Punnett squares made easy with The Biology Project tutorial
May 7, 2009
Though Punnett squares may be one of the most basic things that students need to understand when studying genetics, they can be complicated at first. You should have heard my 7th graders when I introduced them…”Wait…how did you get that?” “What are the letters for again?” “How do I know what to put in each box?” Sometimes a student just needs a second opinion. One place they can get it with regards to Punnett squares is at The Biology Project’s Solving Punnett Squares Tutorial.
The tutorial provides a straightforward and visual way for students to look at solving problems. As you click along, you will encounter more genetics problems related to monohybrid crosses and Mendelian genetics. Each problem has a tutorial to explain the correct answer to the problem. In addition to being used as a reteaching tool, it could be used with absent students or students who are home-bound for some reason. Though the instructions use subject-specific vocabulary (heterozygous monohybrid cross anyone?), they are written in an understandable way.
So the next time your students look at you quizzically after teaching them how to solve Punnett squares, look no further than this website for another teaching tool. -REBECCAH HAINES
The Biology Project’s Solving Punnett Squares Tutorial
Related stuff:
Dragon DNA and other genetics fun: Genetics Web Lab Directory
