I want to share the slideshows I’m using for class: DNA Replication and Transcription and Translation. Here is the link for the Central Dogma lesson at Khan Academy. My Bio kids do a huge series of activities and models before I use these slideshows to review the concepts and fill in a few details. At this point the kids have built DNA and RNA models, replicated, translated, and coded into amino acid chains. I know it sounds backwards. I find that after teens make several models, they are now ready to understand how the models represent the events.
Now is the time to plan family science experiments for Christmas Break. First is Benzoic Acid Blizzard in a Bottle or snow globe. HST has benzoic acid. Make Fake Snow with baking soda and shaving cream. (Dollar Tree sometimes has Instant Snow, too. Walmart and Target sell Instant Snow, too. Here is an easy experiment for the instant snow. How about Borax Crystal Ornaments with pipe cleaners? Have you baked Christmas Candy Ornaments? Here are three more candy cane experiments. Experiments you can eat are sweet! Take a look at Milk Plastic Ornaments. These ornaments require silicone molds, the type used for baking or ice cubes. Have you tried Plastic Cup Shrinky Dink Ornaments? The ornaments would make great gifts, too.
My Co-op Biology class is learning the Central Dogma: DNA transcription, translation, and protein synthesis. Take a look at this diagram. I’m using DNA sentence activities as How to Understand DNA without really trying, Synthesis Worksheet (Key), and Say it with DNA (Key). The kids are doing these in the three activities in this order, too. Two groups are already completing all three activities. The other thirteen kids haven’t started. All typical. I just need to find meaningful work for the four kids who are mikes ahead of the others without punishing them for working efficiently. Keep in mind, the purpose is to help kids see how DNA codes for proteins.
My social media feed just displayed Origami Organelles. The website has Ionic Bonding, DNA Replication, the Calvin Cycle, and the Citric Acid Cycle. The models are more useful for Co-op instructors planning to teach Biology or Chemistry fairly frequently.
The Bio class is tackling DNA replication, transcription, and translation, Module 7 in Apologia Biology. DNA codes for proteins. The processes of replication, transcription, and translation or protein synthesis are very confusing. So, I’m on a quest for models. The kids are completing DNA models, paper models, and DNA templates. You can make models with pipe cleaners: Make a DNA Model, Bio Bracelets, and How to Make a Model of DNA…, How about DNA Replication with Paper Clips? I’ve used this activity with four colors of paper clips; the kids were confused. Teens find the bead models less confusing. Here is a top for hands-on models. Ask the kids to explain the model. What does the red bead represent? Which nucleotide is A? Differentiate between nucleic acids and nucleotides. Explain in words how DNA replicates or copies itself. How are DNA and RNA different? Remember, the model is teaching a process.
The kids used Lab-aids DNA kits to build DNA models and demonstrate DNA replication or transcription. HST has these bead models. Here are instructions to make models with pony beads and pipe-cleaners. Take a look at our pix.
My Bio Co-op class uses the Biology Coloring Book. (I bought used copies for about $5 each. Most had few to no markings.) Module 7 in Apologia Biology includes the DNA structure, Replication, Transcription, and Translation. My kids are building a series of models this week. They are coloring and reading over Thanksgiving Break. Here is a DNA coloring page. Here is a DNA replication coloring sheet. Here is a transcription coloring page with the nucleotides labeled. Here is a Transcription/Translation coloring sheet. Coloring is like modeling. It forces the kids to look more closely at the molecule. I want to reinforce the composition of DNA, RNA, and the processes of replication, transcription, and translation.
Is your teen too squeamish to dissect? Did she claim that dissections violate her personal ethics? I get it. My husband and Paul are too squeamish. We used synthetic kits instead. Is your budget already stretched to the max? Don’t apologize. Use a paper dissection. Here and here are frog dissections to color, cut, and glue. I love Getting Nerdy’s paper dissections. They are pricey! Here is a free paper clam dissection. TPT has inexpensive paper dissections: perch ($1.50), rat ($2.50), and Earthworm ($2.50). You can use coloring pages, such as this clam anatomy sheet and construction paper to make paper dissection models. Make a paper grasshopper and use a dissection worksheet to add details and label the parts. If your kids invest the time to closely examine the parts of the animal, they will learn as much as if they did the dissection—maybe more.
Are you and/or your teen too squeamish to dissect? I get it. My husband and Paul cannot bear the thought of dissecting an animal. (Here is our post about the frog.). The Dissect-it! Frog and Dissect-it! Piranha are affordable alternatives at $15 each. (Below is a screenshot of all of the choices for kits.). Other synthetic kits, such as this kit or this kit are much more expensive.
