Francine C. Coss
Before entering into the realm of animal life, field trips and classroom pet projects, it is necessary to clarify the definition of genes and why the concept of genetics is being taught in a Kindergarten classroom.
Genetics is a multi-leveled, highly complicated aspect of science which, on the surface, would not and, according to some, should not be taught to Kindergartners. I choose to disagree. Genetic qualities are discussed in my Kindergarten classroom daily: “He’s light skinned,” “She’s got green eyes,” “Her hair is curly and brown,” “My Mommy says I look like my Daddy.” All these comments are genetically linked and need to be addressed, if not at a chemical level, then at a level ‘
observable
’ to five and six year olds. Hair color, hair type, skin color, and even gender determination requires knowledge of genetics. The laws of genetics will not be stated here in length due to their complexities and sophistication, yet, the aspects of genetics that affect the outcome of the various projects and activities planned in this unit will be discussed.
A gene is defined as
. . . an element of the germ plasm that controls transmission of a hereditary character by specifying the structure of a particular protein or by controlling the function of other genetic material and that consists of a specific sequence of purine and pyrimidine bases usu. in DNA.
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This definition is not appropriate for Kindergarten students. A modified definition, such as the one stated below can also be considered too difficult to digest.
. . . any one of many tiny parts joined together in the nucleus of a cell that control the characteristics that are inherited from parents.
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Therefore, an extremely simple definition will be adopted for use in this animal unit.
Parents give their children genes that remember who or what their children should look like on the outside.
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This very general definition permits understanding at the students’ ability level. Kindergartners can better understand the concrete, tangible examples of genetics; this denotes the definition’s specificity to the outer characteristics effected by genes.
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The definition also provides a foundation for expansion if the students’ comprehension of the concept of genes increases. This definition is presented and molded to fit the unit topic of discussion. It will be used continually as each new unit topic is introduced and analyzed. The definition of a gene, as stated above, although primitive, presents minimal information with optimal expansion as each unit topic is addressed. The following units illustrate the use of this primitive gene definition and its stated expansion.
Pet Show
The unit, Pet Show, is placed first in the order of teaching units due to the familiarity children have with cats and dogs. The first issue addressed in the Pet Show unit will be the sexual orientation of these pets. In my current classroom population of Kindergartners, and even in previous populations of some now first and second grade students, there is a tendency to associate dogs with being male and cats with being female. This confusion will be addressed through the juxtaposition of physical differences in human sex organs. The highlighted point in this juxtaposition will be in how a human male urinates, versus how a human female urinates; a familiar difference to most five and six year olds. The obvious body structure discrepancies will be linked to sexual identification. A parallel will be drawn from human sex organs to the sex organs of cats and dogs. A veterinarian, who will visit the class with cats and dogs, will continue the discussion of sexual identification through a hands-on identification activity. First, the students will be asked to identify the sex of each animal by simply looking at the creature’s face and coat color. The students’ determinations will be graphed for comparison to future predictions. Then the veterinarian will allow the students to alter their determinations by viewing the underside of each animal, thus viewing the animal’s external sex organs. Altered results will also be graphed and placed side by side to the first set of results. The act of discerning sexual orientation by the size, color or type of animal will be refuted, opening the doors for accuracy in determining gender. The belief that all cats are female and that all dogs are male will be negated, providing the foundation for the commencement of the true Pet Show unit without further confusion or delay.
As an introductory segment of the Pet Show unit, several ‘everyday’ dog and cat songs, including the two listed below, are sung.
-
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“How Much is that Doggy in the Window?”
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How much is that doggy in the window? (bark-bark)
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The one with the waggly tail.
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How much is that doggy in the window? (bark-bark)
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I do hope that doggy’s for sale.
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“Bought Me a Cat”
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Bought me a cat, the cat pleased me.
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Fed my cat under yonders tree.
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Cat goes fiddle-i-fee, fiddle-i-fee.
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Cat goes fiddle-i-fee, fiddle-i-fee.
These first songs of the unit are later used to emphasize other pet types and their characteristics as the following lyrics illustrate.
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“How Much is that Ferret in the Window?”
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How much is that ferret in the window? (sniff-sniff)
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The one with the mousey face.
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How much is that ferret in the window? (sniff-sniff)
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He looks like a rat from space.
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“Bought Me a Frog”
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Bought me a frog, the frog pleased me.
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Fed my frog flies and bees.
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Frog goes ribbitey-hee, ribbitey-hee.
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Frog goes ribbitey-hee, ribbitey-hee.
