This unit is designed to introduce the topic of heredity to elementary age students. It has been broken down into five sections. The first is an introduction to heredity. The students are expected to explore the differences and similarities between various cultures in today’s societies. The second section focuses on DNA. The third section is RNA. The fourth section is titled “Boy or Girl.” This section is available to assist students in the understanding and mastery of sex cells and how everyone’s sex is determined. The last section is “Where Did That Curly Hair Come From?” This area provides information so students will be able to differentiate between dominant and recessive alleles and eventually create a Punnett Square to determine the outcome of hypothetical hybrid crosses. The entire unit allows the instructor to study how we came to be, scientifically, while looking at other associated subjects.
This unit provides the objectives and methods for the teacher before and after each section. The dialogue can be read to the class so the students will gain a better understanding of the topic. There are three lesson plans and two worksheets that can be used with the appropriate topic. Included are ideas and resources for the instructor to use at his/her discretion. This unit was intended to be easily modified to fit the teacher and/or students needs at various grades and academic levels.
(Recommended for Science, Math, Writing, Reading, and Social Studies, grades K-5)
