Module 1: How About Farming?

Introduction:

The plants and animals utilized today are, in most cases, very different in their form and genetics as compared to their ancestors. Early humans, by accident or design selected plants and animals that possessed desirable traits (i.e. had larger fruit, were easier to harvest, were tasty, were more docile, produced a lot of seeds, etc). Through time humans begin cross breeding to create better and more bountiful crops and livestock. In recent years the addition of molecular genetic knowledge; has allowed for the selection of plants and animals using genetic markers and provide the basis for manipulating them through genetic modification. This unit of study will take students from early domestication of plants and animals into current technology in plant and animal selection, the focus will be on tree improvement.

Learning Outcomes:

Each individual lesson within the unit will have its own learning out comes.

Lesson Title

• I’m Tired. Can’t We Just Stay Here?

Early humans were hunters and gatherers; this lesson explores reasons that may have lead to the domestication of plants and animals. A timeline of domestication is presented and students will create plant domestication “baseball Cards”.

Learning objectives:

• List the possible reasons for humans to start domesticating plants and animals
• State examples of plants and animal domesticated
• Create a timeline of domestication
• Design and produce a plant domestication “Baseball Card”

Curriculum Alignment

• North Carolina Science Standard 3.03 Interpret and predict patterns of inheritance

Time

• 3-50 minute class periods
• 1-1/2 to 2, 90-minute periods

Materials

• Student pages
• Access to computer and the internet
• Overhead projector
• Microsoft Power point software
• 5"x 8" index cards

Activities

• Pair students up. Show the PowerPoint slide, “Hunting and Gathering”.
• Ask the students for possible reason that humans would stop hunting and gathering. Come to a consensus on the subject.
• Explain to the students that by settling in one spot, allowed early humans to start observing plants and animals and determine which ones were desirable.
• Go over “Animal Domestication” PowerPoint.
• Hand out student sheet “Ancestor Baseball Card”