Lesson Plan

SBU3C
Lesson 8: Monster Gene Lab (will
Unit 2: Genetics
continue into lesson 9)
Chapter 4: The inheritance of
Time: 75 Minutes
genetic traits
Date: Friday, November 28, 2014
Curriculum Expectations:
Overall Expectations:
D2: Investigate the process of meiosis, and analyze data related to the laws of heredity
D3: Demonstrate an understanding of the process of meiosis, and explain the role of
genes in the transmission of hereditary characteristics
Specific Expectations:
D2.1: Use appropriate terminology related to genetics
D3.2: Explain how the concepts of DNA, genes, chromosomes, alleles, mitosis and
meiosis account for the transmission of hereditary characteristics from generation to
generation
D3.3: Explain the concepts of genotype, phenotype, dominance, recessiveness and sex
linkage
Learning Goal
Characteristics are inherited in pairs (2 alleles for each trait
One from each parent)
Equal probability of inheriting either gene from your parents
gene pair
The randomness of which genes are inherited increase genetic
variation within the population
This variation account for why we are similar to our family
members but not identical
Materials
Lap top and projector
Overhead and overhead monster gene lab sheet
Overhead markers
Sample teacher drawing of junior monster
Monster Gene Lab (25 copies)
Monster gene lab for Ali
Blank Paper
Pencil Crayons
Coins

Lesson Components
Minds On (5 mins)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H3dFh6GA-A
Its Alive Frankenstein video
Today we are going to create our own Monsters!
But we are going to create them the right way based on the parent
monster genetic information not just randomly sewing together
random monster parts and hoping the lightening will bring it to life!

Action (60 mins)

Recap Key Terms: Remind class of key terms that have been learned in
the unit so far (Heterozygous, Homozygous, Genotype, Phenotype,
Probability, Dominant and Recessive)
Monster Gene Activity
Assign students to their teacher decided groups. See attached
grouping sheet. Students will be completing the lab individually
however will be working in groups to encourage reciprocal
learning and cooperative behaviour.
Provide them with page one of the lab (each student should have
a copy) and the characteristic chart
Provide Ali with her version of the lab to be worked on with the
support of the EA
As a class, work through the questions on page one related to
parent monster A. Fill out on overhead for students to see as you
discuss it
Have them work through the questions for parent monster B in
their group.
Provide them with page 2 and the Monster Characteristics Chart.
As a class, work through the start of the chart for Monster Parent
A. Fill out on overhead for students to see as you discuss.
Have students complete the charts for both Parent Monster
Once complete distribute page 2 and verbally explain the
instructions for determining Juniors Genotype. Provide an
example going through 3-4 pairs of genes on the overhead.
Students will complete page 2, determining juniors genotype
(using the coin flip) and subsequent phenotype. Students will
answer the questions below regarding juniors genotype (again
supporting each other in their group to work through the
questions and understanding the material).
Each student will then draw junior based on the genotype they
randomly selected using the characteristics chart.
Provide them with the sample junior monster for understanding
of the representation of various traits
Choice board
Answer 10 marks worth of questions regarding the lab from
the Choice Board
Handout. Note students can use classroom laptops to type up
questions.
* Note- Have Ali work towards 3 marks (to be done with support of her
E.A). Ideally Question 1 and Question 5.
Consolidation

Have students present their monster (discussing key

characteristics)
As a class discuss the similarities and difference of our family of
monsters. Relate this to our real families and how we have
similarities to our siblings but we are not identical.

Considerations:
Will extend over two classes.
Collect all work with 10 minutes remaining in class to ensure all
students have ALL materials to continue working on this
tomorrow.
End Of Class:
Have students clean up work areas and put all supplies away.
Collect all work from all students, to be continued next class
Extension Activity

Create a Pedigree for an imaginary monster family tracking the prevalence of

ear lobes through 3 generations. Use parent monster A and parent monster
B as generation 1. Pedigree should include minimum of 10 monsters.

Reflective Notes:

Rationale
This lab is to be used at the culmination of the unit to highlight the key
learning concepts that have been covered over the course of 6 lessons.
The students have already learned the terms and concepts of the
lesson, and completed a formal test on the material. All curriculum
requirements are provided in the lesson plan. This lab provides an
opportunity for students who may struggle with test writing for a
variety of reasons to demonstrate their learning through a different
medium. Consistent with principles discussed in Learning for All,
provided by the Ontario Ministry of Education, this lesson implements
both UDL and DI strategies and techniques (Ontario Ministry of
Education, 2013, p.22).
The lab itself consists of many different elements, which allows
students of varying areas of strength to highlight what they have
learned in the unit. It has an artistic component (drawing the baby

