Genetics - Putting It All Together

Putting It All Together

Teacher: Patricia Colbert-Cormier: Lafayette, LA
Subject: Biology/Molecular Biology
Grade Level(s): 7 8 9 10
Target Audience: Biology I, Genetics, Life Science
Materials Needed: scissors, cashier's tape, meter stick, graph paper
Class Time: 2 hours
Brief Summary: This activity involves the combination of several activities. The students are introduced to DNA Fingerprinting by learning to use their critical thinking skills to derive a concept. Through the use of "Palindromes," students will learn the meaning of "recognition sites," the cutting of DNA sequences, and the fingerprints formed by means of these various size cuts and the number of base pairs involved.
Student Objective(s): To learn that restriction enzymes serve as scissors to cut DNA, which is found in all living things and serves as the "code of life," in certain places which we call recognition sites. They will learn that no two individuals, with possibly the exception of identical twins, have the same DNA sequence, thus the concept of "DNA Fingerprinting."
Description of Activities: In this activity, students are given "exemplars" and "nonexemplars" to help them derive the concept of "restriction digest." Once we've gone through these, a discussion is held in reference to palindromes. This is then followed by a discussion of "restriction enzymes" and "recognition sites" of DNA. They are then given a paper cloning activity of "paper gene splicing" activity to demonstrate the cutting of DNA by certain enzymes. Following these two activities, the students then do a paper lab on DNA Fingerprinting to further demonstrate how individual's DNA differs in VNTRs.
Further Information and References: Concept Attainment Lesson, Susan Talmik. Paper Cloning, Dr. Eric Achberger. Gene Splicing, Paper, Biotechnology Unit for Middle School Students, St. Louis Education and Monsanto.

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