Genetics Field Notes
Day 1: Make sure that you have one of the “black boxes” from 6 th
grade to remind kids what they did with it the previous year. Put the overhead of the black box illustration on the overhead. Discuss the questions in “Judging Scientific Models.” Point out the models have to account for the data, be able to predict and be realistic. Read the
Modeling handout in class. Relate it to what they did with the earth, moon, sun data that they collected. They looked for patterns and then come up with a model (using balls to represent the earth, moon and sun) to explain the data.
Do the first page of the picture matching activity. It helps if you read the directions as the students do the activity.
TO DO: You will need to have the pictures printed off on the laser printer, laminated, cut out and put in an envelope for each group. I made 9 sets, 3 pictures per page. Make an overhead of the “Judging Scientific Models” handout.
Day 2: Finish the picture matching activity. I put one set of the picture on the chalkboard with magnets to show students the real families. Put the POP Summary for picture matching on the overhead and discuss it. Have students and fill it out. Read through the Human Chromosomes handout, showing the overheads. Have them do the questions on their own. I had them due 3 days later.
TO DO: Make an overhead of the POP Summary for the Picture Matching. Copy the
POP for the Picture Matching and the POP for the meiosis model back to back for students.
Day 3:
Go over the human chromosomes WS. Pass out the lab sheet, “Why don’t we look exactly like our siblings?” Have students get into groups. Read through the first paragraph with students. Pass out the chromosomes. Go through #s 1-3 as a class. Read p. 4&5. Have students move the chromosomes on the laminated piece of paper. Remind them that once a cell divides it is no longer there, so no chromosomes are left behind.
Also remind them that when 2 cells such as egg and sperm come together that no chromosomes are left behind. When students are done check each group’s movement of chromosomes to make sure that they have 6 chromosomes in the fertilized egg (one of each kind and 3 from each parent) as well as 3 chromosomes in the “leftover” egg and sperm. Then have them go back to p. 2 and jot down the steps they did to get their baby.
Then have them draw on p. 3 what happened in each step. Collect one/group. Pass out the review sheet and have them study if they are all done.
Day 4:
Review what happened with the chromosomes in yesterday’s activity. Discuss the Sex
Cell Formation POP. Have students copy it from the overhead. Put the overhead of possible chromosome combinations in egg and sperm on the overhead and explain after the first two sections of the POP. It also helps to have the family pictures handy as evidence for each point (i.e. siblings look alike, but not exactly.) Hand out a blank sheet

of paper to each student. Also pass out the paper “Constructing a Pedigree.” Draw the pedigree on a blank overhead as you read the step by step directions from the sheet.
Have students copy it. Pass out the Summers Family packet and read the first page to the students. Have them get into their groups and make a pedigree of the Summers family on a clean sheet of paper. They didn’t get all finished with this in class.
To Do: Make an overhead of the Sex Cell Formation POP, the 3 rd page of the worksheet with chromosomes drawn in and the Possible combinations drawing.
Day 5:
Review for the quiz using the review sheet. Have students take the quiz. When everyone is done have them go to their groups and finish the Summers family pedigree. Then they can work on the Reed family pedigree, drawing it on the back of the Summers family.
Give them points for doing it. At the end of class put each pedigree on the overhead and let students make any changes on their papers. If they don’t finish it, have them do it as
HW and go over them on the overhead the beginning of Day 6.
To Do: Make overheads of the Summers Family pedigree and the Reed family pedigree.
Day 6: Mendel’s Peas
Pretend that Mendel visited you last night and told you all about his experiments with peas. Give a brief description on Mendel’s life. Go through the first part of the lab with the yellow and green peas as a class with each group counting one bag of peas. (I had to walk around and keep kids on task.) You will need calculators for each group as well as some type of tray to put the peas in (Tupperware). You may need to go over how to do percents and ratios. This year they just finished working on them in math. Dave said that they may not get to it until later in the year next year. Then go over Mendel’s Model, telling kids that they won’t “get it” yet. We’ll have lots of practice. If there’s time you can introduce “How are traits inherited?”
To Do: You will need yellow and green peas and then round and wrinkled peas. You need to put together bags of peas with the following numbers:
Round/Wrinkled Cross 1:
All round, approximately 200 peas in each bag.
Round/Wrinkled Cross 2:
Round Wrinkled
1
2
123
120
37
50
3
4
5
6
7
8
125
120
135
119
137
130
37
40
42
45
50
40
Yellow/Green Cross 1:
All yellow, approximately 200 peas in each bag
Yellow/Green Cross 2:
Yellow Green

