Week 7

 What did you learn this week? 

This week in lab I learned more about DNA, genotypes and phenotypes. We did an activity in class where we made our "own" DNA out of candy, and also participated in an activity where we made our own "child" by flipping a coin. These activities really aided in my understanding of how genotypes and phenotypes are different, and what role they play in humans. I think these activities helped me visually understand how genotype differs from phenotype, because in the baby activity, the phenotype was the observable characteristic in the baby, while the genotype was what caused the trait to be observed. 












How can you apply what you've learned to your teaching in the future? 

I plan on using both of these activities in my future classroom because I think it makes learning fun and engaging. The DNA strand activity would be perfect for elementary school aged kids because they get to make their own model and see how DNA looks. It would also be exciting and engaging for them because they get to work with candy. I would also want to do the baby activity with older elementary school kids because it's a great way for them to be able to see how phenotypes and genotypes affect traits that people get. This activity would also be engaging for students because they get to work together to draw and explore the traits that they baby is getting. 








    





Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew? 

This week it was easy for me to relate what I learned to what I already knew, since most of it was review from last week. I learned more about DNA last week- what it is, what role it plays in the body, etc. However, the candy activity we did helped me relate what I already knew about DNA to extend my learning and help me visualize how DNA may look in the body. Though I am aware that the candy DNA is not an accurate representation of real DNA, it was still nice to be able to see and create a strand of DNA. 

Comments

  1. Zoey's Science Blog (Elementary Science Methods 1)March 7, 2025 at 3:39 PM

    Hello Morgan, I really enjoyed reading your blog. I also talked about the DNA candy model and baby lab in my blog post. Especially since those are two activities that I could see me doing with my future students. I hope you have a great week!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. KatelynMarch 8, 2025 at 12:40 PM

    Hi Morgan,
    I agree that the DNA model this week was helpful in visualizing DNA. I also think the activities we did in lab this week would be great to do with our students. I think using vocabulary like genotype and phenotype on the worksheet for the baby lab was very helpful for me to associate them with the traits and genes of the imaginary child.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Izzy S.March 9, 2025 at 12:32 PM

    Hi Morgan! I really enjoyed reading your post. I agree that this week felt pretty easy because I remember learning about genes alot through school. I think that genetics is a topic that might be easier to teach to older students, the activity to me felt like it was for older students.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Abbys BlogMarch 9, 2025 at 11:59 PM

    Hi morgan, These activities also really helped me to understand this topic while also making it fun, I also remember a lot from learning this proces in school.

    ReplyDelete

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