Author:
Out Teach
Subject:
Life Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Level:
Lower Primary
Grade:
1
Tags:
  • Activities
  • Animals
  • Inherited Traits
  • Life Sciences
  • Out Teach
  • Science
  • License:
    Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike
    Language:
    English
    Media Formats:
    Text/HTML

    Education Standards

    Inherited Traits - Out Teach

    Inherited Traits - Out Teach

    Overview

    STUDENT ACTIVITY – 1st – NGSS
    This is a distance-learning lesson students can complete at home.

    Some living things and their offspring have traits that are similar, but not exactly alike. Students will identify the traits of plants in the outdoors and predict what the traits of their offspring would be.

    This activity was created by Out Teach (out-teach.org), a nonprofit providing outdoor experiential learning to transform Science education for students in under-served communities. .

    Safety

    Out Teach logo

    This is one of Out Teach's outdoor lessons, and we always want to make sure students are safe and responsible when you go outside to learn. Before starting this lesson, ask a grown-up if you can go outside and let them know where you plan to be. Get a grown-up's permission before starting this lesson. You may need to wait for another time to do this lesson safely. Have your grown-up read through this lesson with you and think about the best way to do it. Everyone's situation is going to be different and that's okay.  Also, look at the supplies list before you begin. We wouldn't want you to have to come back inside for a pencil or a piece of tape.  Have fun learning outside!

    Think and Observe

    Think about these questions:

    • How does a puppy look like an adult dog? How does it differ?

    • What would a puppy look like if its parents both had long fur, black fur, and floppy ears?

    In this activity, you will be looking at plants to determine the characteristics that they share with their parents.

    Explore

    Go outside to explore!

    Find several plants of the same type. For example, two oak trees or three rose bushes.

    Discuss these questions with someone at home:

    • How can you tell the plants are the same type?

    • If two things are similar, does that mean they are exactly the same?

    • Observe the traits of the leaves, flowers, and other parts of the plants carefully. How are their traits similar? How are they different? Are they exactly the same?

    • If these plants are parents, what do you think their offspring will look like? (Hint: Offspring are the young of the parent. For example, a baby is the offspring of its parents.)

    Write About It

    • Open your journal or grab your paper.

    Imagine what the offspring of your plants would look like. Draw a picture of the offspring and label the traits of the offspring that you think would be similar to the parents.

    Discuss this question with someone at home:

    • What is your evidence that the offspring in your drawing would have similar traits to the plants you observed?

    For Parents

    This activity will help students learn that traits are characteristics that help to identify living things. Traits can describe how a living thing looks and how it survives. Through exploration, students will discover that plants have similar traits, and can also have similarities and differences from their parents.

    When discussing plant traits with your student, ask them to provide evidence for their claims. For example, if the student observed two red rose bushes and predicted that the offspring would have red roses too, what is their evidence? They should refer back to the parent plants and reason that if the parents have the trait of red roses, then the offspring will probably have red roses too, because plants of the same type have similar characteristics.

    To extend the learning experience, ask students to imagine a type of animal. It could be an animal that is common in your environment or one of their choosing. Have students sketch the animal parents and offspring and label the similar features.