lac operon group work activity

This is a great little group-work activity that encourages students to use their brains to work out how the lac operon works both in the absence of and with the presence of lactose.

The students are given background information and are encouraged to sketch out their own diagram of what is happening. They are given an envelope containing four clues (to be opened in the correct order!)

This works best if the students have no familiarity with the lac operon before entering the lesson - but do need to know about transcription and translation. At its best, students feel pleased to have worked out a tricky process by themselves. Once students have figured it out themselves I get them to explain to another group. Ideally follow up with exam questions.