In this unit, we will be leaving behind the infinitely large scale of the Universe, and moving into the infinitely small scale of our own DNA. We will learn the basics of genetics: What is DNA? What are chromosomes and genes? How do we pass genetic information to our offspring? What are mutations and are they always bad? We will be building towards a project examining a modern application of genetics and examining the social and ethical implications of these "Brave New World" technologies.
Lesson 1. Genetics in Hollywood
We have Hollywood to thank for introducing us to so many important topics in Genetics and cutting-edge technology. We discuss our own personal thoughts around these technologies and our ethical reactions to them.
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genetics_intro.ppt | |
File Size: | 264 kb |
File Type: | ppt |
Lesson 2. Microscope Review
Although most students used microscopes in Grade 9, a review of the parts and function of a microscope is always valuable. We will review basic procedures and handling of microscopes, as well as how to do good microscope drawings.
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Lesson 3. Cell Structure
We will review plant and animal cell structures and their role in the cell. While a bit on the cheesy side, this video nicely summarizes the differences between plant and animal cells, as well as the main components of a cell and their role. Below, I have attached a "mini-textbook" around cell structures, so that students can use it as a reference.
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Lesson #4. Comparing onion and cheek cells
Plant and animal cells share many of the same structures and organelles. However, there are some key differences, many of which are visible under a microscope. Today, we will examine both onion skin cells and human cheek cells under the microscopes and compare and contrast the differences.
ONION Cell. As seen below, the cell wall adds rigidity to plant cells, but the nucleus of every cell is still visible. This rigidity allows plants to grow upwards towards the sun.
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Cheek cell. Every animal cell has a very clear nucleus, and a cell membrane, but it does not have a rigid cell wall, allowing cells to differentiate and form the variety of different cells in animals.
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Threshold #5. Life on Earth
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One of the remaining great mysteries of science is how life on Earth actually started. We don't know. What we do know is that roughly 4 billion years ago, single cell organisms suddenly burst onto the planet. While they seem incredibly basic to us, they were still much more complex than anything that had ever existed previously. This brings us to Threshold #5: Life on Earth.
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Lesson #5. DNA! atcggcctaattccggcatcgcatttacgattacgttaacggttacggacgatagggcctaacgtggaagttt...
Often called the "building blocks of life", what exactly is DNA? What is its structure? What is it actually made of? How does it work? Having a basic understanding of how DNA is put together is critical before we can move on to discuss genetics. We will do some good old fashioned lecturing and note-taking and then spice it up by constructing our own DNA strands...with CANDY!
As always, sometimes a little video is helpful for moving our learning forward. Hopefully, this helps you understand a little more about what we are made of.
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Lesson #6. DNA extraction from a strawberry
We get back into lab mode and learn how to extract DNA from a piece of fruit, in this case a strawberry. After some strawberry mashing and filtering and mixing, students were able to extract a nice gob of DNA strands. No, they were not able to see the actual DNA Double Helix, but they were able to see the strand-like nature when millions of DNA strands get woven together. Pretty neat. The little video I have posted shows how the lab was conducted.
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Lesson #7. Chromosomes and Meiosis
Today we start to better understand another critical structure in our cell's nucleus: chromosomes. What are they? What are they made of? And importantly, how do they get passed on from one generation to the next? We will learn about the process of meiosis, understanding how an embryo is carrying half of its mother's DNA and half of its father's DNA. Plus, we'll demonstrate the process with the help of a little candy, which never hurts. I have put a few pieces of info below. There are two "mini-textbooks" where you can do a bit more reading about the topic. There is also a brief worksheet. And lastly, a nice little video from those sisters you have come to love, the Amoeba Sisters.
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Lesson #7. Mitosis vs. Meiosis
It is important to understand these two key ways cells divide, Mitosis and Meiosis. One of them is responsible for cell division, growth, healing injuries, and creates identical copies of cells. The other process is responsible for creating our sex cells, the sperm and egg, and allows us to pass genetic material on to our children. The two videos nicely summarize the steps of Mitosis and Meiosis and how they differ.
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Lesson #8. Genes and Alleles
Today we will start to get into the nitty-gritty of how inheritance and heredity work. We will learn about alleles, what dominant and recessive alleles are, and how to actually determine the likelihood of certain traits being passed on to future generations. I have included my powerpoint slides, as well as a little video and some Punnett Squares for practice. If you missed the class, read through the powerpoint, watch the video below and complete the Punnett Square practice sheet, up to question 12.
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Lesson. #9. Sex-linked traits
We now have a pretty good understanding of how certain traits are passed on, and how they can be either dominant or recessive. The same rules apply, however, with some changes when it comes to our sex chromosomes, our X and Y chromosomes. Today, we learn about how traits like colour-blindness, male baldness, or hemophilia are passed on to future generations, and the impact that something like hemophilia had on the Royal families of Europe several hundred years ago. I have included my powerpoint, a worksheet, worksheet answer key, and as always, a couple of interesting videos to help move learning along.
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The video on the left just shows how the "normal" way we determine gender, based on X and Y chromosomes, is by no means that norm in the rest of the animal kingdom. Many other species do things in very different ways.
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Lesson #10. Mutations
Hollywood has made billions by making movies about mutations and mutants. Almost everything they claim in movies like the X-Men series is wrong, except when they say that,"Mutants walk among us". Indeed they do! Everywhere you look, there are people with mutations in their genome. In most cases harmless, in other cases fatal. To better understand mutations, we will look at 5 types of chromosome mutation: deletion, duplication. inversion, translocation and non-disjunction. I have included the powerpoint and the notes from the lesson, as well as another useful Amoeba Sisters video.
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Lesson #11. Mutagens: A Case Study of Chernobyl
April 26th, 1986 was a day that changed people's perceptions forever. At the Nuclear Reactor in Chernobyl, USSR, Reactor #4 melted down, spewing lethal doses of radiation out. The short term effects results in many deaths and the long term effects are still being measured today. In our lesson, we examine one example of a mutagen, ionizing radiation, and the real-life case study of Chernobyl.
Video #1. How does a Nuclear Reactor Work? Seems like to understand the case study of Chernobyl, we should learn how a little bit about how these reactors work.
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Video #2. Three reasons nuclear power is terrible.
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Video #3. Three reasons nuclear power is awesome.
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Video #4. Mini-documentary about Chernobyl
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Video #5. How does radiation affect our DNA?
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case_study_reflection.docx | |
File Size: | 16 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Threshold #7.
As humans moved from being hunter/gatherers to farmers, it was genetics that contributed to this massive shift in society. By understanding how inheritance works, and how we can select for certain traits, we can understand how people 10 000 years ago started selecting certain plants for their beneficial traits, which ultimately led to an agricultural society.
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Genetics Major Project
Students will investigate an emerging genetic technology that has broad applications across social, economic and environmental sectors. These technologies must also have ethical and moral consequences that could significantly change how we envision ourselves and our world. I have attached the project description and rubric below.
genetics_major_project.docx | |
File Size: | 21 kb |
File Type: | docx |