Curriculum Summary

It is “(DNA for) Dinner” Time! The five lessons in this curriculum, designed for fifth through eighth grade participants in classroom or afterschool venues, include: Dare to Be Different (organisms, genetic diversity);  Language of Life (genomes, genetic code); DNA for Dinner (genes, DNA, reproduction); Building Blocks to Organisms (amino acids, proteins, enzymes); and From Bread to Biotech (classical breeding, genetic engineering, restriction enzymes). Each lesson has an introduction, open-ended discussion questions, math puzzles and three to five activities to demonstrate key points of the lesson.  Some activities are computer-based, some hands-on and some are physical activities. Each lesson targets National Science Education Content Standards in Life Sciences for Grades 5 through 8. The curriculum development was funded by the American Society of Plant Biologists and completed in November 2010.  The curriculum may be accessed at the DNA for Dinner Website (http://ucbiotech.org/dnafordinner/index.html).