This Inheritance of Traits 5E Unit Plan is an inquiry-based unit that focuses on providing evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents. Variation of traits is also explored within groups of similar organisms. Students analyze the many characteristics of organisms and determine which are inherited from parents. Students also look at variations of traits and analyze how those traits look and function in different organisms. The unit includes three parts for each of the 5E’s (Engage, Explore, Explain, Extend, and Evaluate) and more.

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• Google Slides Teacher Presentation that supports the student resources
• Google Slides Student Resources for a paperless option
• Google Form Exit Cards

Included in this Inheritance of Traits Science Resource

• Teacher Notes that provide an overview of the resource and explanation of the NGSS standard for Inheritance of Traits 3-LS3-1
• Common Misconceptions about Inheritance of Traits
• Teaching Timeline available with four different options, including a correlation with the Third Grade Science Stations
• Vocabulary Cards to reinforce key terms for the inheritance of traits throughout the unit. These are the same vocabulary cards available in the Third Grade Science Stations
• Big Idea Posters that illustrate the main concepts students will learn
• Exit Tickets in three formats: short answer, fill-in-the-blank, and multiple choice
• Google Slides Teacher Presentation that supports the student resources
• Google Slides Student Resources for a paperless option
• Google Form Exit Cards

What is the 5E Instructional Model?

The 5E Model is student-led, with the teacher acting mainly as the facilitator. Through open-ended questions, real-life experiences, guided investigations, and research, the students gain a deep understanding of the scientific topics that are covered in the lessons. Each stage of the model serves as a foundation to the next, creating a coherent model that frames lessons, activities, and units.

Find out more about the 5E Unit Plans in this blog post.

Objectives and Timeline for Each Section of the 5E Inheritance of Traits Unit

Engage

Objectives:

• Students will access their prior knowledge about how living things inherit their traits.
• Student interest in inheritance of traits will be elicited.
• The teacher will be able to identify student misconceptions about the inheritance of traits.

Parts and Duration:

• Part 1 (What Is This?): 10 minutes
• Part 2 (My Experiences): 15 minutes
• Part 3 (Introducing): 15 minutes

Explore

Objectives:

• Students will work together to investigate traits of living things. They will do this by observing different types of plants and animals, comparing and contrasting traits.
• Students will gather general information about traits.
• Students will begin to think about traits that organisms inherit versus traits that are acquired over time.
• Students will analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits exists in a group of similar organisms.

Parts and Duration:

• Part 1 (Check It Out): 20 minutes
• Part 2 (Watch and Read This): 15 minutes
• Part 3 (You Try It): 15 minutes

Explain

Objectives:

• Students will work collaboratively to observe and discover more inherited traits.
• Students will listen to the teacher’s explanation about the inheritance of traits.
• Students will use the new information to revise their explanations about inherited traits.

Parts and Duration:

• Part 1 (What Does It Mean?): 15 minutes
• Part 2 (What Are Inherited Traits?): 20 minutes
• Part 3 (Putting It All Together): 20 minutes

Extend

Objectives:

• Students will apply what they have learned about the inheritance of traits to a new situation.
• Students will deepen their understanding of inheritance of traits, gaining a more generalized knowledge of this specific scientific concept.
• The teacher will resolve all persisting student misconceptions about how traits are inherited.

Parts and Duration:

• Part 1 (Where Are the Traits?): 15 minutes
• Part 2 (Show What You Know): 20 minutes
• Part 3 (Have Fun With It): 20 minutes

Evaluate

Objectives:

• Students will evaluate their own understanding of inheritance of traits.
• Students will be able to demonstrate knowledge of the concepts and vocabulary.
•  The teacher will encourage students to ask questions that could lead to future investigations.

Parts and Duration:

• Part 1 (What I Know): 15 minutes
• Part 2 (Showing Inheritance): 15 minutes
• Part 3 (Going Forward): 15 minutes