Next Generation Science Standards - Activity LIsting

This analysis and discussion activity introduces Victoria Gray whose severe sickle cell anemia was effectively treated by gene editing with CRISPR-Cas.

To begin, students review the molecular biology of sickle cell anemia, transcription and translation.

Next, they learn how bacteria use CRISPR-Cas to defend against viral infections. Then, students examine some of the research findings that scientists used to identify the target for gene editing.

Finally, students analyze the CRISPR-Cas gene editing treatment for sickle cell anemia.

The Teacher Notes present an optional additional video and question to stimulate students to consider the ethical controversies related to potential uses of CRISPR-Cas.

This hands-on, minds-on activity helps students to understand basic principles of genetics, including (1) how genotype influences phenotype via the effects of genes on protein structure and function and (2) how genes are transmitted from parents to offspring through the processes of meiosis and fertilization.

Students use model chromosomes to demonstrate how meiosis and fertilization are summarized in Punnett squares.

In the coin flip activity, students learn about the probabilistic nature of inheritance and Punnett square predictions.

Part I summarizes key concepts in genetics. Part II presents common misconceptions. Part III recommends an integrated sequence of learning activities on the biological basis of genetics, plus seven human genetics learning activities. These learning activities develop student understanding of key concepts and counteract common misconceptions. Each of these recommended learning activities supports the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

In this analysis and discussion activity, students learn how muscle cells produce ATP by aerobic cellular respiration, anaerobic fermentation, and hydrolysis of creatine phosphate. Students use their understanding of these three processes to analyze their relative importance when racing different distances.

Students learn how multiple body systems work together to supply the oxygen and glucose needed for aerobic cellular respiration.

Finally, students use what they have learned to analyze how regular aerobic exercise can improve athletic performance.

The Student Handout is available in the first two attached files and as a Google doc designed for use in distance learning and online instruction. The Teacher Notes, available in the last two attached files, provide instructional suggestions and background information and explain how this activity is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards.

In this minds-on, hands-on activity, students develop science practice skills by developing plans for a hands-on investigation, carrying out the investigation, analyzing the data, and interpreting the results.

Then, students answer analysis and discussion questions as they develop a basic understanding of how taste and olfactory receptor cells function and how sensory messages to the brain contribute to flavor perception and flavor-related behavior.

This analysis and discussion activity focuses on two questions. How could something as complex as the human eye or the octopus eye have evolved by natural selection? How can scientists learn about the evolution of eyes, given that there is very little fossil evidence?

To answer these questions, students analyze evidence from comparative anatomy, mathematical modeling, and molecular biology. Students interpret this evidence to develop a likely sequence of intermediate steps in the evolution of complex eyes and to understand how each intermediate step contributed to increased survival and reproduction.

The Teacher Notes suggest additions to the Student Handout that can be used to introduce concepts such as the role of gene duplication in evolution and/or homology and analogy. 

In the first section of this analysis and discussion activity, students learn that different versions of a gene give the instructions for making different versions of a clotting protein, which result in normal blood clotting or hemophilia.

Next, students learn how genes provide the instructions for making a protein via the processes of transcription and translation. They develop an understanding of the roles of RNA polymerase, the base-pairing rules, mRNA, tRNA and ribosomes.

Finally, students use their learning about transcription and translation to understand how a change in a single nucleotide in the hemoglobin gene can result in sickle cell anemia.

Throughout this activity, students use the information in brief explanations, figures and videos to answer analysis and discussion questions.

This activity can be used to introduce students to transcription and translation or to reinforce and enhance student understanding. 

If you prefer a hands-on activity that uses simple paper models to simulate the molecular processes of transcription and translation, see “How Genes Can Cause Disease – Introduction to Transcription and Translation” (http://serendipstudio.org/sci_edu/waldron/#trans).

In this minds-on analysis and discussion activity, students learn how a mistake in meiosis can result in Down syndrome. Students also analyze karyotypes to learn how other mistakes in meiosis can result in the death of an embryo. Finally, students consider how a health problem can be genetic, but not inherited.

The Student Handout is available in the first two attached files and as a Google doc designed for use in online instruction and distance learning. The Teacher Notes, available in the last two attached files, provide instructional suggestions and background information and explain how this activity supports the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

To begin this activity, students propose a hypothesis about how genes contribute to the similarities and differences in appearance of family members. Students repeatedly refine their hypothesis as they learn more.

Students learn that different versions of a gene give the instructions for making different versions of a protein which can result in different characteristics. Next, students review how genes are transmitted from parents to offspring through the processes of meiosis and fertilization. Then, students analyze several examples that illustrate how inheritance of genes can result in family resemblance and/or differences.

Concepts covered include Punnett squares, dominant and recessive alleles, incomplete dominance, and polygenic inheritance.