Genetic Engineering and Human Health

Unit Activities

Considering the length and depth of this unit students will be involved in a number of activities. There will be a combination of teacher led lessons, student group work, lab activities, student led debates, persuasive papers, and presentations. The DNA section of this unit will involve a number of small class activities for the students to engage in. Aside from direct instruction, students will participate in constructing DNA and completing online webquests as they gain a deeper understanding of the content.

Lesson One: DNA

This lesson begins with a video and power point presentation about the history of DNA. Students will take notes and answer "check for understanding" questions through the lesson. With the use of an online source (learngenetic.utah.edu) students will complete an online webquest that will assist in reinforcing the concepts and idea discussed in the introductory lesson. A lot of practice with building DNA structures will be done following the webquest. Students will work in groups to create strands of DNA using a DNA toolkit provided by my schools science department. Students will better understand base pair rules and general structure of DNA after this activity. Using those same kits, students will learn the process of transcription. With the double strand of DNA students will created single-stranded RNA uses the appropriate bases. A number of worksheets and small assessments will follow to make sure students understand the base pairing rules of transcription.

I then introduce students to codons. This is done through direct instruction using power point, video, and good old-fashioned board work. Using models and drawings, students will learn the structure of a ribosome (where translation occurs) and the function of RNA once it attaches to it. This part of the lesson will involve a lot of vocabulary review and practice to best prepare students for the more complex processes to follow. Translation brings upon some of the more exciting activities in this unit. To prepare for learning of the genetic code, I will have the students complete puzzles that require them to associate a number code with a word. When they show mastery in that ability, students will be introduced to the genetic code. To gain familiarity with the code and how to read it, we will play a number of Bingo games uses charts the students have filled in with amino acids. There is an activity called "Snorks" that the students will complete. This is practice with the genetic code so students can become more familiar with coding and determine traits from those resulting proteins. To end this lesson, students will complete a Translation Lab. Using a variety of colored gummy candies and the DNA structure kits, the students will demonstrate from beginning to end how RNA is transcribed and proteins are translated. They will create their own code correlating candy to amino acid, and as a group come up with a name and function of their resulting protein. The assessment for this section is a comprehensive exam that students will complete in class.

Lesson Two: Health/Disease

To connect the DNA content with the human health portion, students will be introduced to case studies of individuals living with a genetic disease. Each day for this lesson we will exam a system of the body: circulatory, respiratory and nervous. Through direct instruction students will learn of the basics of each system to give them a good understanding of the diseases they will study. Students will complete graphic organizers for each disease using online resources. I have small video clips of stories about individuals with CF, Sickle cell, Huntington's and hemophilia that the students will watch and discuss. For students to become more aware of the hardships that come with these genetic diseases, they will participate in role-playing in a story line called "Family Genes". There are five parts to this story and after each part students will assess new information found in the story about the family and questions they have for the next part. The purpose of this activity is for students to consider the implications of knowing the health of an individual's future. Students will complete a journal entry addressing the ethical question of whether or not individuals should be told of their impending diseases. This entry will come into play again during the genetic engineering lesson in the unit.

Lesson Three: Biotechnology

Accompanying the study of disease will be the introduction to biotechnology through simulations of PCR and a class lab in which students test their skills at Gel Electrophoresis. Through direct instruction students will learn of the basics in gel electrophoresis. They will examine gel plates and make inferences on what they see. Before completing a wet lab, students will play with online simulations of gel electrophoresis and the use of PCR in determining the characteristics of the DNA strands run through gel electrophoresis. Students will use these sources to complete their simulations found online at http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/labs/gel/. Students will be introduced to micropipettes and they will practice pipetting in an activity entitled "Issa's Secret Serum Activity" (ISSA). They will learn how to set micro-pipettes and how to properly dispense materials and avoid contamination. Once students show mastery in their pipetting abilities, we will complete the Gel Electrophoresis lab.

This lab will take quite a few days of class time to complete. The first will be the making of gel plates. Students will follow a lab protocol in order to make suitable plates. While we wait for the plates to harden, students will begin writing a formal lab report. I have handouts that scaffold each section of a lab report and students will first hand write and then begin typing their reports. Through this process, students will practice peer editing and constructive feedback. Once the gels are ready, students will perform part two of the lab protocol. In this portion students will load their gels with samples from a "family" that wants to test for Huntington's disease. This lab requires a lot of attention to detail on the students part and a lot of supervision on my part. Once the students run their gels they will write a short analysis of the results they obtained. They are to determine, based on their test, who in the "family" should be diagnosed with Huntington's disease. Students will then complete their lab reports and turn it in typed and completed to fulfill the assessment for this lesson.

Lesson Four: Genetic Engineering

Upon completion of the three prior lessons, the students will engage in a JIGSAW activity. JIGSAWs are when students meet in a home group of students and each is assigned a different assignment. They then break up and find students in the class who are given the same assignment and they complete it together. Students then return to their home group and share their newly acquired knowledge with their classmates. There are six articles that I have obtained from online resources that present cases of genetic engineering. Half the articles are pro genetic engineering and the other half is against. The students complete a graphic organizer within their JIGSAW group and become masters in the article they read. When the return to their home group, they are responsible to share the ideas and arguments of the article they read. Students will study their notes and write a one-paragraph opinion assignment about their position on genetic engineering.

Their knowledge of the articles read will prepare the students for an in class debate. Students will be randomly assigned a position and will need to use their notes to create arguments for the position their represent, regardless of their own opinion. This activity is meant to engage the students in considering two sides of a controversial process and just out of pure curiosity on my part. I like to hear what argument students create to support their side. Lastly, students are given a persuasive essay assignment. Given the structure and purpose of a persuasive essay, students will identify their position on the use of genetic engineering using evidence from the articles read and discussed in class. This essay should follow all standard requirements of a written assignment and it will be used as the final assessment for this lesson.

Lesson Five: Design Challenge

All the content objectives discussed above lead to the final project of the unit. Students will research one of the four diseases in the unit. They will be required to know the details of the disease including symptoms and treatments as well as the molecular characteristics that lead to the expression of the disease. Students will be challenged with the prospect of determining how they would change the expression of their particular disease from taking place. Students will choose a method they would experiment with if they were genetic engineers and will have to defend their proposed techniques. Based on class activities and content objectives students will also develop an understanding of genetic testing and engineering and the implications on society.

Students will need to document their research in a formal written report. Students will discuss their research, describe their method of DNA manipulation and take a position on the implications of genetic screening. To demonstrate understanding and conviction of their work, students will present to a panel and defend their research. The final project will consist of a typed 3-5 page report and a professional power point presentation that will be delivered to a panel that will challenge the design.