Name: Matt Bailey

Mentor Teacher: Marisa Fisher

Class and grade level: 8th Grade General
Science

Partner: N/A
School: Highlander Way Middle School
Date: October 30, 2014

Part I: Information about the Lesson and Unit

Topic: Artificial Selection
Abstract
Students will hypothesize how horse breeders are able to produce all the varieties of show
horses. They will use corn as evidence for selective breeding and construct a verbal explanation
that answers how humans selectively bred two ears of corn to have a desired ratio of dark-tolight kernels, over time. Then, students will model selective breeding for dogs by mating two
parent breeds that have desirable traits and produce three puppies in hopes of increasing the
chances of the genes for the desirable traits being inherited. They will draw their first generation
puppies and share with their peers the degree of success they had in breeding their parent dogs,
as well as the next step they would take in the breeding process.

Part II: Clarifying Your Goals for the Topic

A. Big Ideas
Evolution explains the similarities and differences among species and suggests that all
species are related through ancestry. The process of natural selection acting on populations is the
main driving force of evolution. Although individuals in a population share many similarities,
they vary in their genetic information due to random mutations in DNA, which leads to a range
of traits in the population.
In any particular environment individuals with particular traits may be more likely than
others to survive and produce offspring. This process is called natural selection and may lead to
the predominance of certain inherited traits in a population and the suppression of others. Natural
selection occurs only if there is variation in the heritable genetic information within a population
that is expressed in traits that lead to differences in survival and reproductive ability among
individuals under specific environmental conditions. If the trait differences do not affect
reproductive success, then natural selection will not favor one trait over others (p.163).
Natural selection can lead to adaptation, that is, to a distribution of traits in the
population that is matched to and can change with environmental conditions. Such adaptations
can eventually lead to the development of separate species in separated populations (p. 141). In
some cases, however, traits that are adaptive to the changed environment do not exist in the
population and the species becomes extinct (p.165). Adaption by natural selection is ongoing.
For example it is seen in the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Organisms like bacteria,
in which multiple generations occur over shorter time spans, evolve more rapidly than those for
which each generation takes multiple years (p. 165). Humans influence the inheritance of

desired traits in organisms, using various forms of technology. Through processes called artificial
selection and genetic engineering, humans can change the genetic outcomes through genetic
modification, gene therapy, and selective breeding (MS-LS4-5).

B. Student Practices
1. Naming key practices
Carry out Investigations & Using a Model: Students will work on a working definition of
artificial selection by using the Jigsaw reading strategy to read and summarize an article
about selective breeding. They will use models to show how two parents with desirable traits
can be bred by humans to influence genetic inheritance in the offspring. First, students will
investigate artificial selection through breeding ears of corn. Each ear of corn has a given
number of dark and light kernels. Using the approximate ratio of dark to light kernels in each
ear of parent corn, the students will count the number of dark and light kernels in each ear of
corn to find the approximate ratio of dark to light kernels. The ratio will allow the students to
determine the parents alleles using a Punnett Square. Then, they will determine what type of
parent corn would be necessary to only have light-colored kernels in the ears of corn. Once
the students selective breed corn, they will selectively breed dogs. They will use a dog
breeding model to illustrate how humans develop new subspecies (breeds) of dogs with
characteristics that make the dogs capable of performing a desirable task. They will also
apply the same principles of artificial selection to construct an explanation that explains how
humans had an influence in the creation of Idaho baking potatoes, high-yield crops, and race
horses with exemplary physiques.

C. Performance Expectations for Student Learning

Performance Expectation

Associated NGSS
Practice

NGSS Performance Expectation(s)

1. MS-LS4-5.

Using a Model

Gather and synthesize information about the technologies that have

changed the way humans influence the inheritance of desired traits in
organisms.

Specific Lesson Objective(s)

1. Identify patterns in data and relate them to the theoretical model of how Application; Using a
humans selectively breed domesticated plants and animals to produce Model
offspring with desirable characteristics.

