Inquiry Laboratory Lesson Plan #2
EDTE 701
Nassim Lewis
Class: Anatomy & Physiology
Title: Testing ABO and Rh Blood Groups
Standards/Objectives: The Anatomy & Physiology course does not have SC state
standards. The following are objectives for the lesson plan. The students will be able to:

Identify and describe the various blood types.

Describe a test to determine the blood type of a sample patient.

Discuss the different blood types according to antigens and antibodies present.
Context: This lesson belongs to a unit about the cardiovascular system. The unit
focuses on the three main components of the cardiovascular system, the heart, the blood
and the blood vessels. Blood is the first topic addressed in the unit. Before this lab, the
students will already be familiar with the composition of blood, including the structure
and function of red blood cells. This lab will be a “phenomenon first” activity to
introduce ABO and Rh blood types.
Materials (per group):

4 types of simulated blood (Mr. Green, Mr. Jones, Mr. Smith and Ms. Brown)

Simulated Anti-A serum

Simulated Anti-B serum

Simulated Anti-Rh serum

4 Blood typing slides

Toothpicks
Shopping and Budget (per class):
Item
Price
Place of Purchase
Ward’s Simulated Blood
$ 35.50
Ward’s Natural Science
Lab Activity
Supply
Instructional Sequence:
Pre-lab (10 minutes): I will ask a few students to share their blood type with the
rest of the class. When a student indicates that they have Type A+ blood or Type Bblood, I will ask the students to think about what it means to have A or B blood. They
will get into pairs and write down what they think determines blood type and the +/indicator. Several groups will share with the class.
Lab Activity (Total 55 minutes):
1. Instruct the students to experiment with the simulated blood and the
antiserums. Ask them to write down a few observations about what
happens when the blood and the Anti serum are mixed.
2. Next, the students will mix the four types of blood together with each of
the 3 antiserums. They will record their observations in the data table.
Instructions are given on the student sheet. Predictions are made about
each person’s blood type.
3. After predictions have been made, I will tell the students that Mr. Green’s
blood type is AB+ and ask them to deduce the other three people’s blood
types with the help of this new information.
Post Lab (20 minutes): After the students have completed the lab activity, we will
discuss as a class what occurred in the lab. Students will be asked to share their initial
predictions about blood type and indicate whether the new information changed their
predictions. When we come to a consensus about the individual’s blood types, I will ask
the students to tell me what information they used to come to their conclusions. What
changed after I told them Mr. Green’s blood type? This will lead us into a discussion
about agglutination, antibodies, blood type antigens and blood transfusion compatibility.
After the discussion, students will be asked to complete Part B of the student data sheet.
These questions will assess their connections between blood type, agglutination,
antibodies and antigens.
Assessment:

Formative Assessment: I will monitor student’s progress during the lab and ask
probing questions. Students will be asked to share their initial predictions and
revised conclusions about the blood type of the individuals.

Summative Assessment: Part B of the student sheet asks students to bring
together everything that they have learned and fill in the table. From their
answers, I can assess whether they truly understand ABO and Rh blood groups or
were simply copying their partner in the lab.
References: This Lab was modified from a Ward’s lab kit called “Ward’s Simulated
Blood Lab Activity.”
Testing ABO and Rh Blood Groups
Student Sheet Part A
Anatomy & Physiology
Name ________________________
1. Begin your experiment by observing what occurs when a few types of simulated
blood are mixed with the Anti serums. Do this by placing a few drops of the blood
into the well of the blood typing slide. Add a few drops of the Anti serum and mix
the two solutions together with the tip of a clean toothpick.
What did you observe? _______________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2. In this lab, you will be testing four people’s blood and determining their ABO and
Rh blood types. Take the four clean blood typing slides and label them in some
way to indicate Mr. Green, Mr. Brown, Mr. Jones and Mr. Smith.
3. Place a few drops of each person’s blood into the three wells (A, B and Rh).
4. Place a few drops of the Anti-A serum into all of the A wells.
5. Place a few drops of the Anti-B serum into all of the B wells.
6. Place a few drops of the Anti-Rh serum into the Rh wells.
7. Use a clean toothpick to stir each of the solutions in the wells together. Be sure to
use a new, clean toothpick each time.
8. Observe what occurs in each well and record your observations in the data table.
Anti-A serum
Anti-B serum
Anti-Rh serum
Mr. Green’s blood
Mr. Brown’s blood
Mr. Smith’s blood
Mr. Jones’ blood

I predict that Mr. Green’s blood type is ________.

I predict that Mr. Brown’s blood type is ________.

I predict that Mr. Smith’s blood type is ________.

I predict that Mr. Jones’ blood type is ________.
9. Your teacher will now tell you what Mr. Green’s blood type is. Mr. Green’s blood
type is ________.
10. In light of this new information, look at your predictions and decide if you would
like to change your predictions.

Mr. Brown’s blood type is ________.

Mr. Smith’s blood type is ________.

Mr. Jones’ blood type is ________.
11. Explain how you used the information given to you about Mr. Green’s blood type
to deduce the blood type of the other three individuals. _____________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Testing ABO and Rh Blood Groups
Student Sheet Part B
Anatomy & Physiology
Name ________________________
In Part A, we learned the following about the blood types of the four individuals:

Mr. Smith A+

Mr. Jones B+

Mr. Green AB+

Ms. Brown O-
Using the information above, fill in the table below:
Blood Type
Mr. Smith
Mr. Jones
A+
B+
Mr. Green
AB+
Mr. Brown
O-
Antigens on
Antibodies
Can receive
Can donate
RBCs
in blood
blood from
blood to