Instructor: Stephanie Thompson
Grade and Subject: 7th Grade Life Science
Lesson Title: Genes and Punnett Squares
Date: 11/07/2014
1. LESSON CONTEXT AND RATIONALE
Culture and Context
Lesson Rationale
Management
2.
Freedom Middle School is a public school in the Dekalb County School
District. The school was opened in 2001 in a brand new construction within an urban
environment populated with minorities. The school has one of the highest population
of refugees in the state of Georgia. Freedom Middle School is a Title I Focus School
and all students in the building receive free lunch. The school’s mission is to provide a
conducive learning environment where teachers can teach and students can reach and
exceed their potential, so they may compete in a global society.
This lesson is prepared for a 7th grade Life Science classroom. All classes that
will be taught this lesson has both male and female students. Each class period
receives approximately 55 minutes of instruction a day. This lesson is appropriate for
middle level students for many reasons. They include hands-on activities which are
key for holding the students’ interests. The lesson begins with a video on Punnett
squares which covers the vocabulary words students are focused on during this
section. The initial video serves to re-enforce the concepts of how genes and traits are
passed on from parent to offspring. It also prompts students to continue working on
Punnett squares. The body of the lesson will be students working on problems
involving Punnett squares. Most students inhibit the multiple intelligence of being
interpersonal; at the middle school level, students are very sociable and working in
groups is good for them. The students will work with the students at their table in
groups of four. They will solve it using a formative assessment strategy called
“Circular check”. This will be an opportunity to provide students with game-based
learning where students will have dry-erase boards to answer the problems.
Students are constantly ready to get out of their seats towards the end of class so I am
providing the opportunity for at least one member of each group to get up and explain
how they reached their solution. The students will also be given a quiz as the closing.
Students will learn how genes are passed on to successive generations. Before this
lesson, students already have the following prior knowledge through instruction from
other lessons:
 Genes are handed down from parents to the offspring and that the genes
carry traits.
 Vocabulary words such as homozygous, heterozygous, dominant trait,
recessive trait, genotype, and phenotype.
 How to calculate ratios.
 Brief knowledge on how to complete a Punnett Square.
This lesson is important because students need to understand and appreciate the
diversity of individuals within a population. Everyone always wonders why they look
like their mom or their dad so it is also important for students to realize that that
genes come in pairs, and that one set of genes is contributed by the mother, while the
other, corresponding set of genes is contributed by the father. The lesson will be
taught in this particular manner to provide differentiation allow students of multiple
intelligences to grasp the concept.
 Classroom Management:
 SwirL – Only ONE person SPEAKING, everybody else LISTENING
 The three main rules: “Be Attitudes” by Dr Sullivan
 Be Respectful
 Be Appropriate
 Be Prepared
STANDARDS & REQUIREMENTS
2. CCGSP or GPS
Standard(s)
Content Standard
S7L3. Students will recognize how biological traits are passed on to
successive generations.
a. Explain the role of genes and chromosomes in the process of inheriting a
Grade and Subject: 7th Grade Life Science
Instructor: Stephanie Thompson
Lesson Title: Genes and Punnett Squares
Date: 11/07/2014
specific trait.
Characterics of Science Standards
S7CS1. Students will explore of the importance of curiosity, honesty, openness,
and skepticism in science and will exhibit these traits in their
own efforts to understand how the world works.
a. Understand the importance of—and keep—honest, clear, and accurate
records in science.
b.Understand that hypotheses can be valuable, even if they turn out not to be
completely accurate.
Individual Education  Students have 504s for asthma that do not affect their learning experience.
 Accommodations will be made for student with ADHD, but learning goals and
Plan Goal(s) and
grade level standards will remain the same because no modifications will be made.
Benchmarks
Modification(s)
/Accommodation (s)
Differentiation

The following accomodations will be made available to all students.
o ADHD student will work with a peer who is careful and responsible.
o Students will be provided with a Punnett Square graphic organizer.
Differentiation will occur through multiple means of action and expression.
o Students are able to express what they know through the work period
activity and the quiz.
o Incorporated explicit opportunities for review and practice
o Vocabulary words will be clarified and students will be provided with a
worksheet where they are able to transfer their knowledge from the dry
erase board to paper to have tangible product to take with them.
Differentiation will occur through multiple means of engagement.
o Providing explicit supported opportunities to generalize learning to new
situations (different types of scenarios are given that can be solved
using Punnett Squares).
o Previously learned skills will be highlighted.
3. RESOURCES
Academic Language
Language Functions
Language
Vocabulary
Materials
 Language Demands:
 Students will watch a video that explains Punnett Squares
 Students will draw Punnett Squares
 Students will discuss how traits are passed on from parents to offspring.
 Students will generate predictions about the genotypes and phenotypes of
potential offspring by completing Punnett Squares.
 Students will be able to describe how genes are passed on to successive
generations.