Part III: Example Activity Sequence

A. Storyline for the Activity Sequence in Context
Stage

Role in Storyline

Lessons before
Heredity & Inheritance (Genes, Alleles, Dominant, Recessive, Homozygous, Heterozygous,
your sequence
Genotypes, Phenotypes), DNA & Chromosomes (Basic Structure and function), Pedigrees,
Mutations, Plant Parts & Reproduction
Lesson 1
Selective Breeding Corn: Students will be given two ears of corn and will count the number of
dark and light kernels to find the dark to light ratio. Then, they will decide what type of corn
would be best to breed as the parent corn, to produce offspring with the greatest likelihood
of having a desired phenotype.
Lesson 2
Dachshunds and badger hunting discussion, German Shepherds and protection/training
discussion, Introduce lab activity, Divide students into groups, Brainstorming desirable traits
with among groups, Selecting parent breeds, oral and written explanation of why they chose
parents (with reasoning)
Lesson 3
Groups will share out with class why they chose the parent breeds that they chose, Groups
will produce 3 offspring (using a penny), each student will draw their 3 puppies
Lessons after your Genetic Modification and genetic engineering, Gene Therapy, Natural Selection, Evolution,
sequence
Fossil record

B. Activity Sequence Details

Focus Objective
Objective
1. Identify patterns in data and relate them to the theoretical model of how humans
selectively breed domesticated plants and animals to produce offspring with desirable
characteristics.

NGSS Practice
Application; Using a
Model

1. Application Cycle
Examples and Scaffolding (Pattern in Student Practices)
List of examples
1. Ears of corn have varying ratios of dark to light kernels. Corn can be selectively bred to have a
desired ratio of dark to light kernels, over time.
2. Dachshunds are a good dog breed for hunting badgers
3. American foxhounds are ideal for hunting water fowl
4. German shepherds are easy to train and become ideal dogs for protection and law
enforcement duties
5. Horses, especially race horses, are selectively bred for musculature, size and even bone
structure

Scaffolding that applies to all examples

1. Decide which characteristics are most important (most desirable) in an organism
2. Choose parent organisms of the same species (i.e. 2 dogs or 2 plants of the same
species) that show these characteristics
3. Perform a series of matings to produce offspring with the appropriate combination of
traits
4. Select the best offspring from the parents to breed the next generation
5. Repeat the process continuously over many generations
Stages in Your Application Sequence
Stage
Teaching Activities
Establishing the Is it possible to produce offspring with desirable features that make them
problem
successful in performing a specific task or meeting a specific goal? (i.e.
larger-than-normal corn ear, coloration of plants, quality of plant, hunting,
running, protection, assistance, racing, large bone structure, musculature,
etc).
Modeling
Selective Breeding in Horses: Horses have been selectively bred over thousands
of years to become better at racing. Specific characteristics, such as
musculature, bone structure and size are the traits that humans have
selectively bred for in horses used in races. As horses have become
domesticated, modern breeding strategies and technologies have allowed
horse trainers and owners to breed horses with desirable characteristics over
many generations, with great success.
Coaching
Selective Breeding in Corn: Students will be given two ears of corn and will
count the number of dark and light kernels to find the dark to light ratio.
Then, they will decide what type of corn would be best to breed as the
parent corn, to produce offspring with the greatest likelihood of having a
desired phenotype.
Fading
Dachshund, German Shepherd & American Foxhound Discussion: Dachshunds
= small, long, fast; Ideal for hunting badgers and can easily fit into badger
holes. German Shepherds = easily trained, smart, great sense of smell, strong,
fast; Ideal for law enforcement responsibilities and protection. American
Foxhounds have the been bred over many generations to have qualities ideal
for hunting water fowl (fast, agile, high trainability, tame, good sense of
smell/hearing, high endurance). Students will develop scientific explanations
to explain how these dog breeds became specialized for a certain task, using
the scientific principle of artificial breeding that they practiced in the corn
breeding activity.

Maintenance

Selective Breeding in Dogs: Demonstrating how to pick two parent breeds

according to the desired traits for the offspring, students will mate the parents
that have the same characteristics as their ideal water fowl-hunting dog
breed, using the characteristics they desire in their new breed. The students
will produce puppy #1, puppy #2, and puppy #3 with their partner and all
students will individually draw their 3 puppies. The class will discuss how
selective breeding can be used to our advantage when breeding a wide
variety of animals.

