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Sixth Graders Begin Collaborative DNA Unit with Seventh Grade

The DNA unit in middle school science challenges sixth and seventh graders to explore how DNA impacts traits and also how DNA is coded and decoded in the human body. To begin the unit, students compiled data about their class and each student’s traits, including attached or detached earlobes; ability to roll one's tongue; dimples; right- or left-handedness; and straight hairline or widow’s peak, among others. “After the class compiled the data, we had a conversation around data collection,” explains teacher Lindsay Mackintosh. “This data collection knowledge will be really important when we group the two grades together for the next part of this unit.” In mixed grade groups, students will create a code to be decoded by another group, in a way that is similar to how DNA codes and decodes. “This is a really great unit because it models the process in a different way, with students actually acting out the process. And working collaboratively is a skill that all scientists need to be good at.” MORE PHOTOS
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