Arizona STEM

Acceleration Project

Strawberry DNA

Strawberry DNA

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A 5th grade STEM lesson

Kiera

Lombardi

3/7/2023

Notes for Teachers

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• Context: This lesson takes place in a classroom for approximately two hours
• Students may work in small groups of 2-4.
• An emphasis on identifying the purpose of DNA
• Encourage academic vocabulary to be utilized throughout the lessons.
• This activity works with food. Check for allergies and intolerances amongst your students.

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List of Materials:

• Book Material: I Love Strawberries!
• Comprehension Worksheet
• Strawberry DNA Experiment per group
• 3 fresh or frozen strawberries
• 1 zip-top bag
• DNA Solution (at end of slides)
• plastic cup
• rubber band
• coffee filter
• rubbing alcohol
• coffee stirrer or popsicle stick
• measuring utensils and beaker
• DNA Bracelet: per student
• pipe cleaner or string
• assorted beads/colors
• Activity Sheet

Arizona Science Standards

Science Standards:

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5.L3U1.9 Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about patterns between the offspring of plants, and the offspring of animals (including humans); construct an explanation of how genetic information is passed from one generation to the next.

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5.L3U1.10 Construct an explanation based on evidence that the changes in an environment can affect the development of the traits in a population of organisms.

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Science and Engineering Practices

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• ask questions and define problems
• develop and use models
• plan and carry out investigations
• analyze and interpret data
• use mathematical and computational thinking
• construct explanations and design solutions
• engage in argument from evidence
• obtain, evaluate and communicate information

Arizona ELA Standards

5.RL.2 Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details of the text; include how characters in story or drama respond to challenges, how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic, and a summary of the text.

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5.RL.6 Describe how a narrator’s or speaker’s point of view influences how events are described.

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5.SL.4 Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

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5.W.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Arizona Math Standards

5.MD.A Convert like measurement units within a given measurement system.

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5.MD.A.1 Convert among different-sized standard measurement units within a given measurement system, and use these conversions in solving multi-step, real-world problems.

Standards for Mathematical Practices (MP)

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1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. 2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

4. Model with mathematics.

5. Use appropriate tools strategically.

6. Attend to precision.

7. Look for and make use of structure.

8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

Reading Objective:

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We will describe how a character’s point of view can impact what happens in a story, using details from a story.

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Reading Agenda (60 minutes)

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Guess What?

I Love Strawberries

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Guess the Food

I am a perennial plant.

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In the United states, I grow well in California.

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I am usually red but can be yellow, white, large, and small.

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My seeds are on the outside.

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I am not a berry.

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I provide vitamin C to your diet.

What am I?

Strawberry!

Did you know….

A strawberry is not a berry, it is a fruit. The reason why strawberries are not berries. An actual berry has a fleshy outside with seeds on the inside.

What do you notice? What is similar? Different?

Let’s Read! Comprehension Questions

Science and Math Agenda (60 minutes)

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DNA: what is it?

DNA Bracelet

Strawberry DNA Experiment

Share or present

Strawberry!

Did you know….

A strawberry is not a berry, it is a fruit. The reason why strawberries are not berries. An actual berry has a fleshy outside with seeds on the inside.

What do you notice? What is similar? Different?

What is DNA?

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What is similar?

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What is different?

What is DNA?

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deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA): deoxyribonucleic acid; a self-replicating material present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent of chromosomes; the carrier of genetic information

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Details within the DNA cannot be seen with just the eye. You need special equipment.

Make a bracelet

1. Gather a pipe cleaner or string
2. gather at least eight beads that represent you. (these are your phenotypes)
3. Decorate your string or pipe cleaner with the beads that represent you.
4. This is your phenotype represented. Your DNA!

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Strawberry DNA

A strawberry has eight times the amount of DNA, which is why it is easier to extract.

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Soap:how does soap help clean dishes?

It helps to separate particles from your plate.

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Salt: helps proteins stay clumped and separate from fibers

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Cold alcohol: clumps the DNA and makes it visible

Assessment

• How does DNA change after an environmental change?
• What is the purpose of DNA?
• Attend to precision and measurement of solutions.
• Conversions of mL to ounces up to the thousandths place

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ELA Assessment

Questions on comprehension worksheet:

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1. How would you describe Jo’s character?
2. How do Jo’s actions change the events within the story?
3. What are some of the challenges Jo faces?
4. How does Jo respond to the challenges within the story?
5. What might Jo say if she wrote from a negative point of view?
6. How would Jo’s parents respond if she did not participate in the events within the story?
7. How would they respond if she had a negative point of view?
8. What might the theme of the story be?

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Differentiation

Assist students in conversion of mL to ounces.

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Create purposeful teams of students.

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Provide pre-measured ingredients for some students.

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Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

Some students may be interested in looking at the DNA under a microscope.

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Have students bring in other things which they can extract DNA from.

How to make the DNA extraction fluid

Make one day ahead of time to avoid bubbles

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Materials

1 gallon container

1/2 gallon (2000 ml) water

1/2 cup (120 ml) clear dish detergent

2 tablespoons (30 ml) salt

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Directions: in your gallon container, mix all ingredients until salt is dissolved and detergent has mixed well

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