DNA Mutations Come to Life!

If Aunt Muriel and Uncle Charles both have blue eyes, could their brand new baby have brown eyes? Answer this question and so much more as BrickLAB bricks guide inquiry-driven examinations of the fascinating world of genetics and heredity. With each scaffolded lesson, learners tour the concepts of heredity, construct strands of DNA and review the basics of human inheritance. Through 12 fully reusable, hands-on activities, watch as the intricate coding of genes and the impacts of DNA mutations come to life.

With BrickLAB Genetics, learners assemble a comprehensive view of the processes that make up the world around them!

Grades: 6-8
Students: Up to 30
Contact Hours: 12+

Subject Targets:

Life Science

Recommended Settings:

• Summer Camps
• Before & After-School Programs
• Classrooms

Each Activity Includes:

• Schedule
• Topic Background Information & Vocabulary
• Step-By-Step Activity Instructions
• Opening & Closing Discussion
• Extension Activities
• Materials List

Curriculum Topics:

• Introduction to Traits and Heredity
• Trait Distribution
• Dominant vs. Recessive
• Coded Message
• DNA Coding
• Mutation
• Expanding the Alphabet
• The Multi-Tiered Code
• Optional Extreme Build Challenge: The Double Helix

Reusability and Expansion:

• Very Few Consumables: This product includes some items that may need to be replaced from time to time. See materials tab for details.
• BrickLAB Program Expansion: Already have PCS Edventures BrickLAB bricks? You can easily expand your program by adding new BrickLAB curriculum titles.
• BrickLAB Tech
• BrickLAB Core
• BrickLAB STEM Foundations
• BrickLAB Magic Beans
• BrickLAB Zoo
• BrickLAB Famous Architecture

Product Orientation:

• Half-hour free webinar orientation for purchases of $500+
• One-hour free webinar orientation for purchases of $1000+
• Additional training available for purchase

Complete Program Includes:

BrickLAB Genetics comes with all the supplies needed for 30 students to complete 12 one-hour activities:

• Instructor Guide: 1
• Printed Student Pages: 15 sets
• Curriculum Digital Download: 1
• BrickLAB Bricks: 6500+
• Brick Separator: 1
• Mesh Bag (for cleaning bricks): 1
• Muslin Bags (for organizing bricks): 15
• Dry Erase Pockets: 15
• Dry Erase Markers: 15
• Storage Tubs: 2

Curriculum Printed Copy Includes:

• Instructor Guide: 1
• Printed Student Pages: 15 sets

Curriculum Digital Download Includes:

Instructor Guide only, which includes master copies of all student pages.

Habits of Mind:

16 thinking habits developed by Art Costa and Bena Kallick to empower students to succeed in a 21st-century learning environment.

• Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations
• Creating, Imagining, Innovating
• Gathering Data Through All the Senses
• Questioning and Posing Problems
• Remaining Open to Continuous Learning
• Responding with Wonderment and Awe
• Striving for Accuracy
• Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision
• Thinking Flexibly
• Thinking Interdependently

21st Century Skills:

A set of widely-applicable abilities essential for success in the information age.

• Communication and Collaboration
• Creativity and Innovation
• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
• Flexibility and Adaptability
• Initiative and Self-Direction
• Productivity and Accountability

© 2019 Battelle for Kids. battelleforkids.org. All Rights Reserved. Battelle for Kids was not involved in the production of this product and does not endorse it.

Next Generation Science Standards:*

• NGSS MS-LS3-1 Modeling Inheritance of Traits
• NGSS MS-LS3-2 Modeling Variation of Traits

* Next Generation Science Standards and NGSS is a registered trademark of WestEd. Neither WestEd nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.

Jon Bender:

Jon Bender has been a science educator since 2004. He has worked with students ages 13 to 50+, teaching subjects ranging from middle school conceptual physics to college engineering statics. In addition to time spent in his classroom “laboratory,” Jon has also published education materials, and collaborated with physics and engineering education faculty at Seattle Pacific University, the University of California at Berkeley, California Polytechnic, Boise State University, and the University Colorado in Boulder.

The bulk of his professional work has focused on attempting to empower students – shift learners’ locus of control inward – through student-centered, process-intensive curriculum design and the careful cultivation of classroom culture (CCCC). Jon has a Masters in science teaching with a physics focus and is currently working on a second Masters in engineering.