all picks
Direct your pupils to the 'Genes and inheritance' section of the Science Museum website for some excellent material to show inherited features.
In this Powerpoint you see the effects of cross breeding the popular cartoon characters of the Mr Men and the Little Misses. Six children are seen and the pupils have to work out who the parents are. Useful to initiate characteristics both inherited and environmental. File is compressed for ease of download.
A worksheet looking at characterisitics in five cows and five bulls. Students answer the questions by selecting the correct pair from their description.
A list of questions related to variation and inheriatnce based on the Simpsons' family tree. Includes a reference sheet showing the Simpsons' family tree. Can be used with KS3 or lower ability KS4. Can be done in class or as a homework activity.
A simple laboratory based activity. Extract DNA from bananas using ingredients that can be found in the home and basic lab equipment.
'Climbing the Tree of Life' has teacher's notes and a worksheet with links to the video to help to get your students thinking about evolution and the relationships between different organisms both today and in the past.
Q's on inherited characteristics, effect of environment on characteristics, variation in offspring, selective breeding for particular character, cloning
A multiple choice quiz on 'Variation, classification, inheritance and selection'.
Students have 7 minutes to fill in the blanks using a list of options.
Game in which you have to identify the adaptations of four different animals before the time runs out.
A fairly in-depth page with a nice data collecting activity at the end.
A range of information on genes and inheritance, including: what are genes? What do genes do? Information on cloning and inheritance and what happens when things go wrong. Some information is more advanced than required at this stage.
A teaching resource with worksheets, links and pupil activities relating to recent media stories including the Human Genome Project.
Making use of an interactive slide show, this lesson provides students with an opportunity to consider the concept of heredity in the context of the periodical cicadas
Information on the Human Genome Project from the ABPI schools site.
A lot deeper than needed at this level but some interesting activities and information none the less. Variation occurs in al living things and this can be used as a basis of classification
Podcasts, articles, interviews, answers to your questions on a wide variety of topics.
An activity that allows students to use DNA profiles and other forms of evidence to solve a fictional murder.
A set of 3 worksheets, suitable for Key Stage 3 or 4 (ages 11-16) that explore the science and surprises behind plant DNA. What it is How it works How we put it to use