materials
&
Resources
iPad
Jump Rope
Elastic Bands
Steps
Cones
Exercise
Posters
Instructional Procedures
EQ:
What are the fundamental scientific concepts needed to understand personal
genetics?
Lesson Plan
Engage Explore
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
 Define personal genetics.
 Understand important concepts in genetics such as inheritance, variation
and risk.
 Grasp the connection between inexpensive genetic analysis and changes
in health care.
Motivator: 5 minutes
Take quiz
Present part one of the slideshow http://www.pged.org/lesson-plans/
Learner Activity: 20 minutes
Ask the following questions to entertain thought:
Differentiated
Instruction
Have students in
grades 6-8 do the
homework
activity as a
classroom
activity. Have
them work in six
cooperative
groups to write
their positions.
They can use the
Web sites given
in the lesson for
background
information.
Discuss the
position of each
group as a class.
Have the
students try to
reach a
Assessment
1. What is a gene?
2. How is it that some have brown hair, blond hair, or black hair?
Procedure
Begin the lesson by grouping students in combinations. Ask groups to discuss
genes and why they are important. Give students five minutes to discuss and
write down their ideas.
Have a class discussion about genes. Explain that genes are inherited from
parents and are important because they determine much about behavioral,
mental, and physical traits. Every gene contains a DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
code that gives the cell instructions about how to make specific proteins. These
proteins form the basis for the structural framework of life.
Explain that medical science has progressed and that now genes can be changed
through genetic engineering. In this process, scientists insert the genetic
instructions to make a specific protein into a cell's DNA. The cell will manufacture
the protein, which affects a particular characteristic, and the cell will also pass the
new instructions on to its offspring. Genetic engineering gives scientists the
ability to improve and alter the basic composition of a living cell. This is called
biotechnology.
Have students brainstorm the risks and benefits associated with biotechnology.
Possible risks:
1. Relying on eugenics, or selecting the genetic makeup of future
children. This practice may give people the power to control
some personal traits, such as having blond hair or being tall.
Taken to an extreme, this could eliminate some traits.
2. Using biotechnology before exploring other options, particularly
in reproductive medicine. For example, technology enables
scientists to implant an egg from one woman into the uterus of
another. But it may not be a good idea to use this technique
before trying less extreme techniques first.
Possible benefits:
1. Eliminating genetic diseases. For example, geneticists think it
may be possible to eliminate genetic diseases such as Tay-Sachs
through careful and methodical screening programs.
2. Screening unborn babies. This refers to screening for genetic
disorders either before a pregnancy takes place or in the early
consensus about
what they think
the government's
role should be
concerning
biotechnology
medicine.
months of a pregnancy. More information would give
prospective parents more options in dealing with their infants'
problems.
3. Treating diseases. For example, scientists are working on ways to
insert cells from embryos into cancerous cells as a way to stop
the growth of cancer.
Exercise Activity
Warm-up – Static Stretch




Lower Extremities
Upper Extremities
Push-up X 15
Curl-up X 20
Activity
Stations
1.
2.
3.
4.
Stretch Bands
Step
Jump Rope
Body Weight Movement
Cool-down – Static Stretch


