Teacher sheet · Ages 6–7 · about 45–50 minutes
DNA: the instructions inside you
Lesson page: echoesof.science/school/dna/ages-6-7/ · Pupil worksheet: echoesof.science/school/dna/ages-6-7/print/
Learning aims
- Know that living things carry instructions called DNA in their cells.
- Know that DNA is shaped like a twisted ladder (double helix) and is written with four letters.
- Apply the pairing rule A–T and C–G.
Lesson plan
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 5 min | Starter: how does a cake recipe tell you what to do? Living things have a recipe too. |
| 10 min | Read the text together. |
| 20 min | Build the paper DNA ladders in pairs and fill in the table. |
| 5 min | Game: Has DNA or not? |
| 5 min | Quiz. |
Materials for the experiment
- Two long strips of paper (the sides of the ladder)
- Small paper rungs in four colours: red, yellow, blue and green
- Glue sticks
- Felt-tip pens
Safety: Use child-safe glue and round-ended scissors if the rungs need cutting. Wash hands after gluing.
Common misconceptions
| Pupils may think… | Actually… |
|---|---|
| Only people have DNA. | Almost all living things have DNA: plants, animals, fungi and bacteria. |
| Plants have no DNA because they are not animals. | Plants are living things and have DNA in their cells too. |
| Children are copies of one parent. | Children get half of their DNA from each biological parent. |
Worksheet answers
- Four rungs, each A–T, T–A, C–G or G–C.
- G.
- A twisted ladder (a double helix).
- Any two living things, for example a dog and a tree.
Quiz answers
- What is the name of the instructions inside our cells? DNA. DNA holds the instructions of living things.[2]
- What shape does DNA have? A twisted ladder. DNA is a double helix, like a twisted ladder.[2]
- How many letters are used to write DNA? Four. DNA uses A, T, C and G.[1]
- Which letter always pairs with A? T. A always pairs with T.[1]
- Is the DNA of two people very different? No, it is almost exactly the same. More than 99% of human DNA is the same in everyone.[2]
Going further
Write a secret word using only A, T, C and G on one side of a ladder. Can a friend write the partner side without looking?
Sources used in this lesson
- [1] Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Fact Sheet (National Human Genome Research Institute (NIH)): reliability High
- [2] What is DNA? (MedlinePlus Genetics, U.S. National Library of Medicine): reliability High
- [3] What is a gene? (MedlinePlus Genetics, U.S. National Library of Medicine): reliability High
- [4] Chromosome (Talking Glossary of Genomic and Genetic Terms) (National Human Genome Research Institute (NIH)): reliability High
Full list with links and a note on each source's reliability: echoesof.science/school/dna/sources/
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