Topic: Gene - a DNA segment

Target group

8th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

General requirements

I. Knowledge of biological diversity and basic biological phenomena and processes. Student:

2. explains biological phenomena and processes occurring in selected organisms and in the environment.

Specific requirements

V. Genetics. Student:

1. presents the structure and role of DNA.

General aim of education

You will learn how information is stored in genes.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• describe the relationship between DNA and gene.

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • lecture.

• activating

  • discussion.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers;

• cut into strips of A4 paper.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

• Students get acquainted with the content of the abstract. They prepare to work on the lesson in such a way to be able to summarize the material read in their own words and solve the tasks themselves.

Introduction

• The teacher gives the topic, the goals of the lesson in a language understandable for the student, and the criteria of success.

• The teacher asks pupils to describe in their own words what the gene is.

Realization

• The teacher announces a movie. He instructs his pupils to write a research question and a hypothesis in the form provided in the abstract. Then he plays the video and the students note their observations and conclusions. The teacher points the person who shares his insights and explains the reasonableness of the conclusions noted .

• The teacher divides the class into groups. While discussing in groups, students are looking for an answer to the question why the DNA of more complex organisms contains relatively more genes than the DNA of simpler organisms. Then the trainer indicates the person who will explain the issue. The teacher completes the statement.

• The teacher divides the class into groups. While discussing in groups, students are looking for an answer to the question why the DNA of more complex organisms contains relatively more genes than the DNA of simpler organisms. Then the trainer indicates the person who will explain the issue. The teacher completes the statement.

• Students perform exercises and commands. The teacher checks and supplements the answers, providing students with the necessary information. Provides feedback..

Summary

• The teacher chooses one student by random method and asks him or her to explain in own words the meaning of a given word or concept learned during the lesson.

• At the end of the lesson the teacher asks: If there was going to be a test on the material we have covered today, what questions do you think would you have to answer? If the students do not manage to name all the most important questions, the teacher may complement their suggestions.

Homework

• Read the article about the gene at www.ghr.nlm.nih.gov „What is a gene? - Genetics Home Reference - NIH”. Write a short note..

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Gene - a DNA segment

The gene is a fragment of a DNA molecule. It can be from several thousand to two million pairs of nucleotides and is responsible for the production of a specific protein. The protein affects the organism's qualities, for example blood type or the shape of pea seeds. Usually, however, the body's features, such as the color of the eyes, require the presence of several proteins, which are determined by several genes.

The number of genes in the DNA depends on the organism. The simplest bacteria have several hundred of them, and vertebrate animals and vascular plants tens of thousands. Some genes are active in all cells. Such genes include those that, for example, contain instructions for the production of enzymes which are involved in the intra‑cellular respiration process. This process occurs in every cell and constantly requires „reading” the instructions contained in the genes guiding this process. Other genes only work in selected sets of cells. Such genes are, for example, genes encoding hemoglobin, active only in immature erythrocytes, and a gene coding for growth hormone, capable of acting only in cells of the pituitary gland.

• A gene is a section of DNA that contains information about the structure of a particular protein.