5
6
7
8
1
2
3
4
130
137
119
135
120
125
120
123
40
50
45
42
40
37
50
37
I wrote the type of cross the cross number on the plastic bag in permanent marker and then put clear tape over it so it wouldn’t rub off.
Make overheads of the pages with the class data tables and the last page.
Day 7:
Finish the 2 nd
half of Mendel’s Peas with the round and wrinkled seeds. Tie it to the model stressing that it takes all the data into account, lets us predict and is realistic (i.e. leprechauns do not come in and paint the peas green.) Go over the 6 types of crosses if you have time. I did get to introduce “How are Traits Inherited” with 3 classes.
Day 8:
Have students do “How Traits are Inherited.” Give one envelope with the laminated gene cards in to each group of students. Have students refer to the bottom part of Mendel’s
Model when doing each of the crosses. Pick up one/group when done. Then have them start on “Understanding Mendel’s Model.” They can continue this the next day.
To Do: Laminate 15 sheets of the gene cards for each activity. Cut out and put in envelopes. It’s nice to have extra ones for kids in ALC, those that were absent or to replace those that are lost. You will also need 2 paper bags per group with Male written on one and Female written on the other.
Day 9: Have students finish “Understanding Mendel’s Model.” Collect one/group. Pass out the Genetic Counseling reading and worksheet. Students can work on it until the end of class. They can finish it for homework.
Day 10: Put students in groups of 4. Have one of each of the Peabop grandparents on display at the front of the room. Put each pea part in a tupperware container. (Except for the stems. They can be in Ziploc bags.) Don’t pass out the chromosomes until after students have made the grandparents. I read through the entire activity and did exactly what it said before I let kids go to groups. Many didn’t listen and didn’t read the directions and had problems. Those that listened and read were fine. Divide the class into groups of 4. They should get through grandkids today.
To do: Make copies of the yellow peas on yellow paper, the green peas on green paper, the purple flowers on purple paper and the white flowers on white paper. Have them laminated. I think that I did 5 sheets of each. Cut them apart. Then copy the chromosomes on different colored paper (for example, stem length on green, flower color

on off white, pea color on pink and position of the flower on blue) and laminate. You will need 8 chromosomes of each variation, 16 chromosomes of each color. Cut apart and put in envelopes for each group. Get pipe cleaners. Cut 10 in half. (The branches are 1/3 of a tall stem long. You will need about 50 of these.) Make an overhead of the class data chart for each hour.
Day 11: Discuss Peabops. Put the overhead of the grandkids traits on the overhead. Ask how there could be so much variation. Get out an envelope of chromosomes and actually model how the grandparents made eggs and sperm and how they combine to make parents, how the parents make egg and sperm and how they come together to make grandkids. Emphasize all the different combinations they can get when making egg and sperm and then when egg and sperm combine. Go over the questions on page 1 together.
Again, model with the chromosomes. Pass out “Gummi Bear Genetics” and read through how to do it with the kids. You can actually have them take data on the first family.
Day 12: I went over Genetic Counseling with students first. I made an overhead of the answers and gave them 10 points for having done it. Go through the pedigrees and show how a parent that does not have CF can have a kid with CF. This will be an important idea for the gummi bear genetics. Do Gummi Bear Genetics.
TO Do: Make the following families, each family in a big Ziploc bag and each generation in a small Ziploc bag. Put the little bags (Parent, kid, grandkid) in the big bag.
I wrote on the bags in permanent magic marker and then put clear tape of the writing so that it didn’t rub off. Since I have lots of green, yellow and orange gummi bears left over from putting mine together you may want to substitute any of those colors with the red and clear that I used.
Family A:
(1,1) crossed with (2,2)
Parents: 1 red male, 1 clear female
Kids: all red (7), 3 males, 4 females
Grandkids: 6 red (3 males, 3 females), 2 clear (1 male, 1 female)
Family B:
(1,2) crossed with (1,2)
Parents: 2 red (1 male, 1 female)
Kids: 7 red (4 males, 3 females), 2 clear (1 male, 1 female)
Grandkids (from a clear and a red kid): 5 red (2 males, 3 females), 2 clear (2 females)
Family C:
(2,2) crossed with (2,2)
Parents: 2 clear (1 male, 1 female)
Kids: 4 clear (3 males, 1 female)
Grandkids: 6 clear (2 males, 4 females

