A Motivational Lesson Plan:

Mendelian Genetics
OUTCOMES
-By the end of this lesson, all students will be able to
correctly define and apply the concepts of dominance, codominance, recessive traits, the law of segregation and
independent assortment.
-By the end of this lesson, all students will be able model the
process of genetic crossing with 100% accuracy.
- By the end of this lesson, all students will be to
successfully predict the outcome of a genetic cross with
100% accuracy.
CONTEXT
Storyline:
The students will be asked to engage in the following roleplaying simulation:
You are applying for a job as a scientist at the new theme
park called Dragon World. If chosen as the successful
candidate, your goal will be to create a dragon from the
genetic material that has recently been collected from fossils
all over the world.
Main Character:
The scientist (a.k.a the student)
Setting:

Students will complete this activity online. The lesson will

take place in the Dragon World laboratory and will be hosted
on a Weebly site.
CHALLENGES
Problem:
The park is about to open and Dragon World is in desperate
need to hire a new scientist. The scientist chosen for the job
will be charged with the task of creating the main attraction:
a dragon. The students will feel a sense of risk as they desire
to acquire the job and maintain it by successfully creating a
dragon.
ACTIVITIES
The students must:
1. Prepare for the job interview by review
definitions/examples of key notions such as: dominance, codominance, recessive traits, the law of segregation,
independent assortment and genetic crosses.
2. Demonstrate their knowledge of genetics during the
Dragon World interview. Students will need to successful
complete practice questions relating to the lesson concepts
in order to be selected as for the job and to move on the
next section. The questions will follow the principles of
spaced practice so that the students are best able to
consolidate the new information and skills acquired. The
level of difficult of the questions will vary (a mix of easy and
challenging tasks) throughout the course of the lesson to
promote motivation. Students will also engage in a mock
video conferencing interview with the instructor.
3. Once selected for the job, the students will produce a
dragon by mixing the genetic traits harvested from male and

female dinosaur fossils. The students will follow the

principles of Mendelian genetics to achieve their goal. They
must:
a. Review the profiles (photos/traits) of the fossilized
dragons.
b. Select a male (XY chromosome) and female (XX
chromosome) fossilized dragon.
c. Once the male and female fossilized dragons have been
selected, the students will be provided with a haploid
gamete containing 6 chromosomes from each parent (Unlike
humans, dragons have only 12 chromosomes.)
d. The students will separate homologous chromosomes.
e. The alleles from each pair of homologous chromosomes
will be analysed using a decoding chart indicates the
phenotypic effect of each gene. Students need to apply their
knowledge of dominant, co-dominant and recessive traits.
f. Based on the phenotypic information, the students will be
able to construct your baby from a bank of dragon parts.
FEEDBACK
The students must complete all practice questions (interview
questions) correctly before reaching the final activity. It is
important to note that judgement will be delayed. Rather
than indicating if the students answers are correct/incorrect,
the activity will simply provide students will the support
required to complete the task. For example, hints will be
provided to help scaffold the students through the questions.
The students will also have access to videos, definitions,
examples relating to the lesson topics. As previously stated,
the students will also be required to complete an interview

with the instructor after which intrinsic feedback may also be

provided.
During the final activity, students will need to successfully
produce a baby dragon to maintain their newly acquired
position. If a student incorrectly completes a step, the
activity will indicate the error and the students will need to
begin again.