STEM Toy Company (Genetics Lesson)

 
Traditionally, Unit 1 in 8th grade science is boring. Intuitively students understand genetics and reproduction but application of the ideas into science class is very difficult.
 
Why are "mom and dad" now parents? What the heck is offspring?
Just the vocabulary alone is enough to send students to bed crying at night.
 
I was tasked at making these crazy allele things concrete
How about those chromosomes? I can't see them, but they are important.
I need to make this relevant.
 
                          So You give a kid a STEM challenge.
Problem: Design a toy that would teach genetics for the STEM Toy Company
Constraints:
  • A male and female parent model - with 4 distinguished traits
  • 1 offspring
  • It had to fit in a shoe box
  • Illustrations of 3 additional offspring possibilities
  • Use of pungent square to model trait crosses, reference table of traits
  • Had to have a marketing strategy


Students were excited to design a TOY that would teach genetics! They were given a great deal of latitude in choosing an organism.

Most students incorporated a game board and dice of some kind to help determine what traits offspring would have each.

Emergent Bilingual Students were engaged in this process and were able to create models. They were able to use oral communication to talk about the relationships between parents and offspring - using some domain specific vocabulary. ESOL students were allowed to use their native language for writing components, with translations.

Following are Student Exemplars







 
STEM Toy Company was inspired and modified from http://www.cpalms.org/Public/PreviewResourceLesson/Preview/152499

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