Title: Human genetics

Target Group

A pupil of the 8th grade of elementary school.

Core curriculum

General requirements

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

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

Lesson aim

Students explain how inherited traits are conditioned by a group of genes.

Criteria for success

• present examples of human traits conditioned by groups of genes;

• you will explain why in the case of traits conditioned by many genes we can observe a continuous distribution of a given trait among people;

• on the chosen example you will discuss the inheritance of the feature conditioned by a group of genes.

Key competences

• communicating in the mother tongue;

• communicating in a foreign language;

• Mathematical competence and basic competences in science and technology; 

• digital competence;

• learning to learn;

• Social and civic competences.

Methods/forms of work:

Work with text, work with film, snowball method.

Individual work, work in pairs, group work.

Teaching measures:

• abstract;

• interactive whiteboard or traditional blackboard;

• tablets/computers;

Lesson phases

Introduction

1. The teacher gives the subject and the purpose of the lesson in a language that the student understands as well as the criteria for success.

2. The teacher gives the topic of the lesson, the students write it in their notebooks.

Realization

1. The teacher introduces the concept of multigenic inheritance, using a table that presents an overview of selected dominant and recessive human traits.

2. The lecturer discusses the phenomenon of polygonal inheritance on the example of the color of human skin, eyes or shade of hair, using an interactive illustration showing a simplified model of multigenic inheritance (limited to three pairs of genes conditioning a given trait). The teacher explains that in the case of a condition conditioned by many genes, we can observe a continuous distribution of a given trait in the human population (eg the color of human skin can take various shades from almost white to black‑brown).

3. Students, working in pairs or in small groups, help each other determine what recessive traits and dominant traits are. Then they calculate the percentage of people in the class representing selected features.

4. Pupils discuss the inheritance of certain traits in their families. Volunteers, using their own examples, try to determine how in their family inherited groups of genes conditioning a given trait (eg, someone noticed that he inherited the color of hair or eyes that is the intermediate color between the hair colors or eyes of parents).

5. Students independently perform interactive exercises that capture messages learned during the lesson.

Summary

Students ask questions, ask for additional explanations and complete the notes.

Homework

Imagine that you have the opportunity to interview a geneticist. What questions would you like to ask him? Write them down.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Human genetics

Most human traits depend on genetic assemblies (multigenetic inheritance). These include eye colour, hair colour and structure, shape of the ears, right and left‑handedness, height, body weight, intelligence, cholesterol concentration in the blood. Some genetic diseases are inherited from only one gene.

Table. Selected dominant and recessive human traits dependent on gene assemblies

• Most human traits are conditioned by a set of many genes that occur in the form of two or more alleles.