 Gene
 Allele
 Dominant allele
 Recessive allele
 Genotype
 Phenotype
 Heterozygous
 Homozygous
 Incomplete dominance
 Codominance
 Laminated Flipchart paper
 Dry erase markers
 Dry erase boards (8 – 1 per table)
 Copies of Punnett Square problems worksheet(120 copies)
 Copies of Genetics Quiz (120 copies)
 8-10 small dry erase boards
Instructor: Stephanie Thompson
Grade and Subject: 7th Grade Life Science
Lesson Title: Genes and Punnett Squares Date: 11/07/2014
 Promethean Board
Technology
 Computer
4. LESSON PROCEDURE
Enduring
Understanding
Essential
Question(s)
Lesson Objective(s)
Assessment Link
Introduction to
Lesson
Body of Lesson
 Genes and chromosomes determine the expressions of inherited traits.
 Many traits of an organism are inherited from biological parents. (With the focus
on which traits are and which are not.)
 How can I predict what traits will be passed from one generation to another?
 Why are genes important in determining hereditary traits?
 Why do I look the way I do?
 To observe and appreciate the diversity of individuals within a population.
 Understand how to set-up and complete a Punnett Square
 Understand how each square of a Punnett Square has equal probability of
occurring and determine the probabilities for outcomes of simple events
 Understand how to generate predictions about the genotypes and phenotypes of
potential offsprings from a Punnett Square
 Explain and define dominant and recessive alleles
 Understand that genes come in pairs, and that one set of genes is contributed by
the mother, while the other, corresponding set of genes is contributed by the
father
 The planned assessment links to the objectives and activities because it requires
them to understand how traits are passed on to successive generations. It also
requires students to understand that alleles can be dominant or recessive and how
to classify each type of allele whether it is with uppercase letters or lowercase
letters. The assessment is going to be used to see if any particular concepts of the
element being taught needs to be revisited.
Opening
5-10 minutes
When the students walk into the classroom, the students will be directed to draw a
Punnett Square in their Interactive Notebook. The students will be advised the
Punnett Square will be filled out when they watch the video. The video will be
stopped at various points to check for student understanding:
( http://youtu.be/prkHKjfUmMs) – Learn Biology: How to Draw a Punnett Square
 Minute 0:40 – What are dominant alleles? What are recessive alleles?
 Minute 1:59 – Bb? What type of gene is that? Heterozygous or Homozygous?
 Minute 2:44 – bb? Are the alleles that make the gene homozygous or
heterozygous? Dominant or recessive?
 Minute 2:48 – Complete the Punnett Square for the offspring since you have
the genotypes of the mother and father. What phenotypes do you see?
 Minute 3:17 – Probability of getting brown eyes? Probability of blue eyes?
Work Period
30 – 35 minutes
The students will be given the Punnett Square problems worksheet. Students will be
directed to work in groups of four using the circular check strategy.
 (Students have never used this method of problem-solving before so it
will be important to teach them how to use it. Students will label
themselves off as 1, 2, 3, and 4. Student 1 will complete the first step of
the problem without help from others in the group and then pass it on to
Student 2. Student 2 will check the solution to the first step and correct
any mistakes and complete the second step. Student 2 will pass it on to
Student 3. Student 3 will check for any mistakes and complete the third
step before passing it on to Student 4. Student 4 will check for any
mistakes and complete the last step. Each student will have the
opportunity to be the first to work a problem.)
Students will be told to solve the problems one by one. The first group to solve the
problem will raise their dry erase board so the teacher can assure they have the
Instructor: Stephanie Thompson
Grade and Subject: 7th Grade Life Science
Lesson Title: Genes and Punnett Squares
Date: 11/07/2014
Closure
correct answer. The group or their elected presenter will then come up to the front
to present their answer. Students will use the Punnett Square drawn on Promethean
board to provide their answer and explanation to the class.
This process will continue until all 8 questions have been answered. If it is noticed
that the same group is the first to solve multiple problems, more time will be given to
the entire class to provide each group an opportunity to come to the correct
resolution and present. If it is noticed that the students are not understanding the
problems, the teacher will pause the game and explain the question while providing
students context clues to answer the problem.
Closing
7 – 10 minutes
The students will take the Genetics Quiz. The genetics quiz will be used to gage
student learning and see if the students understand how to solve problems
involving Punnett Squares, phenotypes, homozygous alleles, and heterozygous
alleles.
5. ASSESSMENT
Evaluation
(Assessment Plan
for IEP Goals and/or
504 Plans)
 The main form of assessment will be formative.
 Teacher observation when students are working on the Punnett
Square problems.
 It is expected that students are following the “circular
check” method.
 It is expected that all students in the group are equally
participating in the activity and collaborating effectively.
 The students will also be required to present their problem and the
teacher will observe their presentation.
 Peer assessment – Students are reviewing the solutions to different
steps of the problem and correcting their peers mistakes if any.
 Summative Assessment:
 Students will take the Genetics Quiz.
6. REFLECTION
Analyzing Teaching
Effectiveness
I really enjoyed teaching this lesson. The students were actively engaged from the
beginning of the lesson until the end. I did not have any behavioral issues that
needed to be taken care of.
In the future, I will assure that all problems are thoroughly explained to students to
ensure all loose ends are tied up leaving no room for error.