Agriculture Gets into Your DNA : Grades 5-7
Is there DNA in your food? Absolutely! All living things have DNA-Deoxyribonucleic acid- the chemical instruction on how to make that living thing. This incredible chemical molecule can be easily seen with the naked eye when collected from thousands of cells.
The purpose of these lessons is to take a very abstract subject and bring it to a level students can see, work with and relate to. DNA is something that can be difficult to grasp because it cannot be seen. We are just told it is there, making up everything that lives. It is what our body and all living things are made up of, but we can’t see it, so how do we know it’s really there??? These exercises bring it down to a more understandable visual level, while showing students that even things that seem simple, like spinach, strawberries or bread, are actually pretty complex when you break them down.
Choose from the lessons listed below to create your own DNA sample!
Kansas teaching standards for Agriculture Gets into Your DNA Standards for Grades 5-7
Standard 1: Science as Inquiry
- Benchmark 1: The student will demonstrate abilities necessary to do the processes of
Standard 3: Life Science
- Benchmark 1: The student will model structures of organisms and relate functions to the structures.
- Indicator 1: The student will understand the cell theory, that all organisms are composed of one or more cells, cells are the basic unit of life, and that cells come from other cells.
- Indicator 2: The student relates the structure of cells, organs, tissues, organ systems, and whole organisms to their functions.
Questions? Contact the Agriculture Education Division at 785/587-6150.