Here is my investigation.

Hi Michelle,

This looks interesting and could be adapted for grade 7 students. Genetics is currently taught in the seventh grade curriculum in my district and students would have a greater understanding of DNA and chromosomes if they could observe pictures. Possibly, they could compare various DNA molecules and create a stack using ImageJ.

Hi Michelle,

Thanks for your lesson. What a great way for kids to learn about the structure of DNA and RNA. The biology teacher at our school is currently teaching this topic - I'll show her, too!

Karen :)

I am so impressed that you did this lesson with a special needs class. This is not the typical kind of lesson you would expect. You deserve a lot of credit for allowing your students to access the curriculum. Great job.

Hi Michelle, interesting investigation! Did you find that the students were more focussed on the graphing and using the computer and less on the content behind the graphing? I definitely learned that I need to split the project up into at least two parts: "learn how to use the analysis tools" and "applying the anlalysis tools". It very challenging to teach them concurrently.

Michelle,

That was a really interesting investigation. It gives students a chance to really visualize DNA. The concept of DNA and all that it does if very confusing for 7th graders. I hope I can find the time to pare it down a bit for my students next year (we've already covered DNA and genetics).

Hi
Marie, the images I found were different scales. I think that the images would have to be resized to make a stack. I really had trouble finding goo measurable images to use. It took longer than I anticipated.

David, Yes, it really took a lot of work due to the lack of preexisting skills. We took time at the end of the lesson to analyze the data they produced. Then there were the "oh I get it's"