Semester 1 (Fall) · Week 9 (teaching week 9 of 17)Oct 19–23

Inheritance review, pedigree logic, SNPs, genetic counseling, and the MP1 data inflection.

Your PLTW coursework: Medical InterventionsUnit 2: How to Screen What is In Your Genes ▸ Lesson 2.1 Genetic Testing and Screening ▸ "Activity 2.1.1 Chronicles of a Genetic Counselor"

What to do if absent
Color keyLearn firstGet orientedDo the workLab daySafety netCheck yourself
Portal terms
CER:
Claim, Evidence, Reasoning: make a claim, back it with evidence, explain your reasoning.
SOP:
Standard Operating Procedure, the exact steps to follow (especially in a lab).
Tracker:
Your PLTW progress log where you record completed evidence.
myPLTW:
The PLTW course site where you do the online activities. Find it in Clever with your Microsoft sign-in, right next to Schoology.
Learn first

Week overview - Reading the Family Tree: Genetic Testing Launch

Oct 19–23

Use pedigree symbols and SNP evidence to predict whether a person is a and explain when a family would seek .

Week arc
  1. 1Open the teacher dataset linked in the PLTW course shell and skim the first family before you write anything.
  2. 2Draw the three core pedigree symbols (square, circle, line) and label one affected, one unaffected, and one individual.
  3. 3For two people in the dataset, write their next to their phenotype and circle whether each is homozygous or heterozygous.
  4. 4Find one SNP column in the dataset and decide, in one sentence, whether that tracks with the trait or not.
  5. 5Predict whether a labeled person is a and write a one-line reason using the words and pedigree.
  6. 6Draft one question you would ask a about privacy of these results, ready for the Monday debate.
By week end
  • You'll be able to read a pedigree and tell carriers from affected individuals.
  • You'll be able to connect a to its phenotype using language.
  • You'll be able to explain why a SNP can hint at status without proving disease.
The plan

Daily lessons this week

Open any day for its full lesson, the work due that day, and guided notes.

MondayMon, Oct 19
SNP and PTC case

-to-phenotype table for three individuals (homozygous/heterozygous labeled) and a written prediction.

TuesdayTue, Oct 20
Genetic counseling memo

Counseling memo: finding in plain language, list of what the result does and does not mean, one , and a sentence on the role of .

WednesdayWed, Oct 21
Access-to-results debate

One CER on direct patient access to raw genetic results plus a reflection naming one counterargument.

ThursdayThu, Oct 22
JCU bioethics 5: Is super hearing good for humanity?

Your worksheet: the side you argued, your three strongest arguments, the opposing point you had to answer, and where you actually stand now.

FridayFri, Oct 23
Gel electrophoresis lab

Gel banding with distances, largest-to-smallest ranking, two size estimates against the ladder, and an explanation of the size-migration relationship.

Get oriented

Quick intro to the week

  • Today launches Unit 2: every disease story starts with someone's DNA, and you are the detective reading the clues.
  • Goal for today: turn a pedigree and a few SNPs into a smart, careful prediction about who might carry a trait.
  • Monday is our bioethics debate. Genetic privacy is the question: who should be allowed to see your , and why?
  • Remember, all graded work, including the dataset and your debate prep, lives in the PLTW course shell, not on paper.
Do the work

Your PLTW coursework this week

Do this: Advance the Unit 2 genetic-testing benchmark by submitting your pedigree-plus-SNP prediction on the class site.

Know when done
  • An is one version of a gene, and combines two alleles while phenotype is the visible result.
  • A SNP is a single-letter DNA difference that can serve as a marker linked to a trait.
  • helps families interpret and risk results before they make decisions.
Be able to do
  • Interpret standard pedigree symbols to identify carriers.
  • Match a to its phenotype using a simple dataset.

📋 Tracker evidence due this week: your completed pedigree-plus-SNP prediction uploaded to the class site.

All PLTW activities are completed inside the PLTW course environment: this page only gives direction.

The plan

This week's PLTW tracker

Use this chart to keep your place. Nothing on it is turned in through the portal.