Building upon the foundation of the children’s experiences with pets and using the introduction of familiar pet characteristics via music and other methods, the information and concepts taught during the Pet Show theme enable the students to acquire an understanding of other common pets, such as fish, hamsters, and gerbils. This expansion of pet knowledge will also lead to the understanding of unfamiliar pets including ferrets, hermit crabs and iguanas. Notwithstanding the importance of the characteristics and habitats of the many different animals that can be deemed ‘pets,’ the Pet Show unit will also expand upon the basic concepts of genetic relationships between adult animals and their offspring using the most familiar pet: dogs.
Some of the many concepts of the Pet Show theme will first be taught through the comparison of pure-breed dogs. The characteristics of Dalmatians, Rottweilers and Collies will first be discussed since the students are familiar with those breeds. Photographs of each breed listed above will be displayed along with the specific characteristics of each breed. The students will determine the best breed for the purpose of protection and the purpose of friendship via a series of whole-class, webbing
12
activities (See Illustration 1). Fiction and non-fiction books that contain examples of each breed-type will be read. The stereotyped characteristics will be used as a checklist for the class’ determination of breed purpose. Actual Dalmatians, Rottweilers and Collies will be visited during a field trip to a local pet store. Other breeds present during the pet store field trip will also be compared in future lessons. Illustrations of the various breeds discovered during the pet store trip will be displayed in the classroom with name labels and characteristic lists. Body part templates, coat/hair illustrations and eye-color samples will also be displayed with breed characteristics webbed and listed for each illustration (See Sample Lesson Plans: Preparation).
(figure available in print form)
The concept of mixed-breed dogs will follow and a duplicate set of body part templates will be utilized in child-created, mixed-breed canines. All original breeds will be named and labeled with their appropriate characteristics and displayed with the pure-breed examples. Video footage
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and photographs
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of both the true-breed dogs and the inventive-breed dogs will be placed into a stack using
HyperStudio
¨.
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Each card in the stack will represent a breed of dog, provide a motion or still image of the animal and supply details of the breed’s characteristics. The ‘Breed Stack’ will be copied onto each of the four classroom computers as well as any library computers (if compatible) for student reference via the use of a Zip disk and Iomega Zip drive.
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A third and final set of canine body parts will be placed at a classroom center (See Sample Lesson Plans: Lesson One). The ‘Kindergarten B Genetics Center’
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will then develop, continuing the whole-class activity of inventive-breeding. Illustrations of class-invented and teacher-invented canines will become part of the Genetic Challenge Game where a Genetic Center visitor must copy the illustrated breed found in the ‘Breed Book’ using the provided set of canine body parts. Visual discrimination and characteristic identification will be reviewed through this exercise. The constant opportunity to copy existing inventive-breeds as well as the availability to create new inventive-breeds will facilitate genetic understanding in future Pet Show activities and future animal units.
Continued expansion of the Kindergarten B Genetic Center will include feline illustrations and manipulation of feline-type differences for the purpose of creating an inventive-breed of cat. Calico, Siamese and Angora cats will become the focus of study since most of the students are not generally familiar with such various types of felines. Cat templates will be added to the Genetic Center for a continuation of the Genetic Challenge Game. The possibility of breeding a cat-dog mix will be discussed in terms of reality and fantasy. Cat-dogs, albeit an impossibility, will be genetically created and a non-fiction book, to be entitled, “If Cats Were Dogs and Dogs Were Cats,” will be written by the students with facts and illustrations for the fictitious cat-dog creature. A second HyperStudio¨ ‘Breed Stack’ will be created and linked to the original stack using a video camera, a QuickTake camera, and a color scanner.
As a postscript to the discussion of dogs and cats, the Pet Show unit will expand to include the introduction and discussion of the other types of house pets, especially those least familiar to the students: iguanas, boa constrictors, ball pythons, hermit crabs, parrots, chinchillas, ferrets, etc.
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Characteristic lists and habitat charts will be developed and displayed. To further the children’s comprehension of the exhibited pet characteristics and habitats, fish, newts, ants and a rabbit will be introduced as class pets. Each week, a new class pet will be introduced to the students. The eating habits, the space requirements and the general characteristics of each pet’s habitat will be compared and charted. A list of habitat characteristics such as, “lives in water,” “sleeps on wood chips,” etc. will be composed for each pet.
