KS3 ~ Year 8 ~ Inheritance

This lesson is designed for the KS3 Year 8 Science course, specifically the B2 1.3 unit on Adaptation & Inheritance.

For more lessons designed for KS3 and KS4 please visit my shop at: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience.

The lesson begins with a video on inheritance, students should watch the video and whilst watching this they will answer a set of questions about chromosomes and where these structures are found within a cell. Once this task is complete, students can self-assess their work using the mark scheme provided.

Next, students are introduced to the idea of a gene. Students will be given the definition of a gene and will then need to complete a ‘Memory Test’ task which helps students to identify the locations of genes, chromosomes, the nucleus and cell membrane. Students will get a few minutes to study this image, they will then need to recreate it in their books. This task can then be self-assessed using the mark scheme provided.

Next, students are shown another image, they will need to use what they have learned so far this lesson to identify the different structures. They can discuss their ideas in pairs before the answers are revealed using the PowerPoint. Students will then need to complete a ‘Who Am I?’ task, - matching the names of structures to the correct description. The mark scheme for this task is included in the PowerPoint so students can self-assess their work once it is complete.

Students will now be shown a diagram to depict how fertilisation takes place, a sperm and egg cell meeting, nuclei fuse and genetic material joins together to form an embryo where each body cell (except sex cells) contains 46 chromosomes. Students could sketch a diagram of this in their books.

Lastly, students will watch a video on the discovery of DNA by Watson & Crick. Whilst watching the video they will need to answer a set of questions, once this task has been completed students should self-assess their answers using the mark scheme provided.

The plenary task is an ‘Anagram Challenge’ - students would need to unscramble a set of words to reveal 6 key words from this lesson. There is an ‘Extra Challenge’ task for students to come up with a definition for each of these key words, the answers to the anagrams are included.

All resources are included at the end of the presentation. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)