Project Based Learning Activity

Inherited and Acquired Traits

Heredity Project

• L.8.2B Students will demonstrate an understanding of the differences in inherited and acquired characteristics and how environmental factors (natural selection) and the use of technologies (selective breeding, genetic engineering) influence the transfer of genetic information.
• 1.7 Global Collaborator: 1.7.d Local and Global Issues - Students explore local and global issues, and use collaborative technologies to work with others to investigate solutions.

Standards

• This lesson is aimed towards 8th grade middle school science with students ranging from 13-15 years old.

• The students participating in the lesson will come from different backgrounds and ethnitcities.

Students

• In this lesson, the students will be exploring inhereited traits by examining their own triaits and their family's.
• To begin, the students will fill out an All About Me chart where they will mark their Inheredited traits, as well as any Acquired Traits.
• The students will then compare their Inhereited Traits with the traits of their family by filling out a chart for each of their family members.
• Finally, the students will draw a self portrait as well as chose a family member to draw. The students will then complete the review questions.

Summary

Review questions worksheet

Student drawn family protrait

Family Traits Chart

Self Portrait

Chrombooks to present findings

All About Me Chart

Materials and Technologies

Public Presentation: The students will then present their findings in a presentation showing their traits in relation to their family and friends.

Student Reflection: The students will reflect on their findings by completing the review questions worksheet.

Teacher Coaching and Feedback: The teacher will help the students in determining the differences between inheredited and acquired traits. The teacher will provide the students with feedback on their charts and their presentations.

Collaboration and Teamwork: The students will then investigate the traits of thier fellow classmates by compairing thier inheredited and acquired traits by completing the traits chart.

Student Inquiry: Students will answer the review questions based on their understanding of traits.

Student Choices: The students will be allowed to choose which family members they want to use in their project as well as how they wish to present their findings.

Directions: The students will fill out the All About Me chart and mark their traits. TSW then fill out their families traits and draw their self-portrait as well as their selected family member. TSW then complete the review questions. TSW create a presentation or poster to represent their findings.

Task: The students will complete the heredity project by examining their inheredited and acquired traits in relation to their family members.

Anchor: Students will research inheredited and acquired traits.

Nine Elements of Project-Based Learning

Organize the sequence around a topic or concept that you want to impart in a specified (usually short) timeframe. It must make sense on its own and should aim for the students to acquire knowledge.

Learning objectives. What skills will our students acquire when they finish the sequence?

Plan, select the contents and think about what strategies, processes, and skills you want to implement with your students to achieve the objectives you have set.

“Divide your sequence into phases or steps. We propose the most common ones, but you can expand them and even change their names.”

Go from the simple to the more complex. Learning should be gradual, progressive. Start from what your students already know to build new knowledge. Link the proposed activities with a common thread that gives them meaning and significance. Each activity should be a step that allows them to progress in their learning.

Keep in mind from the beginning how you are going to evaluate this sequence and what criteria you will apply. And of course, remember to establish the deliverable. That is, what tasks result in a deliverable from your students and in what format you want them to submit it. The activities that make up the sequence should be a path oriented for the student to successfully complete it, so it is essential that you share your expectations from the beginning.

Contextualize and approach the reality of your students. Ensure that the sequence answers the question "And what is this useful for?".

Encourage your students to solve, investigate, reflect, and create. Let them improvise. Create open debate spaces where they can freely express their opinions.

Avoid fireworks. Be practical. Everything you do should be aimed at solidifying learning. Make it motivating and spectacular, but always with a purpose.

Completed Presentation 20 points- Pictures of self-portraits 10 points- Charts of inheredited and acquired traits 5 points - Comparison of Traits and Classmates 5 points

Completed Review questions 20 points

Completed Family Traits Chart 20 points

Completed All About Me Chart 20 points

Rubric

Organize the sequence around a topic or concept that you want to impart in a specified (usually short) timeframe. It must make sense on its own and should aim for the students to acquire knowledge.

Learning objectives. What skills will our students acquire when they finish the sequence?

“Divide your sequence into phases or steps. We propose the most common ones, but you can expand them and even change their names.”

Go from the simple to the more complex. Learning should be gradual, progressive. Start from what your students already know to build new knowledge. Link the proposed activities with a common thread that gives them meaning and significance. Each activity should be a step that allows them to progress in their learning.