A class pet show will be the culminating activity for the Pet Show unit, requiring the students with pets to state the pet’s name, type, diet, environment and age. Pets will then be judged in various categories
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by those members of the class not having pets. All judges, in turn, are required to provide a fact about each pet selected for a prize. Each pet entered in the class pet show will receive a prize, preserving the true purpose of the pet show activity: to discuss pet types (not to compete for prizes). True determination of concept comprehension will take place when the pet owners and the judges describe each pet in the terms stated above. To add closure to the Pet Show unit, a parade of all class pet show participants will occur in or around the school building, with student-made ribbons being placed on each pet. Each student will then receive a videotaped copy
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of the HyperStudi
o
¨ ‘Breed Stacks’ created during the unit for home viewing without the use of a computer.
On the Farm
In the unit, On the Farm, which follows Pet Show, the students will begin the comparison of mammals and birds. Cows, horses, chickens, turkeys, ducks and quail will be the main creatures of discussion. The qualifications of being a mammal will be stated simply as a creature with a hard backbone and hair or fur, which drinks milk from its mother after birth and is warm-blooded. Parallels between animals defined as mammals and humans will be stressed. Milk production will be discussed and Three-Dimensional Cows
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(See Description 1), with
‘milk-able’
teats and water-filled udders will be created by small groups of students. A series of field trips to area farms
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will also enhance the discussion of mammals. Cows, horses and other farm mammals will be studied in a similar fashion to that found in the Pet Show unit. Similarities will be drawn between a cow’s teats and the nipple of a baby bottle.
Milking, having taken place in the classroom via a rubber glove and the three dimensional cows, will also take place during the field trip to the farm. Heavy cream will then be purchased at the farm to be churned into butter
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(See Description 2) in the classroom as a method of distinguishing farm animals from pets: farm animals are kept for the purpose of providing food, drink, or help to the farmer, pets are kept for companionship or protection. This discussion of purpose will lend to the introduction of domesticated fowl and eggs.
Description 1: Three-Dimensional Cows
Materials
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1 latex examination glove white glue
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1 white paper plate 1 straight pin
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1 empty, cardboard box of average height, width and depth 7-10 sheets of 11x17” brown, black, or white paper
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-OR-
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brown, black or white tempera paint and paint brushes
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5 paper towel tubes (4 full length, 1 cut in half)
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brown, black or white yarn, braided to desired thickness
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crayons, colored pencils, markers, etc.
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1 jar (preferably a plastic peanut butter-sized jar)
scissor -OR- single-edged razor
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Glue colored paper to all sides of the box (or paint with tempera).
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Glue four paper towel tubes to the bottom side of the box to use as legs. Glue both pieces of the cut paper towel tube to the front side of the box. Decorate a white paper plate to resemble a cow’s face.
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Glue the plate to the cut tubes attached to the front of the box.
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Glue a braided length of yarn to the rear side of the box.
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Trace the mouth of the jar onto the bottom center of the box.
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Cut the bottom of the box inside of the traced line.
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Fill the jar with water until more than half full.
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Prick a hole into each finger of a latex glove using a straight pin. Stretch the wrist of the pricked latex glove over the mouth of the jar. Place the jar into the hole at the bottom of the box.
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Turn the box over so it stands on the paper towel tube ‘legs’.
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Gently pull and squeeze one of the fingers on the glove to milk the cow.
Eggs from chickens, turkeys, ducks, and quail will be illustrated, displayed and described following the discussion of mammals. The differences between mammal birth and bird hatching will be listed on chart paper for reference and comparison. A dozen or more chicken, turkey, duck and quail eggs will be placed in a classroom incubator for hatching. The characteristics of each of the four birds will be placed on charts or in webs and exhibited in the classroom. Through the use of illustrations, facts on egg size and length of incubation time, the students will be able to determine which bird will hatch from each egg in the incubator. Observations will be recorded daily during the incubation process by individual students and also by the whole class, forming a foundation for the egg-to-bird linking process. Once the birds are hatched, several days of post-incubation observations will be taken before environmental factors deem the classroom a poor environment for healthy future growth for the birds. The students, with assistance from the teacher, will conclude from past knowledge and from first-hand experience that the newly hatched birds should be returned to a more appropriate environment. A field trip to the birds’ new home will be planned allowing the students to observe the differences in the birds once they are full grown. Differences between mammals and birds will become more pronounced with the discovery of the yolk sack and its purpose for the hatchling.
Description 2:Churning Butter from Heavy Cream
If you are lucky enough to acquire or borrow an antique/replica butter churn:
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1. Pour 2 quarts of heavy cream into the churn.
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2. Allow the students to take turns moving the churn stick up and down in a regular motion.
If you are unable to use an authentic butter churn:
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1. Fill baby food jars or any small, sealed container one-half to two-thirds full with heavy cream.
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2. Allow the students to take turns shaking the jars/containers until the heavy cream solidifies to butter.