monster), a mathematical component (working with probability of a

coin flip), a kinesthetic component (actually flipping of the coin to
select the allele), a written component (the answering of the lab
questions and the question choice board), and a spoken component
(the presentation of the baby monster). This multi level assessment
allows students with varying abilities to find an area of success to
express their knowledge and competency. Outlined in Learning for All,
UDL seeks to implore multiple means of representation, action, and
engagement (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2013, p.18). The aim of
lab is to address basic remembering and understanding but also push
students to reach the application level of Blooms taxonomy; gifted and
bright students will be encouraged to pursue higher order thinking
represented at the top of Blooms model (Forehand, 2012). The
question choice board facilitates this hierarchy of achievement
providing a range of questions touching all levels of achievement.
The grouping, although not essential to the task, was deliberate
in its design and used to encourage reciprocal learning amongst the
students (Ferguson, 2010). Mixed groups were used to provide
students with the opportunity to work with others who may have areas
of strength and weakness different from theirs. The intent was to
provide each student with the opportunity to assume a leadership role
or have an opportunity to use their abilities to assist others in the
group with the task. Cooperative learning and working well with others
are essential life skills, and, although each student is submitting an
individual lab, working collaboratively in a group should foster a sense
of shared interest in the success of those around them. It will also
provide students with the chance to discuss knowledge and
understanding with their peers to gain a deeper grasp of the concepts
being used (Hutchinson & Martin, 2012, p. 122).
In terms of deciding on specific members of each group, a deep
understand of the students in the class is assumed. Groups are
created based on the specific areas of needs of the students. Gerry
would be paired with students who are strong writers and able to
conceptually organizes thoughts to assist her in this area. We would
avoid pairing her with students who play on sports teams as that may
derail her focus. We would rather seek to group her with students who
have strong academic personalities and could meet her competitive
energy, channeling it into the academic assignment. It would be
important to have students in the group who would be able to meet
her energy and strong voice to prevent her from over taking the group
and allowing all members to contribute. James would be grouped with
strong readers who would be able to comprehend reading and engage
in a dialogue with James regarding the material. Ideally, he would
work with students who lack an artistic or graphic ability, so he could

really contribute to the drawing portion of the assignment, hopefully

increasing his confidence. It is essential to group him with students
who have a strong work ethic and would not antagonize him into acting
out. Junes grouping would be heavily based on prior experiences in
the class as well as the social dynamic of the group more than the
academic level. We would pair her with students who she has worked
well with in the past. It should be a compassionate group who would
be welcoming and kind without being forceful or overly assertive.
Given the hectic and chaotic state of her home life, we would want to
group her with students who are organized and calm to help ease any
anxiety she may have. The key for Maxs group will be encouraging a
sense of leadership and cooperation within him. Ideally, we would
have Max act as a student teacher in his group and help explain
concepts or ideas to others who may be struggling. It is wonderful that
Max has such a strong academic ability and wealth of knowledge, in
this assignment we would hope to have him work on expressing that
knowledge in a way that helps educate others and improve their
understanding. Similar to June, Alis grouping would be less academic
based and more socially based. We would pair her with students who
she has built a strong rapport with and who have shown a level of
caring and compassion towards her.
Simply distributing a lab with this amount of detail and varying
components would be overwhelming for any number of students. For
this reason, we employed a level of chunking into the presentation and
process of completing the lab; this strategy falls under the DI section of
process (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2013, p.19-20). It was broken
down into simpler steps allowing students to complete one component
at a time prior to introducing the next element. We began with
understanding the genotype and phenotype of the parent monsters.
Next, students would work through the random selection of the
genotype of junior and answer questions based on understanding his
genotype and subsequent phenotype. Then, students are asked to
draw their junior monster based on his phenotype. Once this stage is
complete, students will work through questions from the question
choice board working towards 15 marks. The final stage is a brief oral
presentation of the junior monster they created.
The accompanying instruction of the lab was presented through
multiple means, including written, oral and visual to allow all students
the opportunity to grasp the concepts and intent of the assignment;
this is consistent with the basic tenants of UDL presenting content in
multiple approaches (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2013, p.22).
Written instructions were provided on each sheet for students to read
on their own and refer back to. Oral directions were given to
supplement and further reinforce the written directions. Finally,