C. Lesson Plans

Lesson 1
Lesson 1 Materials
Copied materials (Handouts, worksheets, tests, lab directions, etc.): Investigating selective
breeding worksheet
For each pair: Corn Ear A & Corn Ear B
Other materials: Laminated ears of corn (Corn Ear A has 112 dark & 115 light kernels; Corn Ear
B has 168 dark & 57 light kernels)
Lesson 1 Introduction (15 minutes)
Opener: Horses have been around for thousands of years. Back in ancient times, horses were
used for many tasks, including pulling carriages, plowing on farms, quickly carrying
messengers to and fro, hauling mining cars, and there were horses specialized for hunting.
How do you think all the different horse breeds that we see today were made?
- Horses are selectively bred/artificially selected
- Reference to the article students read previous day that briefly described
selective breeding, natural selection, and genetic engineering [attached]
- Article was read using the jigsaw reading strategy: At their tables (4
students), each of the students read a single paragraph that was a
different paragraph than the others at their table (1 student had to read
2 small paragraphs), and then summarize what they read to their table
mates. Using this strategy, the students practiced reading, reading
comprehension and verbal fluency skills.
- Traits are passed down from parent to offspring, so the parents must have the desirable
traits (traits that make a horse breed good at a specific task or have a specific quality)
that we want to see in the offspring
- The inheritance of traits is random, so it is not a guarantee that our offspring will have
all the desirable traits
We will be looking at a similar example in selectively breeding corn, according to the color of
the kernels on the ear of corn.
Lesson 1 Main Teaching Activities (30 minutes)
- A student volunteer will read the two paragraphs at the beginning of the worksheet

- Using ELMO projector screen, highlight the following text on the worksheet, as a class: In this
situation, if the gene for corn kernel color has at least one dominant D allele (DD or Dd) it
will be dark colored. The only way to get a light colored seed is if both its alleles are recessive
d alleles (dd).
- Discuss the example cross: DD x dd
- Ratio of dark to light kernels: 4 to 0, because all 4 possible outcomes in the offspring
have a dominant D allele (all 4 possible outcomes are Dd). 4 out of 4 (100%) possible
outcomes will have dark kernels and 0 out of 4 (0%) of the offspring outcomes will
have light kernels (no dd genotypes)
- How can you improve the chances of having offspring with a particular trait?
- A student volunteer will read the 4 steps in the procedure
- Students will count the number of dark and light kernels in Corn Ear A and record the
number in their data table 1
- Students will then repeat the procedure for Corn Ear B.
- Students will determine the closest whole number ratio of dark to light kernels in each
corn ear and record the ratios in table 1
- Students will convert the whole number ratios into the percentage of dark kernels in
each corn ear and record these percentages in table 1
- Students will then complete the 2 given Punnett Square crosses and come up with 2 of the 3
remaining crosses that are different from the 2 already given
- For each cross, students will practice giving the ratio of dark-to-light kernels and the
percentage of dark kernels
- Once the Punnett Square crosses are complete, they will use the results of their 4 crosses to
answer the guided questions on the back side of the worksheet
Lesson 1 Conclusion (10 minutes)
- Students will share out their responses to question #4: Can you guarantee having offspring
with a particular trait? Explain.
- If you are a corn farmer and you wanted all of your ears of corn to have only light
colored kernels, but you ended up breeding two ears of corn together and got results
similar to Corn Ear A (112 dark, 115 light), what is necessary to get your desired
results?
- Time; many generations to consistently produce corn ears with only light
colored kernels

Lesson 2
Lesson 2 Materials
Presentation materials (Overhead transparencies or PowerPoint presentations, etc): How to Get
an American Foxhound and Why, Dog Breeding Example, Dog Traits, Artificial Selection
Overhead
Copied materials (Handouts, worksheets, tests, lab directions, etc.): Dog Traits teachers sheet

