Seventh Graders Build DNA Models
Source/Author: Steve Collins, MS Science Teacher
March 10, 2016
In seventh grade Life Science, students have been learning about genetics. Having explored Gregor Mendel's work with peas and discovered some basic rules and patterns about inheritance, the students went on to study the molecule that carries hereditary information - DNA.
After learning how DNA is put together, they built simple pipe cleaner models showing DNA's famous double-helix. This hands-on learning will help them remember what they've learned! They also used their models to practice two things:
After learning how DNA is put together, they built simple pipe cleaner models showing DNA's famous double-helix. This hands-on learning will help them remember what they've learned! They also used their models to practice two things:
- Transcribing DNA coding into RNA coding
- Translating RNA coding into a sequence of amino acids that a cell could use to build real molecules, such as proteins - molecules essential to life.