students were visually walked through the process on the overhead for
understanding and completing the questions related to parent monster
A. They were also shown a demonstration of the selection of juniors
genes, working through 3-4 gene pairs. This use of multiple modes of
instruction was used with the intent of providing all students with
access and understanding of the expectations.
The question choice board was used to allow students options in
terms of what types of questions they wanted to answer. They could
challenge themselves in terms of the content that is being asked for
and how much additional knowledge they would need to research.
There was a broad range of questions, which aimed to reach all levels
of comprehension, from basic remembering and understanding to more
detailed analyzing and evaluating.
Overall this lab allowed multiple means of expression for what
the students had learned as well as multiple means of engagement
utilizing students interests and challenging them appropriately.
Although UDL and DI are wonderful tools to be used to reach a
wide variety of learners, there are situations in which accommodation
and modification must be used. In this situation, Ali would require a
modification, as she is substantially behind the grade level of her
peers. In our class, she would hopefully have an E.A who could work to
support her within the classroom. We would also provide her with a
more basic form of the lab, which has similar elements (coin flip and
construction of a Junior monster), but the learning goals are more
conducive to her abilities. She will demonstrate the inheritance of
traits from our parents without going into the detail of
dominant/recessive and alleles. With this modification, she can still
work within the classroom, more specifically with her group, and have
a monster to display on the wall.

References
Ferguson, John. (2010). Teaching Styles in Physical Education and
Mosstons Spectrum. Retrieved from the spectrum of teaching
website:

http://www.spectrumofteachingstyles.org/pdfs/literature/TeachingSt
yles%20inPEandMosstonsSpectrum.pdf
Forehand, M. (2012). Blooms Taxonomy: Emerging Perspectives on
Learning, Teaching and Technology, pg 1-12.
Hutchinson, N. L., & Martin, A. K. (2012). Inclusive classrooms in
Ontario schools. Toronto, ON: Pearson Canada Inc.
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2013). Learning for All, Kindergarten to
Grade 12. Retrieved from Ontario Ministry of Education website:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/Learningfor
All2013.pdf

Monster Gene Lab Rubric

Total:

/15C
/12KU
/10A

Criteria
Participation in the lab process
Actively engages in all aspect
of the lab and worked within
the group setting.
Lab Questions
One mark for each correct
answer on the lab handout

Mark
/5C

/12KU

Drawing of Junior Monster

Accurate depiction of Junior
monster based on the traits
selected
Choice Board Questions
Correctly complete 10 marks
worth of questions from the
question choice board
Presentation of Junior Monster
Describe Junior monster and
presences of any notable
dominant or recessive traits.
Link between Junior monster
and specific traits exhibited
from the parents monsters

/5C

/10A

/5C

Monster Gene Lab

Heredity is the passing of genes from parents to offspring from each
generation. These genes determine what physical traits the offspring
will have. In this activity, you will breed Parent Monster A with Parent
Monster B in order to discover how characteristics are passed on the
Junior the baby monster.
Introduction

Parent Monster A genotype

Aa Bb cc DD Ee ff gg Hh Ii Jj kk Ll Mm
Nn OO pp qq Rr Ss Tt
Parent Monster B genotype

Aa Bb Cc Dd ee Ff GG hh II jj Kk ll MM
nn Oo Pp Qq Rr ss TT
Understanding
Use the genotype of parent monster A to answer the following
questions
1) How many gene pairs does this monster have?
2) How many gene pairs are heterozygous?
3) How many gene pairs are homozygous dominant?
4) How many gene pairs are homozygous recessive?
Use the genotype of parent monster B to answer the following
questions
1) How many gene pairs does this monster have?
2) How many gene pairs are heterozygous?
3) How many gene pairs are homozygous dominant?
4) How many gene pairs are homozygous recessive?

Describe the genotype and phenotype of Parent Monster A and Parent

Monster B. Remember genotype is the allele combination for a
particular trait and phenotype refers to the physical appearance of the
traits.

Parent Monster A
Genotype

Phenotype

Genotype

Phenotype

Parent Monster B
Genotype

Phenotype

Genotype

Phenotype

What Will Junior Look Like?

1) To determine what genes will be passed on from the parent
monster to Junior, you will flip a coin. We will use a coin since
it has two sides as a trait has two genes/alleles for each trait.
2) Start with Parent Monster A and slip a coin for each pair of genes
in order to decide which allele will be given to Junior. If the
coin lands on heads circle the letter in the gene pair that is on
the left. If the coin lands on tails circle the letter in the gene pair
that is on the right. Since there are 20 gene pairs in Parent
Monster A, you will flip the coin 20 times.
3) Repeat step 2 for Parent Monster B.
4) Transfer all the circled letters to the chart below representing
Juniors genotype.
5) Check the Gene Monster Characteristics Chart to see which
characteristics (phenotypes) your Junior monster will have, and
complete the chart with this information.