The first clue that the heavy cream is becoming butter is the thickness of the cream and how it coats the churn/jar. Continued churning will convert the thick cream into two separate elements:butter and buttermilk. The churned butter is almost white in color. The buttermilk looks like a white water. Rinse the butter with water and spread onto bread. Encourage the students to drink the buttermilk!
Either process will yield butter in approximately 30 minutes or less.
To accelerate the process, allow the heavy cream to reach room temperature before churning.
Note:
The butter you will churn will not taste like the salted butter purchased in a grocery store. The churned butter will be sweet.
Important:
Churned butter has a very short shelf-life. It is recommended that churned butter be consumed immediately and not saved for later consumption.
The culminating activity for the unit, On the Farm, will be a multi-media presentation of the incubation process. Through the use of a QuickCam¨,
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an
Apple
¨
QuickTake 150
camera and a video camera, the incubation observations and the hatching process for each egg will be videotaped and photographed. The video/photos will be used for a
HyperStudio
¨ project. A detailed file for each egg will house audio, video, and photo observations sequenced through the use of
Avid VideoShop
¨.
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The students will have the ability to run the video clips from incubation to hatching for presentation to other classes, supplying even the older students with an introduction to genetics.
Animals Animals
Animals Animals, the third unit of study, will further the children’s comprehension of genetic concepts through the breeding of mice. The probability of specific characteristics occurring in offspring through the parents’ genetic history will be made clear through the breeding of a black-haired mouse and a white-haired mouse. A genetic history of hair color will be provided by the mouse supplier and the probability of hair color type occurring in the offspring will be determined through simple probability lessons and discussions. A series of lessons using double-sided counters
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will be implemented. One double-sided counter (red/yellow) will be flipped 10, 20, 50, and 100 times during several whole-group math lessons. The results of each lesson will be recorded in a bar graph to discriminate the number of times the counter landed on the yellow side or on the red side. The results will be translated into probabilities of flipping each color. Further lessons will use two double-sided counters, recording the results of each “flipping” as red/red, yellow/yellow, red/yellow, and yellow/red. The appropriate charts will display the final results of the two counter activity and the probability of each result will be calculated. The complexities that surround the concept of probability will not exist since the method of explanation is founded in the ability level of the students. The genetic concepts for determining the hair color of the offspring will be paralleled to the counter-flipping results. The appropriate definitions of dominant and recessive genes will also be introduced, once the concept of probability has been mastered.
The many genetic issues addressed during the mouse breeding experiment will be expanded upon through the inclusion of environmental effects. Two of the offspring from the mouse breeding experiment will be removed from their existing environment and placed in two differing environments. One environment will be similar to that from which they were removed, ie. an appropriate environment, and the other will not be appropriate to the needs of the mouse. Diet requirements and preferences will also be compared along with lifestyle or pursuit of exercise by each pet. Reflections from the Pet Show unit regarding the matching of a specific dog-breed type to a specific environment will enhance the comprehension of the mouse experiment.
Offspring 1, Merry, will be kept in an environment that allows for exercise and supplies the mouse with the proper nutrition via a healthy diet. Offspring 2, Terry, following Merry’s placement, will be kept in an environment that lacks the exercise and nutrition necessary for a healthy mouse. Regular observations will be made by individual students, and the class as a whole, which will include the subjective definition of energy level for each mouse and the objective measurement of growth from head to end of tail. Environmental effects on the two mice will become obvious to the students as one mouse grows stronger and the other grows weaker. After a strong difference in growth is detected by the students, Terry, the weaker mouse will be provided with the appropriate environment to illustrate the ability to change poor health habits. A parallel to the students’ personal exercise and eating habits will be drawn and the physical education teacher will be tapped for information regarding appropriate exercise and correct diet. Illustrations of Merry and Terry’s habits, including growth charts, food lists and overall energy graphs will be displayed next to parallel illustrations of children having similar habits. The publication
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of a moral-based, class-made book relating the health habits of Merry and Terry to the health habits of humans will complete the discussion of environment and eating habits in the Animals Animals unit.
The final expansion of the Animals Animals unit will be a
HyperStudio
¨ project combining
QuickTake
¨ photographs and videotaped or scanned images of Merry and Terry, their growth charts, food lists and energy graphs with audio and video clips of students reading and interpreting the information. This ‘Merry and Terry Information’ stack will then be linked to the
HyperStudio
¨ version of the class-made book about the two mice, read by a parent volunteer. A videotaped copy of the ‘Merry and Terry’ stack linked to the ‘Class-made Book’ stack will be given to each student for home viewing without the use of a computer.
