Inherited Traits, Variation of Traits, and Mutations in a Third Grade Science Project

Stop avoiding teaching heredity and genetics.

Grab this NGSS Inherited Traits Project instead!

Your students will LOVE discovering variations of traits and mutations with this hands-on tiger project!

STORY: Meet Morty the Tiger and his brand new baby sister, who was born with a special mutation (white stripes). He looks a lot like his mother, his older two siblings look like their dad, but why does this new baby look so different?

SCIENCE: Deep-dive into traits with definitions and examples in the animal and plant world.

PROJECT: Then play around with stripes, color, and size of the cubs and figure out what the parents must have looked like. Experimenting with an abstract concept like genetics is best done through hands-on projects.

ART: Design and draw your tiger cub with directed drawing pages and prompts.

What's included?

-1 NGSS-aligned project

-3 Learning Pages

-2 Exit Tickets (animal and plants)

-Teacher Guide

-Student Guide

-Project Explanation

-Answer Keys

-Directed Drawing Pages

What standard is completed?

-NGSS 3-LS3-1

-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.

Hope you enjoy!

-Abbey Allen

Owner & Designer of ARTventurous Animals

What's included?

-1 NGSS-aligned project

-3 Learning Pages

-2 Exit Tickets (animal and plants)

-Teacher Guide

-Student Guide

-Project Explanation

-Answer Keys

-Directed Drawing Pages