Leg – Hurtle Stretch
Leg – Cross Over
Closure
Conclude the lesson by talking about failure. Explain to the students that not all
procedures are successful. What can happen when one fails? Introduce “Dolly”
the clone sheep, give the web site “Cloning Failure”. Have them work at home
exploring what took place with this lamb.
2
I can…give an
opinion about the
ethical issue of
iPad
Monitor
EQ:
How do environmental factors and our DNA interact to influence traits?
Repeat previous
if necessary
cloning.
Lesson Plan
Explore Engage
Objectives:
Students will
 discover ethical issues surrounding the practice of genetic engineering in
reproductive medicine.
 understand key terms and concepts related to the science of genetic
engineering.
Motivator: 5 minutes
Discuss the findings with the students about “Cloning Failure”. It took scientists
277 attempts to clone a normal, healthy sheep (Dolly). But what happened to the
other 276 sheep?
Learner Activity:
Point out that biotechnology is a powerful tool and that scientists have had to
consider many ethical issues surrounding it. As a result, the new field of bioethics
has emerged. Bioethics is the study of the ethical implications of biological
research and applications, especially in medicine; it involves examination of the
benefits and the risks of biotechnology.
Tell students that they will think about ethical issues associated with
biotechnology in the area of reproductive medicine. Distribute the Activity Sheet:
Different Perspectives on Genetic Engineering. Explain that students will read a
scenario concerning cystic fibrosis and genetic engineering. They will examine the
scenario from the perspective of one of six individuals, including a religious
person and a molecular biologist. (Assign each student an individual by having
students count off one through six.)
Have each student read the scenario and write a position statement from the
individual's perspective. Students may use quotations from the individuals in
their position statements. Share the following Web sites with students to help
them research this topic:
National Center for Biotechnology
Access Excellence
Medical College of Wisconsin Bioethics Online
University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics
Show part two of the PowerPoint-Genetics
Explain to the students, one of the pairs of chromosomes has a strong influence
on our biological sex, and so the chromosomes of this pair, named X and Y, are
called the sex chromosomes. Most females carry two copies of the X
chromosome (XX), and most males carry one X and one Y chromosome (XY).
Intersex individuals may be XX or XY, or they may carry one sex chromosome or
three or more sex chromosomes. As more genomes are sequenced, some expect
to find more variation related to sex chromosomes than originally understood.
One of the hopes is that this information will allow us as a society to think more
broadly about sex, biology and gender. A person’s sex chromosomes do not
necessarily determine a person’s gender identity. People who identify as
transgender may feel their gender identity conflicts with their biological sex.
The chromosomes of the rest of the genome are simply numbered 1 through 22,
with two copies of each in most individuals. These 22 chromosomes are
sometimes called autosomes.
One chromosome of each pair comes from our mother and one from our father.
Therefore, in general, we also have two copies of each gene, one from our
mother and one from our father. It is estimated that our genomes contain
approximately 20,000 genes.
Due to remarkable advances in technology, scientists can now determine the
order of the 6 billion bases of our genome along the X, Y and chromosomes 1
through 22. This is referred to as genome sequencing. As the cost of sequencing
decreases, it is becoming possible for large numbers of people to have their
genomes sequenced. Sometimes, the sequence of bases in specific regions of the
human genome can be correlated to specific traits, leading to great interest in
personal genome sequencing among scientists, physicians and the general public.
Exercise Activity:
Warm-up – Static Stretch
 Lower Extremities
 Upper Extremities
 Push-up X 15
 Curl-up X 20
Activity
Fit Star Cool-down – Static Stretch
 Leg – Hurtle Stretch
 Leg – Cross Over
3
I can…calculate
percentages to
discuss chance of
future risks with
chromosomes in my
healthy endeavor.
iPad
Closure:
DNA is our code for how we look and act. Ask for responses about various
abnormalities that can take place from one missing chromosome. Answers may
vary.
EQ:
Do your genes determine everything about you and your future?
Cones and
Reaction Ball
and Box Jump
Lesson Plan
Explore Engage
Objectives:
Students will
 Define the term Pedigree
 Develop an understanding of the importance of testing before thoughts
of starting families
 Look at their family heritage to understand possible risks of abnormalities
 Understand risk percentages are based on possibilities and are not
definite
Motivator: 5 minutes
View remainder of PowerPoint
Learner Activity:
A pedigree is a way to draw a family tree to look at traits that appear to run in a
family. A great deal of information can be captured in one drawing. Now lets look
at an example of a Pedigreewww.genome.gov/Pages/Education/Modules/YourFamilyHealthHistory.pdf.)
Briefly, men are drawn as squares and women as circles. Individuals with the trait
being examined are shaded, whereas individuals without the trait are open. In
slides 7-9, pedigrees are used to illustrate important principles in personal
Repeat previous
if necessary
genetics.
There are many families where multiple individuals suffer from cancer.
Sometimes, this is due to inheritance of a genetic variant which confers increased
cancer risk. According to the National Cancer Institute, women who inherit a
single copy of one of these BRCA1 variants have a 55-65% chance of developing
breast cancer by age 70. Note; this is an example of dominant inheritance. A
major goal of genetics research is to understand the relationship between
people’s genetic information (or genotype) and their traits (or phenotype). Your
genotype is your complete heritable genetic identity; it is your unique genome
that would be revealed by personal genome sequencing. However, the word
genotype can also refer just to a particular gene or set of genes carried by an
individual.
One of the most important points to make to students is that your physical,
mental and behavioral states are influenced both by your genetic make-up and
by the unique circumstances in which you have lived your life, including
everything that has ever happened to you. We often refer to these two inputs as
“nature,” the unique genome you carry, and “nurture,” the environment in which
you have lived your life. Scientists are still far from having identified all the genes
that contribute to our physical, mental and behavioral traits. Many scientists are
now focusing also on interactions between genes and environment and how that
relationship may impact traits and behaviors.
Risk is communicated in many ways, and this language can affect how we
perceive the statistics. This slide illustrates several ways of describing a 10% risk.
This is the same as saying “one in 10 individuals.” If there are 30 students in your
class, 10% means approximately three students. These are absolute terms. Risk
can also be talked about in a relative sense, often in comparison to a group of
people or population. How might you react if you find out that you are at 3-fold
decreased risk for a disease? If the population risk is 3 in 1,000 (or 0.3%), a 3-fold
decrease means that your risk is 1 in 1000 (or 0.1%). If, instead, the population
risk is 6 in 10 (60%), then a 3-fold decrease would mean that your risk is 2 in 10
(20%). Would you react differently to this news? Whenever we hear a relative
risk, it is important to consider what the baseline risk of the population is in order
to make informed decisions based on these statistics.
Exercise Activity:
Warm-up – Static Stretch




Lower Extremities
Upper Extremities
Push-up X 15
Curl-up X 20
Activity
Agility Training
1. Agility Drill:
 20 yard lateral shuffle
 20 yard backward and forward shuffle
2. Balance Drill:
 Balance Board – both feet
 Exercise Bar – single leg
 Lunge Pattern
 Box Jump
3. Quickness Drill:
 Blind Toss
 Push Box Shuffle
 Mirror Two-drill Reaction
Cool-down – Static Stretch


Leg – Hurtle Stretch
Leg – Cross Over
Closure:
Discuss the risk factor percentages with students. Emphasis is placed on the
percentage and not actuality. How would the students react to news about a risk
becoming true to them or immediate family member.
4
I can…
EQ:
5
I can…
EQ:
-
STANDARDS
Identify what you want to teach. Reference State, Common Core, ACT
College Readiness Standards and/or State Competencies.
Physical Education
1. 5 Student has the necessary knowledge and skills to establish and maintain physical fitness, participate in physical activity, and maintain personal health.
2. 1 Student will acquire the knowledge and ability necessary to create and maintain a safe and healthy environment.
3. 1 Student will understand and be able to manage their personal and community resources.
4.1.4 Student will discuss the value of appropriate warm-up and conditioning techniques.
4.1.5 Students will find pulse and calculate Target Heart Rate while working in Heart Rate Zone.
4.3.6 Students will set personal goals for fitness components to be improved upon.
Mathematics
6.SP Develop understanding of statistical variability
Summarize and describe distributions