Splish Splash
The fourth and final unit, Splish Splash, will concentrate on water creatures. Genetic differences will be highlighted in this unit, since many children believe that all fish eat the same food and live in the same environment. The fish and newts introduced to the class as pets during the Pet Show unit will be the first creatures of study. A comparison of environment as well as a comparison of diet between the fish and the newts will be reviewed and discussed.
Tadpoles will be introduced into the classroom collection for growth observation and comparison to bird and mammal offspring. The use of the Frog Life Cycle
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illustrating the stages of life for a frog will aid the students in determining which stage of life the tadpole/frog has achieved. Once the tadpoles have reached maturity, a proper environment will be found outside of the classroom. Placement into the new environment will occur following a class-planned, farewell party for the frogs.
Records of the classroom tadpoles’ growth will be compiled and placed into a
HyperStudio
¨ stack through the use of an Apple¨
QuickTake 150
camera, a color
QuickCam
and a video camera. The cards in the stack will represent the records kept by each small observation group. This ‘Frog Life’ stack will be copied onto each of the Macintosh 5200/75LC computers in the classroom via an Iomega Zip disk and Zip drive for class viewing. Videotaped copies will also be made for each child to view at home.
As a continuation of the Splish Splash unit, a trip to the Whitney Water Center
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will take place, providing instruction to the students on how to catch, keep and observe fresh water creatures. A field trip to Schooner Incorporated
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will allow the students to touch saltwater creatures from the deep of the Sound. The methods learned during the Whitney Water Center trip and the Schooner trip will be utilized during future trips to a pond, the ocean and a river/stream. Field trips to Edgewood Park,
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Todd’s Pond,
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the Southern Connecticut State University Wetlands,
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and the West Haven
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and New Haven
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shorelines will supply further hands-on knowledge of both fresh and saltwater life. Water life samples (living and dead) will be retrieved during each trip and placed in appropriate containers for classroom observation.
Fish having unique characteristics, like Piranha and certain types of Shark will be observed through film , video and a trip to the Norwalk Maritime Center.
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Many examples of underwater life will be viewed with diet and environment highlighted. Sea life available in the touch tanks during the trip will be compared to all previous water life collected, viewed and touched during the Splish Splash unit.
Concluding the unit, Splish Splash,
HyperStudio
¨ will be utilized once more. Each student will attempt to create an original card containing audio and video facts and information reinforcing the topics studied during the Splish Splash unit. A class-made reference book on fresh water and saltwater life will be published and scanned into a linked
HyperStudio
¨ stack. A videotaped copy of the ‘Splish Splash’ stack and a hardcopy of the class-made book will be available to other students, classes and teachers in the school building who may not have access to
HyperStudio
¨-compatible computers for stack viewing.
Culmination
The final project of this four month extended animal unit will be the physical creation of a genetically original creature. This creature, a Genome
asaurus
(See Description 3), will be the determinant for unit assessment. References to student-made charts, graphs and illustrations, as well as computerized, class-made programs, will supply the background necessary for listing the characteristics of the Genome
asaurus
. Poems, drama and creative movement will be incorporated in the unveiling of the class-made, wire and paper mache Genome
asaurus
.
Description 3: Genome
asaurus
Materials
-
drawings and written descriptions of creature
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tempera paints in various colors
-
newspapers, torn in 1-2” wide strips
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chicken wirepaintbrushes
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metalen paste -OR- wallpaper paste
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Bend chicken wire to resemble the shape of the Genomeasaurus.
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Dampen strips of newspaper with metalen paste and apply strips to chicken wire skeleton.
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Continue applying dampened strips until it resembles the Genomeasaurus.
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Allow Genomeasaurus to dry completely and paint according to class description.
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Allow Genomeasaurus to dry and display with description of creature.
Conclusion
The opportunities to introduce five and six year old children to the concepts
of genetics are few and far between. The unit, “I Wear my Genes Inside-Out: The Genetic Characteristics of Animals” will thoroughly fill the void of information through its discussion of how genetic information can be revealed, recorded and engineered in animals. “I Wear my Genes Inside-Out,” in conjunction with the recommended curriculum in
The Treasure Tree
, will expand the four animal-centered themes to include the genetic relationship between adult animals and their offspring, the probability of specific characteristics occurring in offspring through the parents’ genetic history, and the effects genetic characteristics have on a living being when combined with environmental changes. In turn, the seminar, “Genetics in the 21st Century,” will provide the concept foundation, and will act as a catalyst for future expansion of this and similar units on animals.
