Why Do Living Things Look Different? Inherited Traits & Environmental Variations
Shared by A STEM Educator
Students will construct a written CER argument distinguishing between inherited traits and environmentally influenced variations, citing observable evidence and connecting it to the scientific principle that acquired traits are not passed to offspring.
Lesson Overview
Students investigate how traits can be inherited from parents or shaped by the environment, using flamingo coloration and drought-resistant crops as real-world anchors, culminating in a CER written argument.
Materials
- Trait sorting cards (eye color, scars, leaf shape, sun-bleached hair, flamingo feather color)
- Photos: parent dogs with puppies; pink vs. pale flamingos
- Photos: tall vs. short twin plants grown in nutrient-rich vs. nutrient-poor soil
- Plant height data table (printed)
- CER writing frame (printed)
- Science notebooks or lined paper
- Markers and sticky notes
- Optional: small soil cups with fast-growing bean seeds for demonstration
Scaffolded Task Progression
Sort the trait cards below into two groups:
- Group A: Inherited — passed down from parents through genes
- Group B: Environment-Influenced — caused or changed by surroundings, food, sun, injury, etc.
Trait cards: eye color, a scar on your knee, leaf shape on a tree, sun-bleached hair, flamingo feather color, number of fingers, a farmer's callused hands.
After sorting, complete this claim sentence:
*"I claim that [trait name] is an inherited trait because ___, while [trait name] is environment-influenced because ___."*
Read these two facts:
- Fact 1: Flamingos are born with white or gray feathers.
- Fact 2: Flamingos eat tiny shrimp and algae that contain a pink-orange pigment called carotenoid. The more they eat, the pinker their feathers become.
A flamingo at a zoo is fed a diet with very little carotenoid. Over time, its feathers turn pale.
Question: Is flamingo feather color an inherited trait or an environment-influenced variation? Make a claim and give one piece of evidence from the facts above.
*"I claim that flamingo feather color is ___ because ___. My evidence is ___."*
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