COMPARISON OF NORMAL VS MUTANT ZEBRA FISH EMBRYOS

Author(s): Karen Moreira, Isla Cheung

Lesson Overview

Grade level(s):

Grade 1, Grade 2

Subjects(s):

Biology/Life Science

Topic:

COMPARISON OF NORMAL VS MUTANT ZEBRA FISH EMBRYOS

What you need:

Magic scopes, mutant fish in dishes

Grouping:

We will set up 4 stations with different mutants. Groups of 5 students will be assigned to each station to observe and discuss the mutations with scientists

Setting:

classroom

Time needed:

1hr

Author Name(s): 
Karen Moreira, Isla Cheung
Summary: 

Objective: Apply observation, description skills and teaching to your peers what you learned.

Learning goals/objectives for students: 

GOAL: At the end of this lesson, students should be able to describe the mutations observed, tell each other about it in a formal setting

Lesson Implementation / Outline

Introduction: 

Introduction to mutations (10 mins) We will give a brief explanation of why mutations occur and why scientists are so interested in learning about them in model organisms. This activity will illustrate a typical day in the laboratory and what scientists do all day. Use as context cartoons where there are mutant characters.

Activity: 

Observation of mutants under the microscope (15 mins) We will set up 4 stations with different mutants. Groups of 5 students will be assigned to each station to observe and discuss the mutations with scientists. Mutants observed: 1. Large heart (day 2) 2. Ventricle not contracting (day 2) 3. Blistering tails (day 1 and 2) 4. Stringy heart (day 2) Each student will be responsible for collecting one piece of information about the mutant: 1. Drawing the mutant 2. Size the heart and note the eye color 3. Heart physiology 4. Tail description and stage that the mutation is visible 5. How does the mutation affect the embryo as an adult? All students within a group should share information and at some point write all data collected in their notebooks.

Wrap-up / Closure: 

Student presentations (5 mins each) Students have a chance to teach the rest of the class about the mutant fish they have just learned about and get feedback. Each group presents together and each student is responsible for communicating the piece of information collected during the study.

Standards - Grade 1

Investigation and Experimentation: 
4. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:
a. Draw pictures that portray some features of the thing being described.
b. Record observations and data with pictures, numbers, or written statements.
d. Describe the relative position of objects by using two references (e.g., above and next to, below and left of).
e. Make new observations when discrepancies exist between two descriptions of the same object or phenomenon.

Standards - Grade 2

Life Sciences: 
2. Plants and animals have predictable life cycles. As a basis for understanding this concept:
a. Students know that organisms reproduce offspring of their own kind and that the offspring resemble their parents and one another.
c. Students know many characteristics of an organism are inherited from the parents. Some characteristics are caused or influenced by the environment.
d. Students know there is variation among individuals of one kind within a population.
Investigation and Experimentation: 
5. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:
c. Compare and sort common objects according to two or more physical attributes (e. g., color, shape, texture, size, weight).
d. Write or draw descriptions of a sequence of steps, events, and observations.
f. Use magnifiers or microscopes to observe and draw descriptions of small objects or small features of objects.
g. Follow oral instructions for a scientific investigation.
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