Lesson Plan

Date:
Subject

MYP Biology

Unit

Genetics

Topic

Family Pedigrees

Standards

HS-LS3-1.Ask questions to clarify

relationships about the role of DNA and
chromosomes in coding the instructions for
characteristic traits passed from parents to
offspring.
HS-LS3-3.Apply concepts of statistics and
probability to explain the variation and
distribution of expressed traits in a
population.

Days Needed

Students Will Be Able To:

SWBAT
Interpret a family pedigree and infer how different traits have been passed on
through generations
Diagram a simple family pedigree that demonstrates a possible inheritance of a
particular condition
Summary of Tasks
Introduction
Students should check on their projects and apply treatments if necessary. Give a
couple of minutes, then move into review.
Review how meiosis creates haploid gametes that must fuse (fertilization) to create a
diploid zygote that is the first cell of a new organism.
This is sexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction is any method of reproducing that
does not alternate between meiosis and fertilization.
Sex-Linked and Autosomal Characteristics
Review how fathers determine the sexes of their children.
How does a father determine the sex of a child?
Why can't a mother determine the sex of a child?
Sex chromosomes work a little differently from autosomal chromosomes all of the
chromosomes that are not sex chromosomes.
Some conditions are caused by recessive alleles on the X chromosome; two examples
are colorblindness and hemophilia.
If these are recessive, how many copies of the allele do women need to have to
have the condition?
Tricky question: how many copies of the allele do men need to have, if it's on the X
chromosome?
Women can be carriers of X-linked recessive conditions, but men will always have an
X-linked condition if they have the allele that produces it.
Pedigrees

Introduce the common symbols used in pedigree diagrams: female, male, affected,
unaffected, carrier, parent/child connections
Diagram how X and Y chromosomes are passed down on a simple family tree
Redo tree using colorblindness as an example sex-linked trait
How can we determine whether a woman is a carrier for a trait, if we know her family
history?
How can we determine if a trait is dominant or recessive using a pedigree? Can we do
the same for sex-linked vs. autosomal?

If time:
Pass out sprigs of cilantro, have class eat their leaves at the same time.
Approximately 10% of the population have an allele that makes cilantro taste like
soap. The rest of the population have at least one dominant allele for that gene that
gives it 'normal' flavor.
The way we see colors and taste flavors can be different from each other depending
on our mix of alleles. Can you describe the color red to a colorblind person? Can you
easily describe a flavor to someone who cannot taste it?
We will be doing an activity on our block day that will use our sense of taste to
determine the genotype of one of our tasting traits.
Key Questions to Keep in Mind

Materials and Equipment

MYP Biology: Sex-Linked Characteristics and Pedigrees Notes
Pedigree Practice HSA Problems (Homework)
References and Useful Links

Take Home Tasks