Dominant and Recessive Alleles

Use Genetics Vocabulary as a warm up or a review, depending on what students already know. Finish Dominant and Recessive Alleles before starting Punnett squares, so genotypes are familiar.

Complete a pea plant table of genotypes and phenotypes, marking homozygous or heterozygous. The directions on the page read: Read the passage and study the drawing of one gene on two chromosomes. Then answer on page 2. An answer key is included.

Yes, both. We made it for 6th Grade living things, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens with heredity. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

A genotype is the pair of alleles an organism has, such as Tt. A phenotype is the trait you can see, such as a tall pea plant. Dominant and Recessive Alleles has students write the phenotype for six genotypes.

An organism with two of the same allele, such as TT or tt, is homozygous for that gene. An organism with two different alleles, such as Tt, is heterozygous.

No. A learned skill is an acquired trait, so it is not passed on through genes. Inherited and Acquired Traits uses examples such as riding a bike, speaking Spanish and a bird's learned song.