 For each group: Dog Packet envelope (Dog Breeds handout, Ownership Card, Puppy Traits)
Other materials: Pennies, colored pencils, blank paper for drawings
Lesson 2 Activities
Lesson 2 Introduction (10 minutes)
- Opener: Answering and justifying corn-breeding guided questions
- Can you guarantee an offspring having a particular trait?
- If you say yes, walk to the right side of the room
- If you say no, walk to the left side of the room
- If you say yes and no, walk to the middle of the room
- Students from each of the three sides will justify their reasoning
Lesson 2 Main Teaching Activities (40 minutes)
- Dachshunds & badger hunting:
- Dachshunds are small, fast, and long and were bred to be hunting dogs. What type of
animal do you think humans bred them to hunt?
- If all dogs come from a common ancestor, Canis familiaris, how do you think we
produced Dachshunds? Did we pull on their body to stretch them out and this acquired
trait was passed on to the offspring, or do you think there was some other influence on
their physical traits?
- German Shepherds:
- German Shepherds are strong, fast, smart, easily trained and have a great sense of smell.
They were also bred from the same common ancestor as Dachshunds. Why do you think
they look so different from Dachshunds?
- What do you think humans bred this dog breed to be good at? What traits do you think
humans wanted German Shepherds to possess?
- How do humans affect the traits in a dog breed? Are the changes just at the physical
level or are there changes at the genetic (molecular) level as well?
- How do you think these changes arose? How long do you think it took to get the
German Shepherds and Dachshunds that we have today, starting with the common
ancestor?
- How would you explain the drastic differences seen in large Great Danes and small
Yorkies?
- Explain to the people at your table how humans influence inherited traits in plants and
animals, using examples weve learned about in class as your evidence.
Display Artificial Selection overhead on ELMO projector screen
- Discuss each of the terms associated with artificial selection; variation, inheritance,
selection and time
- Students need to record the four terms and their definitions/descriptions on page 50 of
their science notebook
- Make a point to discuss T (Time). Getting the desirable feature does not usually
happen in just one try. Often, you have to breed many generations to get a new breed

established. This leads to inbreeding and loss of genetic variation. Loss of genetic
variation may make the species or population more vulnerable to certain diseases or
disorders.
Put up the How to Get an American Foxhound and Why overhead with Part A showing.
400 years ago, there was no such thing as an American Foxhound
Combination of English Foxhounds and French hounds produced American Foxhounds
Great hunting dog, fast, good sense of smell, high endurance, watchdogs, companions
What traits might have humans wanted to breed and select for in dogs?
Dog Breeding Example: What traits would be most effective in scaring away a polar
bear?
- Pointed ears are good for hearing
- A loud bark will travel long distances, alerts others in the vicinity, good trait for a
protective dog
- Long fur keeps dogs warmer in the cold
- What traits arent important to humans when we breed dogs? (eye color)
- What two breeds would be best to mate to produce an offspring that would be good at
scaring away a polar bear? (Breeds 1 & 3)
Dog Traits Overhead: Physical traits have a specific function for dogs. Some traits help
the dog survive and others are influenced by humans when humans need the dog breed to
perform a certain task (i.e. scaring away bears).
- As a class, have students brainstorm the significance of each trait, then discuss.
Divide students into groups of 2. Pass out the Dog Packet and explain that the students
will be mating two existing breeds to artificially select a new dog.
Students will fill in the Ownership Card and carefully review the descriptions of the
breeds with the students.
Students will write their name under Breeder Names on the Ownership Card and read
the assignment directions
Students should discuss, in their groups, what traits they think are important for their new
breed and circle the appropriate traits in Part 1: Desired Features of the New Breed. If the trait
is unimportant, they should circle any.
Lesson 2 Conclusion (5 minutes)
Students should then look at Dog Breed cards and pick 2 dog breeds with the
characteristics they want in their new breed. They will prioritize the features because no 2 breeds
will have the exact combination they want in their new breed.
- Students will give the parent breeds one tally every time one of the 6 possible
parent breeds has a trait the pair circled on their Ownership Card
- Parent Breeds: Tally Collie, Floxich, Gootagan, Spalling, Cruxtic,
Horvisianer

- Physical features each breed has: Smell, sight, hearing, speed, endurance,
strength, coat color, hair length
- Desired form of each trait: Above average, average, below
average, any (any = does not matter what form of the trait is
inherited)
- Behavioral features each breed has: Trainability, disposition, bark
- Trainability forms: high, average, low, any
- Disposition forms: vicious, compatible, meek, any
- Bark forms: very loud, average, very quiet, any
- The two breeds with the most tally marks (most traits in common with the
desired dog breed from the Ownership Card) will be the two parents
- If there is a tie between multiple breeds for the most tally marks, then the tie
breaker will be determined by which of the breeds has the two most important traits for
their new breed to inherit
In part 2 of the Ownership Card, they should write their reasoning why they chose each
trait they did for their new breed.