DayWorkTurn in
Monday · Mon, Oct 19SNP and PTC caseGenotype-to-phenotype table for three individuals (homozygous/heterozygous labeled) and a written carrier prediction.
Tuesday · Tue, Oct 20Genetic counseling memoCounseling memo: carrier finding in plain language, list of what the result does and does not mean, one next step, and a sentence on the role of genetic counseling.
Wednesday · Wed, Oct 21Access-to-results debateOne CER on direct patient access to raw genetic results plus a reflection naming one counterargument.
Thursday · Thu, Oct 22JCU bioethics 5: Is super hearing good for humanity?Your worksheet: the side you argued, your three strongest arguments, the opposing point you had to answer, and where you actually stand now.
Friday · Fri, Oct 23Gel electrophoresis labGel banding data table with migration distances, largest-to-smallest ranking, two size estimates against the ladder, and an explanation of the size-migration relationship.
  • M: genetic privacy debate
  • T: pedigree notes
  • W: SNP dataset
  • Th: counseling memo
  • F: MP1 tracker audit

Turn in: Inheritance review, pedigree logic, SNPs, genetic counseling, and the MP1 data inflection. weekly work due Genetic counseling case memo and tracker audit.

Go to Schoology to turn this in.

Submit one PDF. Put your first and last name in the document header. Name the file: FirstName LastName - Assignment Title - YYYY-MM-DD.pdf.

Open Schoology PDF upload help

If you cannot get in, see Mr. Mendoza. Do not skip the work.

The week, drawn

4 panels from the illustrated semester.

Fiction. There is no such student. The lessons, labs and dates are the real planned course; the student, the classmates and the conversations are invented.

Safety net

What to do when absent

If YOU are absent

Most days, this class is your PLTW coursework: and PLTW is online and individual. So being out usually just means doing exactly what we did in class, from home.

Open Clever, then myPLTW

Sign in to Clever with your district Microsoft account to open Schoology or myPLTW. Follow today's posted steps. If myPLTW will not open, use the posted alternative and tell Mr. Mendoza. Turn in your completed work through the Schoology assignment.

Was today a lab or a group activity?

You can't do those from home: do this instead: Teacher dataset.

If MR. MENDOZA is absent

Class still runs. A substitute will post today's plan: complete the online activity above; it's built to be self-guided. Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:

MedlinePlus: What is genetic testing?
Words

Vocabulary

/JEE-noh-type//FEE-noh-type//PED-ih-gree/(Single Nucleotide Polymorphism)
Explore

Teacher-posted resources

Classroom documents for this lesson are posted in Schoology. Open Clever, then Schoology, and find each one by the name shown on its card.

Extension / challengeFor: Ready to go deeper
MI Activity 2.1.4 Genetic Testing (Optional)
worksheet/handoutPosted in Schoology
Open in Schoology

Use this after the required lesson work when you are ready for a harder application or a deeper connection.

Placement rationale

Matched Genetic testing, PTC, pedigree, SNPs by path:Medical-Interventions/Unit-2_How-to-Screen-Your-Genes/2.1_Genetic-Testing-and-Screening; keywords:genetic testing, screening, ptc. Score 150. Visibility: student-schoology (student-facing resource; link through Schoology rather than local path).

Use during lessonFor: Everyone
MI 2.1 Genetic Testing vocabulary list
worksheet/handoutPosted in Schoology
Open in Schoology

Use this as the classroom resource for Genetic testing, PTC, pedigree, SNPs.

Placement rationale

Matched Genetic testing, PTC, pedigree, SNPs by path:Medical-Interventions/Unit-2_How-to-Screen-Your-Genes/2.1_Genetic-Testing-and-Screening; keywords:genetic testing, screening, snp. Score 146. Visibility: student-schoology (student-facing resource; link through Schoology rather than local path).

Catch-up / reteachFor: Need extra support
MI Lesson 2.1 References
worksheet/handoutPosted in Schoology
Open in Schoology

Use this if you were absent, got stuck, or need another pass before you submit the lesson artifact.

Placement rationale

Matched Genetic testing, PTC, pedigree, SNPs by path:Medical-Interventions/Unit-2_How-to-Screen-Your-Genes/2.1_Genetic-Testing-and-Screening; keywords:genetic testing, screening. Score 142. Visibility: student-schoology (student-facing resource; link through Schoology rather than local path).

Sign in to Clever with your district Microsoft account to open Schoology or myPLTW. Follow today's posted steps. If myPLTW will not open, use the posted alternative and tell Mr. Mendoza. Turn in your completed work through the Schoology assignment.

Aligned to

Standards this week

Genetics of Disease 072130 · 5.8 Biotechnology Research and Experiments
NGSS argumentation from evidence
Check yourself

WebXam practice

Tap an answer to check it · nothing is recorded or graded
A family pedigree shows that many male relatives, but very few females, are expressing a disorder. What kind of genetic disorder is this most likely to be?
Susy's mother Laura was diagnosed with sickle cell (autosomal recessive), but Susy herself tested negative for the disease. What is Susy's genotype?
Susy (heterozygous) and her husband (heterozygous) want to know their risk of having a child WITH sickle cell disease. What is that likelihood?
A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is best described as which of the following?