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This is a news story about a genetic disorder caused throughout the generations of a family. Due to marrying within the family, family member's generations later have a genetic disorder. Members of this family have a blue pigment to their skin. I selected this source because I think it is important for students to see that genetics is still present in the news and world today. I would use this resource to engage students in genetic disorders. Then I would have my students do a research presentation on other types of genetic disorders.

This website is interactive and allows children to work together. In this activity students pair up and see what their children's eyes would look like if they had a child together. I selected this website because I thought it would reinforce some of the Punnett Squares and other genetic content covered. Also, I thought it would be fun and engaging for students to pair up and work together. I would use this resource as an activity to go along with a lesson that I taught. Students would work together to see how genetics play a role in their child.

This website is an interactive too for my students to learn about genetics. In this simulation students are given an alien and based on what side the coin lands on in the experiment, and then a particular trait is given. I selected this resource because students might find it engaging, while learning how genetics determines what traits people are given. I might use this activity after I would teach a lesson about recessive and dominant genes, but before I teach Punnett Squares.

This activity allows students to work with genetics that effect human and animal traits. They will use the worksheets to determine which genes will pass on traits to offspring. Punnett squares are used in the activity to aid the students in finding the answers and understanding the difference between recessive and dominant genes. Students can easily work in groups to complete the science activity and use reasoning techniques to understand how their answers are formed. Along with learning about inheritance and genetics, the students will also be working with probability. This lesson can double as a science and mathematics lesson.

This is an easy-to-follow, step-by-step explanation on genetics and inheritance. Each concept is briefly but succinctly explained allowing students to learn the concepts in small doses. I selected this resource because of its foundational nature and supporting graphics. This makes it suitable for learners at varying levels but particularly for early biology learners. It could be used effectively in any introductory DNA lesson.

Each of the many sections of the site includes explanation, animation, biography of a related scientist, and more. Quite in-depth and very high quality material.

In this activity/lesson students cross off or color bingo squares in response to questions about their traits. By doing so, students will create an inventory of their own traits and compare traits within the class to determine which are the least and most common. I would use this in upper grade level as a beginning activity in genetics. I believe this activity would be fun for students while still being informative and encouraging inquiry and group discussion.

This website explains how zoologists have to make "survival plans" for the species at the zoo. In this survival plan zoologists must consider which animal breeds with what. This is because they are often concerned about keeping genetic vigor. I I would use this website to plan a field trip to the St. Louis Zoo. At the zoo students will learn about why some zoologists pick certain mates over others.

This website is a great resource to check out when learning about plant and animal reproduction. It is very insightful with different kinds of other resources such as animations, pictures, activities, quizzes, and much more. I personally liked this as a teaching resource that I could use when covering plant and animal reproduction to help further the students knowledge about reproduction and help them as well as me understand it better.

This is a technology-based tool in which students can build a DNA molecule. Based on your rate of construction it calculates how long you would have to work in order to successfully transcribe the DNA in one human cell (my rate was 50 years day and night). Underneath this graphic tool there is also a large amount of material on the structure of DNA. I selected this resource because it is a great interactive tool for students to use, and I think it will help them in conceptualizing DNA related material. This tool can be used to help students understand and appreciate how rapidly and accurately DNA processes, such as transcription, occur within a cell. 

I love the fact that this tool will help students understand how rapidly this process really works. It is mind boggling that these things happen and we aren't even conscious of it. Having students perform activities like this opens their eyes to the wonders of the human body, and to some may even motivate them to ask more questions!

This website is interactive and gives students real life situations where Punnett Squares are useful, such as breading. Also, it shows students how to create Punnett Squares and then allows students to try it on there on. I like how this website gives students feedback right away and it is making Punnett Squares applicable to the real world. Also, I like how it asked students to answer the chance for an offspring to have a certain characteristic. I would use this resource to help teach Punnett squares. It would be a tool for me to show students that this activity is relatable outside of the class, but it would be engaging at the same time.

This website explains what the PTC gene is and why some people taste bitter flavors. It explains what the PTC gene is useful for in nature and how natural selection works. It also stated that PTC gene carriers were less likely to be smokers. I choose this resource to go in to depth more about why some people are carriers of this gene and other people are not. It helps explain why it is important in nature, which I thought was cool. I would use this website as tool for myself after giving my students the paper to test for this trait. Then I would explain the benefits of having this gene.

The Field Museum is a science centered museum located in Chicago, IL. This specific tour allows students to investigate how DNA analysis has changed our understanding of the relatedness of life on Earth through hands on activities. The students will be able to extract DNA in a lab and interview scientists. This field trip supports NGSS MS-LS4-2. I chose this location for a field trip because it engages students' learning and furthers their knowledge of DNA through hands on activity. I would take the students to participate in this DNA extraction after we finished our lesson on DNA. This way, they would be able to be even further engaged with questioning and answering with the scientists and apply our textbook knowledge to the activity.

In this inquisitive and hands-on lesson the students get to learn about heredity visually. Mini "creatures" are made out of craft supplies of different colors, and on the first day students observe and take note of their characteristics. Upon opening the creatures (plastic eggs) up the students find seeds/babies. The next morning when class begins the students go to their creatures and notice the seeds have turned into mini monsters and resemble their parents in many ways. Day three even digs into survival characteristics. I love this lesson, and personally think it would be fun for many different ages. Heredity is often confusing for young students, and by giving them a visual representation that they can see and feel the class can become engaged. I like how this lesson can be easily spread over a three day period, and it would help enhance the heredity/genetics unit as a whole. I would go to the activity at the beginning of each period and let the children explore the new changes as an intro into science for the day.

I loved this 3 day lesson/unit on heredity. This lesson breaks down a complicated concept by using different colored easter eggs and google eyes to create a "species." Students notice similarities and differences over three generations of the species and are introduced to the idea of "traits." What I loved most about this source was that it linked this lesson to three different STEM standards. This way, students are having fun with science and you are still assessing them on the correct skills! -After reading some of the comments on the post, people did bring up the fact that some students could be adopted and not look like the rest of their family. If this is the case for one of my students, I would use that as an opportunity to talk about what makes us all different and special, and how that student is going to pass on a special set of traits.