Lesson 3
Lesson 3 Materials
Presentation materials (Overhead transparencies or PowerPoint presentations, etc): How to Get
an American Foxhound and Why, Dog Breeding Example, Dog Traits, Artificial Selection
Overhead
Copied materials (Handouts, worksheets, tests, lab directions, etc.): Dog Traits teachers sheet
For each group: Dog Packet envelope (Dog Breeds handout, Ownership Card, Puppy Traits)
Other materials: Pennies, colored pencils, blank paper for drawings
Lesson 3 Introduction (10 minutes)
- Discuss similarities and differences between the breeds each pair chose as their parents.
Then, students will discuss the form of each trait they desired in their new dog breed
and why they chose the form that they did.
Lesson 3 Main Teaching Activities (35 minutes)
- Each group designate one parent as the mother and one as the father
- Flipping a coin will determine whether the puppy inherits traits from the mother or from the
father. Heads = Mothers feature, Tails = Fathers feature.
- When you study genetics in 9th grade biology next year, you will learn more about
how traits are inherited. For the sake of this activity today, we will be using a penny, but
know that it does not accurately model genetic inheritance in dogs.
- 3 puppies = 3 flips for each trait to be inherited. Students will keep track of their results on the
Puppy Traits handout.
- Students will draw the three puppies and label them according to the features that were
inherited, denoting which parents the trait was inherited from

- Group discussions: Are the puppies identical? Why or why not? What similarities and
differences do you see? How would you explain these differences?
- Partner discussion: Were you successful in breeding the ideal water fowl hunting dog? Share
your results with a neighbor at your table.
Lesson 3 Conclusion (10 minutes)
- Display the various drawings of puppies for each of the parent mating combinations and
discuss the variation seen among the puppies, noting the randomness of inherited traits.
- Task: To breed a dog that will see and retrieve waterfowl unharmed from lakes in the
area with minimum amount of stress.
- Which of the dogs do you think will be the most successful at the assigned task?
Explain.
- Is there a single individual that is perfect for the task?
- If you were to conduct the dog breeding for another generation, which puppies would
you use as the parents for the next generation?
- If you bred two parent dogs together and you got a dog that is different from the
parents, is this new dog a new dog breed? Why or why not?
- No, the new dog is a mutt, not a breed.
- What makes something a new breed?
- Time; many generations of successfully breeding the same type of dog.
- For example, consistently producing a Labrador Retriever (same
characteristics within each new dog over many generations)
- Ask 3 assessment questions through popcorn style class dialogue and get a better
understanding of focus students understanding through one-on-one conversations

Part IV: Assessment of Focus Students

A. Focus Objective
1. Identify patterns in data and relate them to the theoretical model of how humans selectively
breed domesticated plants and animals to produce offspring with desirable characteristics.

B. Developing Assessment Tasks

1. Plants and animals have been selectively bred for thousands of years. For hundreds of years,
wheat was always grown the same way. In the 17th century, humans began breeding wheat
differently. Over time, the wheat crops developed the ability to grow in harsh conditions, thus
making it a high-yield crop. Explain how the high-yield version of wheat that we have today
descended from the wheat that used to die in harsh conditions.
2. For many years, humans have been breeding horses for multiple purposes. Some horses are
bred to excel at pulling carriages, some excel as casual riding horses, others are bred to be
miniature, and still others are bred to excel at racing and Equestrian or Dressage
performances. Explain how humans were able to breed race horses with superior
musculature, elite bone structure and stature, large strides and agility from the varieties of
horses seen in the wild.

3. The Idaho baking potatoes that we eat today are descended from potatoes in Peru that grow
in many different sizes, shapes, and colors. But none of the potatoes growing in Peru have
the Idaho baking potatos combination of brown skin, white flesh, and large size. Explain
how potato breeders were able to produce Idaho baking potatoes from the varieties of
potatoes that grew in Peru.