Junior
Genotype

Phenotype

Genotype

Phenotype

Understanding
1) How many gene pairs does Junior have?
2) How many gene pairs are heterozygous?
3) How many gene pairs are homozygous dominant?
4) How many gene pairs are homozygous recessive?
Using the characteristics you filled out in your chart for Junior
draw what you think he would look like.

Choice Board: Choose enough activities that add up to ten that

is to be completed with your group.

1.
What is the probability
of the coin landing on heads
when flipped? This is the
same as deciding which gene
of each pair is selected. (1)

2.
What is the probability
that a dominant gene will be
selected from a heterozygous
pair? (1)

3.
What is the probability
that a recessive gene will be
selected from a heterozygous
pair? (1)

4.
Why is your Junior not
identical to any other
monsters in the class even
though they all came from the
same parents? (2)

5.
Work with another
student and explain the
differences between your
monsters. You can use a Venn
Diagram or a chart to explain
your answer. (2)

6.
Examine the monsters
throughout the class. Are the
dominant traits the most
common? Explain this in
relation to humans. (6)

7.
Although not discussed
in class, research the concept
of incomplete dominance and
co-dominance and provide a
description of each. Does this
occur in our Monster
Characteristics Chart? Provide
real life examples of this
occurring (10)

8.
If your Junior mated
with a monster who was
homozygous recessive for
body shape, would any of their
offspring have a pear shaped
body? If so, what percent
would have the pear shaped
body?
What percent would be
homozygous dominant? What
percent would be
heterozygous?
Use a Punnett Square to show
your work. (4)

9.
With another student
in the class, examine the
possibility of your monsters
producing an offspring that
had orange eyes. Use a
Punnett Square to show your
work (2)

Groups of 5

Group 1:
Gerry
- We would pair Gerry with students who are strong writers and
able to conceptually organizes thoughts.
- Avoid pairing her with students who play on sports teams as that
may derail her focus.
- Seek to group her with students who have strong academic
personalities and could meet her competitive energy, channeling
it into the academic assignment.
- It would be important to have students in the group who would
be able to meet her energy and strong voice to prevent her from
over taking the group and allowing all members to contribute.
Group 2:
James
- Strong readers who would be able to comprehend reading and
engage in a dialogue with James regarding the material
- Perhaps pair him with students who lack an artistic or graphic
ability so he could really contribute to the drawing portion of the
assignment, hopefully increasing his confidence
- Would also pair him with strong writers to help organize his
thoughts logically and have structure to their written answers
- Would need to group him with students who have strong work
ethics and wouldnt antagonize him into acting out.
Group 3:
June
- Pair her with students who she has worked well with in the past
- Compassionate group who would be welcoming and kind without
being forceful or overly assertive.
- We would want to group her with students who are organized
and calm to help ease any anxiety she may have from her
chaotic home life.
Group 4:
Ali
- Would require many accommodations and modifications
- Would group her with students who are compassionate and who
she has developed a relationship with over the year
- Would inform a student who would be a leader in the group of
tasks that would be beneficial to Alis strengths and would allow
her to contribute and feel important. Perhaps suggest they could
have Ali flip the coin and circle the appropriate allele, or colour in
the monster. Would also suggest they allow Ali to provide the
answers for the probability questions in the assignment allowing

her to feel as though she contributed to the groups written

component
Group 5
Max
- Would pair Max with students of varying abilities and encourage
him to be a leader and show cooperation skills. Ideally would
have Max act as a student teacher in his group and help explain
concepts or ideas to others

Monster Gene Lab

In the chart below is a list of traits that the mom monster
and the dad monster have.
Flip a coin for each trait and circle the appropriate
description, if you see heads or tails. You should flip the coin
a total of 17 times.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
1
0.
1
1.
1
2.
1
3.
1
4.
1
5.
1
6.

Mom Monster
Heads
Peanut shaped body
Triangle head
Short arms (shorter
than body)
2 arms
3 fingers
3 eyes
Ear lobes
2 horns
Straight horns
Hair on top of head

Dad Monster
Tails
Pear shaped body
Clubbed (oval) head
Long arms (longer
than body)
4 arms
2 fingers
1 eyes
No ear lobes
3 horns
Curved horns
No hair on head

Fang teeth

Square teeth

3 teeth

7 teeth

Green spot on stomach

No spot

Orange Eyes

Blue Eyes

Red arms

Green arms

Blue body

Yellow body

1
7.

Green Head

Red Head

Based on all the traits you circled draw your Junior monster
on a separate sheet of paper. Your Junior monster should
have a mix of traits from both the mom and dad monster.
Use the Junior monster drawn by your teacher for an
example of what all the traits look like.
When complete answer 3 marks worth of questions on the
question choice board. For example question 1 is worth 1
mark and question 5 is worth 2 marks. 1+2=3.