Julianne Paul
Lincoln Elementary
Lesson Plan

5th Grade Lesson
STANDARD V: Students will understand that traits are
passed from the parent organisms to their offspring.


*Special thanks to the Genetic Science Learning Center





Grandfather A - red Grandfather B - yellow
Grandmother A - brown Grandmother B - green



Step 2. Arrange the cups as shown above and place six pom-poms in the cups

Step 1. With a partner, label six cups as shown:


Step 3.
The colored pom-poms are the traits that each of the grandparents have. Color the pompom
pictures on the Generations of Traits Worksheet to show the traits for each grandparent.

Step 4. Close your eyes and pick three traits from Grandfather A and three traits from Grandmother A and place them in the cup labeled Mother. These are the traits that Mother inherited
from her parents. Color the pom-pom picture on the worksheet to show the traits Mother has.
Step 5. Close your eyes again and pick three traits from Grandfather B and three traits from Grandmother B, and place them in the cup labeled Father. These are the traits that Father
inherited from his parents. Color the pom-pom picture on the worksheet to show the traits Father has.



Step 6. Mother and Father have four children: Mary, George, Elizabeth and Carl. To determine the traits that Mary will inherit from Mother and Father, close your eyes and take three pom-poms from Mother and three pom-poms from Father. Color the diagram to show the
traits that Mary inherited.

Step 7. Next, return the traits that you took from Mother and Father. (Look at your diagram if you forget where each trait came from.) Now, close your eyes again and choose the traits that George will inherit (3 from Mother, 3 from Father). Color the diagram to show George’straits.

Step 8. Return the traits you took from Mother and Father and repeat the process to find the traits for Elizabeth and then Carl.

Samples of Student Work

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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