Summer SAVY, Session 3 Day 5, Dabbling with DNA (Schott) (3rd – 4th)
Our last day together! We started with a pop quiz to see what we remembered from the week. The quiz included serious and silly questions. There was a brief moment of panic when I announced the quiz, but they were reminded that they were not being graded. Their angst subsided, and they had fun. We then went up to the computer lab to do research for the GMO project. They were mostly focused and gathered the necessary information. Often, they needed help knowing what to search for and how to make sense of what they were reading. The project required them to define a GMO, figure out how GMOs are created, why we are creating GMOs, and list some examples. Then they focused on a particular GMO learning how that organism was modified, the benefits of this modification, and possible downsides to creating this GMO. They finished with their thoughts on this GMO.
Just before lunch, they started working on the posters and we spent a good portion of the afternoon completing the posters. Groups that finished early worked on more Punnett squares including X-linked traits. After the afternoon recreational activity groups presented their poster to the class. They learned about apples, papaya, cotton, canola, salmon, pigs, pineapple, and chickens. I coached them a bit on presentation skills such as looking at your audience, not reading the poster, and projecting, and told them this is something they will be working on as they progress through their education. Ask your child about their project and what they learned about GMOs. What is their opinion on the topic? Do they think that foods with GM products should be labeled? I enjoyed working with your children and furthering their scientific knowledge. They were enthusiastic and very interested in the material. Several expressed an interest in learning more about genetics so here are some resources.
Learn Genetics – University of Utah
https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/
BioInteractive – Howard Hughes Medical Institute
https://www.biointeractive.org/taxonomy/term/193
DNA Learning Center – Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory