Grades 7-12 Resources
Middle school and high school students have attended biotechnology presentations on the UH campus through their involvement with 4H and other programs. These resources are based on those presentations. We have adapted them for classroom use with the goal of making it easier for you to include agricultural biotechnology in your curriculum. Please contact us with any suggestions for improving these resources or for additional resources.
Biotechnology Basics
A fun PowerPoint presentation that introduces the importance of DNA research in the field of agriculture.
This brief flash introduces the concept that humans have been changing Plants for thousands of years. Genetic Engineering is one tool in this process.
Issues and Concerns about Biotechnology
This debate activity can be used to introduce the controversies surrounding GE. The activity can then be used as a model for a classroom debate.
Tasting and Labeling of GE foods
A common misconception is that you can tell foods are GE by their taste. In this activity, students try to identify which foods are genetically engineered by tasting them. Students learn that different tastes in foods are due to different brands or varieties and that GE is specific for other characteristics.
Genetics & DNA
Students extract and compare the DNA from different types of fruits.
The Case of the Missing Necklace
A lesson to introduce gel electrophoresis and DNA fingerprinting. This crime scene case provides illustrations and uses a Hawaii scenario.
Introductory lesson for Punnett Squares followed by exercise to count the color of corn kernels that demonstrates the 3:1 ratio in a heterozygous cross.