Classroom Resources

In this activity, students investigate the phenomenon of lactase persistence by making sense of a series of data sets.

In this phenomenon-driven activity, students investigate how cells are signaled to make melanin and explain how mutations in melanin pathway proteins affect the coat color of various organisms.

In this activity, students interpret several pedigrees of autosomal dominant and recessive conditions and consider the benefits and limitations of genetic testing.

In this activity, students explore using CRISPR-Cas9 to knock out butterfly genes in order to determine their function.

In this activity, students analyze aspects of a scientific paper that investigates genes involved in the colors and patterns of butterfly wings.

This activity builds on information presented in the short film Genes as Medicine. Students interpret actual pedigrees to determine the inheritance pattern of Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), an inherited form of blindness. They also examine protein sequence data to explore mutations that can cause LCA.

This activity supports the film Popped Secret: The Mysterious Origin of Corn. Students analyze data on the expression of the tb1 gene to explain how variations in this gene played a role in the evolution of corn.

In this activity, students collect and analyze evidence for each of the major conditions for evolution by natural selection to develop an explanation for how populations change over time.

In this activity, students explore how experimental work in zebrafish led to a better understanding of the role of the gene SLC24A5 in human skin color. The activity complements the film The Biology of Skin Color.

In this activity, students extend the concepts covered in the short film The Biology of Skin Color through the application of models and mathematical thinking to explain how genomic variation and human ancestry can explain differences in skin color, a polygenic trait.

In this activity, students further explore the short film Popped Secret: The Mysterious Origin of Corn, by working through the mathematical concepts behind George Beadle’s claim that teosinte is the wild ancestor of maize.

This activity can be used in conjunction with the short film The Double Helix. It introduces students to the classic experiment by Matthew Meselson and Franklin Stahl, which revealed that DNA replication follows the semiconservative model.