Day 13:
Do the Gummi Bear Genetics lab. I gave a gummi bear to each person after they got each family correct. That way I didn’t have to grade each lab. I just gave 25 points when they got it done (the next day.)
Day 14:
Finish the Gummi Bear Lab. Give a “challenge family” page to each group as it gets done and tell them that they can make up their own data for a cross that we haven’t done yet. (We did 3 out of 6 possible crosses with the Gummi Bear Lab. That gives them 3 crosses left to choose from.) The last 10 minutes or so (whenever all groups get done), start the gummi dolphin lab. They can get data on Family on and start filling out the
“new” model page. Remind them that a model has to account for the data, be able to predict and be realistic. If the model they come up with doesn’t fit the data for Family A, then try something else. I did give them the clue that there were only 2 genes involved.
Let them know that models can fit some data, but you may need a new model (or revise the old one) when new data becomes available. Life is complicated and different genes may act in different ways.
To do: Make the following families, each family in a big Ziploc bag and each generation in a small Ziploc bag. Put the little bags (Parent, kid, grandkid) in the big bag. I wrote on the bags in permanent magic marker and then put clear tape of the writing so that it didn’t rub off. I don’t have any gummi dolphins left that you can use, so you’ll have to buy bags of them. I used at least 12, but it depends on how many of each color dolphin is in each bag. (It varies from bag to bag.)
Family A:
(1,1) crossed with (2,2)
Parents: 1 red male, 1 clear female
Kids: all red (7), 3 males, 4 females
Grandkids: 6 red (3 males, 3 females), 2 clear (1 male, 1 female)
Family B:
(1,2) crossed with (1,2)
Parents: 2 red (1 male, 1 female)
Kids: 7 red (4 males, 3 females), 2 clear (1 male, 1 female)
Grandkids (from a clear and a red kid): 5 red (2 males, 3 females), 2 clear (2 females)
Family C:
(2,2) crossed with (2,2)
Parents: 2 clear (1 male, 1 female)
Kids: 4 clear (3 males, 1 female)
Grandkids: 6 clear (2 males, 4 females)
Parents: 1 red male, 1 yellow female
Kids: 2 orange males, 2 orange females
Grandkids: 2 red (1 male, 1 female), 4 orange (3 males 1 female), 2 yellow (2 females)

Parents: 1 yellow male, 1 yellow female
Kids: 3 yellow (1 male, 2 females)
Grandkids: 5 yellow (3 males, 2 females)
Parents: 1 red male, 1 red female
Kids: 2 red males, 3 red females
Grandkids: 2 red males, 2 red females
Parents: 1 orange male, 1 yellow female
Kids: 4 orange (3 males, 1 female), 4 yellow (2 males, 2 females)
Grandkids: (from an orange male and an yellow female kids)
3 Orange (2 males, 1 female), 3 yellow (1 male, 2 females)
Parents: 1 orange male, 1 red female
Kids: Red (2 males, 1 female), orange (1 male, 2 females)
Grandkids: (from a red male and an orange female)
3 red (1 female, 2 males), 3 orange (1 female, 2 males)
Day 15:
Work on the Gummi Dolphin Lab. I had them try different colors for each variation and see which fit the data. If it doesn’t, try another combination. Once they get a combination that fits the data for Family A, they can fill in the data for each of the crosses using the punnett squares on the back to figure out what the kids are. I made them finish the “new” model sheet (giving it their own name) and Family A before I gave them a gummi dolphin. Then I gave them another dolphin after finishing Family B & C and then a third after finishing Family D & E. A few groups got done, but not many.
Day 16:
Have students finish the gummi dolphin lab. Everyone was done with time to work on the portfolio. I also handed out the test review today.
Day 17:
Portfolio Day.
Day 18:
Review for the quiz by going over the overheads and the review sheet. Read through “Is
It Inherited?” with students pointing out the it isn’t just genes that make us how we are.
The environment is important too. Remind them that we have 2 models of how traits are inherited, but that there are even more than that. You can have more than 2 different types of genes for a trait (like eye color or blood type) and you can have more than one gene that determines a trait (like eye color-maybe 6 different genes. Alzheimer’s is

another example.) So life is more complicated than we’re learning about in here. If there’s time read over the reading about DNA.
Day 19: Test