August 2003
Susan
E. Wagner High School, Staten Island, NY
What
are most recent developments in animal and human cloning?
In this lesson, students act as research scientist and investigate the development of animal and human cloning. They then report their findings, both orally and visually, to their ‘colleagues’ at a symposium on cloning research.
Motivation
Students respond to the following in their notebooks,
written on the board prior to class: “At a recent symposium on cloning, three
scientist vowed that despite the possible risks they are going to attempt to
clone humans”. Fold a piece of
paper in your notebooks in half vertically. Label the left column ‘Benefits’ and the right column
‘Drawbacks.’ Consider what the potential benefits and drawbacks of human
cloning might be, and record your responses in the appropriate columns on your
paper”. After five to ten
minutes, ask students to share their responses and record them on the board.
Resources
/ Materials:
-pens/pencils
-paper
-classroom blackboard
-copies of "Despite Warnings, 3 Vow to Go Ahead on Human Cloning" (one
per student) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20010809thursday.html)
-reference materials with information about genetics and cloning (computers with
Internet access, encyclopedias, textbooks, library references)
-scissors, poster board, construction paper, tape or glue, sets of colored
pencils (one of each per small group)
Procedure
Divide students in six groups.
Explain to students that they will be acting as teams of research
scientist preparing for a symposium on developments in human cloning.
Each team will conduct basic research on their topic and prepare a poster
presentation to explain their findings to their “colleagues”.
Assign each group one of the following aspects of cloning-related topics
to research using all available classroom resources.
(A print out of the following topics will be
distributed to each group):
1.
What is
mitosis?
2.
What are
“autosomal” cells?
3.
What are
some examples of organisms that reproduce asexually?
4.
What is
meiosis?
5.
What are
“gametes” or “sex cells”?
6.
How does
a fertilized egg cell divide?
7.
What are
some examples of organisms that reproduce sexually?
8.
Create a
diagram of the chromosome structures used for both mitosis and meiosis, clearly
explaining how each process works.
Group
#2 Somatic Cell Nuclear
Transfer (SCNT)
1.
During
this process, what is removed from an unfertilized egg?
2.
What
replaces it?
3.
What does
the nucleus of a “somatic cell” contain that is necessary for this process?
4.
How is
the newly constructed cell stimulated?
5.
What
happens to the new cell after it has been stimulated?
6.
Create an
annotated diagram of the SCNT process.
Group
#3 In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
1.
How is in
vitro fertilization performed?
2.
What does
the egg retrieval procedure involve?
3.
How is
the embryo transfer conducted?
4.
What is
Lutron, and how is it used in an IVF procedure?
5.
What are
“FSH” injections?
6.
What are
“antral follicle counts”?
7.
What
other tests must be performed during the IVF cycle?
8.
Create an
illustrated timeline of the IVF cycle.
1.
What is a
human gene, and what does it do?
2.
What are
some of the diseases hat human gene therapy might cure?
3.
What are
stem cells?
4.
What is
the difference between “pluripotent” and “adult” stem cells?
5.
How are
pluripotent stem cells derived?
6.
Do adult
stem cells have the same potential as pluripotent stem cells?
7.
Create an
illustrated glossary of gene therapy terms and the disease this therapy might
treat.
1.
What
types of animals have been successfully cloned?
2.
What was
the first animal that was cloned?
3.
What
procedure was used?
4.
How long
have these animals lived?`
5.
What were
some of the unforeseen problems that arose?
6.
Create an
illustrated timeline showing the history of animal cloning.
1.
What
genetic information is required to clone a human or an animal?
2.
What are
DNA sequences?
3.
What
proteins are the constructed from?
4.
How are
genes transferred from a sperm to an egg cell?
5.
What is
“reprogramming”, and how does it “condition” the parent DNA in the
offspring?
6.
What does
genomic imprinting mean?
7.
What is
methyalation, and how long does a cell have to imprint before it methylates?
8.
Draw a
diagram of how genomic imprinting theoretically works to “turn on” a
cell’s ability to read genes.
Interdisciplinary Connections:
This lesson teaches the student to gather and use information for research
purposes. Uses a variety of resources materials to gather information for
research topics. Determines the
appropriateness of an information source for a research topic.
Organizes information and ideas from multiple sources in systemic ways.
This is how reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills are
addressed in this lesson.
Summary
Groups complete
their research and poster development. In
a future class, conduct a mock symposium on developments in cloning research.
Arrange desks in a circle, and have each group present their information
in the order of their group numbers. Allow
students to question presenters. Then,
as a class, synthesize how developments in cloning research have made an impact
on science, and speculate on further developments in human cloning.
In what ways is cloning humans similar to and different from past cloning
experiments? What would students
add to their initial “benefits/drawbacks” chart now that they know more
about this issue?
Grade
9-12
The
Living Environment:
Key Idea 1: Living
things are both similar to and different from each other and nonliving things.
Key Idea 3: Individual
organisms and species change over time.
Key Idea 4: The
continuity of life is sustained through reproduction and development
These
Key Ideas will be addressed in this lesson, in this way:
·
Students
will understand the genetic basis for the transfer of biological characteristics
from one generation to the next
·
Students
will know the chemical and structural properties of DNA and its role in
specifying the characteristics of an organism
·
Students
will know the ways in which genes may be altered and combined to create genetic
variation within a species
·
Students
will know that mutations and new gene combinations may have positive, negative,
or no effects on the organism and the features of human genetics
Collaborative
group work, speaking and demonstration skills.
Students’ learning will be assessed based on written notebook response,
participation in class discussion, participation in group brainstorming and
evaluation, and answers to specific set questions. The students will be graphing, collecting, comparing and
evaluating data. Collaborative
group work, speaking and demonstration skills
Numeracy Skills Demonstrated
Survey your home and examine cosmetics, drugs, foods and other products that contain genetically modified foods. Create a graph or series of graphs that illustrate the percentages of products in your home that might contain this type of product.
Other Skills Demonstrated
In this lesson, students are required to use critical thinking skills in cooperative learning groups. Through research and sharing information they are discovering different information while exploring possible benefits and drawbacks of human cloning.
Supplementary
Discovery Activities
1. Conduct a survey in your school, asking respondents whether or not cloning of humans should be allowed and what concerns they have based on their opinion. Then analyze the results and write a report based on your findings.
2. Research the use of DNA testing in forensic science, and write an article describing how genetics can be used to identify a person who is dead.