Make Science Fun Again!

It is the time of year where teachers across the country have only one thing on their minds:    End of course standardized tests!!!  It doesn't matter what state you live in, or by what name they are called, they are the same.  They are standardized tests.  Every teacher feels the pressure.  It seems that nobody cares if you make your class fun and exciting....JUST GET GOOD TEST SCORES!!!
Please teachers, don't fall into the testing trap!  Keep your class fun, engaging, and exciting and the test scores will probably be better than ever!

This week I had my biology students do a DNA extraction.  It is such a simple little activity and I worried that my students might find it boring.  Boy, was I wrong!  They thought it was the neatest thing ever.  At the end, they all asked for a plastic bag so that they could take their DNA home with them.

You can click here to download my DNA Extraction Lab for free.  I hope that you will check it out.  It is simple, easy to set up and easy to clean up.  And best of all:  It does not require any fancy lab equipment.  Anyone can do it!  It is appropriate for middle and high school students, but I believe that even a 4th or 5th grader could do it.  (You just might not want to use my follow up questions for elementary, though.  But the lab procedure is simple!)

We extracted the DNA from wheat germ, which can be purchased at any grocery store in the health food section.  Here is a photo:

The "blob" being held up from the beaker is a huge amount of DNA!
I really hope that you will download this lab.  It is free!

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