My Bio Co-op class won’t dissect until Spring. But, I’m on the hunt for deals on specimens. I ordered several sets of 7 Large Animal Specimens. I just bought an eScience Anatomy and Physiology kit from Good Will. It has an eyeball, brain, and fetal pig. (Pix of the kit are below.). eBay sometimes has dissection specimen or kits: Apologia kits and Bob Jones. I have had the most luck with Anatomy eScience kits from Good Will or specimen sets from Home Science Tools.
This post has more DNA activities. Once the kids make the Twizzler DNA models and complete the DNA Lab-aids models, they are doing RNA Transcription with these templates from Nancy Clark’s DNA Collection of activities. I’ll post pix next week. Keep in mind the kids are doing DNA and RNA transcription several ways, including DNA Sentences. DNA replication, transcription, and protein synthesis are tough topics. Start with models-lots of them!
The kids are building Biomolecules. They just built Edible DNA molecules. Before the kids completed their Biomolecules, they used the Lab-aid kits to build Nucleotides. The kids are still checking their molecules and answering a host of questions. Next time, the kids will build DNA molecules with the DNA Lab-aid kit. One group has built a DNA molecule; forward to DNA replication.
The kids are making molecular models. I thought they would enjoy Edible DNA. (Have Your DNA and Eat It, Too has clear instructions.). Most of the time, the kids like to see a photo and go from there. Here is the post with Paul last year. He’s doing the lab again this Thursday. The models really help the kids understand the components of molecules. Here are some pix. Walmart of out of colorful, mini-marshmallows. We cut up large ones.
Good Will online has a listing for a TI 83 View Screen. eBay sells TI View Screens starting at about $16. The view screen sits in an overhead projector and connects to a TI 83 graphing calculator. I have a view screen for the TI 84, shown below. The view screen is ideal for showing a Co-op group different graphing exercises. I project on to a whiteboard. This tool is most useful for math and science teachers who want to introduce graphing calculator exercises to larger Co-op classes.
C., a new addition to Biology Co-op, is learning how to make food webs based on the Owl Pellet. Here is a long post about food webs. C. is creating a food web for the lab. Several kids are staying after class to help her. What gems home-school kids are!
We just added a student to Biology. We are meeting after class to complete all of the labs and assignments. Two teens are staying after with C. to help her catch up in class. We did the Owl Pellet Dissection lab and created a food web based on animals the owl eats and the diet of the birds and rodents. C. hasn’t completed the Summer Assignment.
The kids used the Lab-aide Molecules of Life kits to build molecules. Yes, these class sets are pricey. Here are ideas for molecules. It’s worth the time invested to build all of the molecules. Take a look.
Okay, the POGIL activity failed. Too much Organic Chemistry. We did complete the cell concept maps.
Yes, I have written several blog posts on this topic. Here is one more! There was a request on social media for ideas for chemistry kits for a ten year old. Here is my suggestion. Instead of a kit, buy the materials for several fun labs, print the instructions, and assemble the materials in a bin. Here are some of the best labs: Benzocaine Acid Blizzard in a Bottle, Reaction in a Bag, Ghost Crystals, and Gummy Worm Polymer. There is one kit I will recommend: Edible Chemistry. Be sure to supply some sugar or the potions taste foul.
EasyTemp by Vernier attaches to any TI 84 Graphing Calculator. If you buy a used TI 84, try Good Will online. I have purchased used TI84 calculators from eBay and Amazon, with limited success. Try to buy the calculator for under $50. My target price is $35-$40. Vernier has an adaptor, EasyLink to connect with wired probeware, such as the pH sensor. Usually, I buy used Vernier probeware on eBay. You might want to try Vernier’s Go! Temp sensor, which connects directly to a laptop. These probes are another way to add a bit of tech to your science curriculum.
The point today is to be able to identify bio molecules: sugars, starches, lipids, and proteins. I also wanted the kids to understand iodine is a test for starch, biuret for protein, and Benedict’s for sugars. The kids used these instructions and this website to test a bunch of foods: corn starch, corn sugar, corn syrup, vegetable oil, agar, gelatin, potato chips, beans, peanuts, etc. (No one had a peanut allergy.) The kids used Benedict’s solution, blurted solution, iodine, and Sudan III. The kids used brown lunch bags to do additional fat tests. It was a bit chaotic. A few teens struggle with less structured labs. It was a chance to show kids how to use Easy temp with aTI 84 graphing calculator. The Benedict’s solution test requires a hot water bath with a temperature of 70 degrees to 95 degrees Celsius. The steel temperature probe connects directly to a TI 84 calculator—not a TI 83. Most TI 84 calculators have Easy Data software preloaded on the calculator. Take a look.
