Unit Plan 25 (Grade 7 Science): Artificial Selection & Technology
Humans use technologies like selective breeding and genetic tools to influence traits in crops and animals, speeding changes while weighing benefits and tradeoffs.
Focus: Gather and synthesize information about technologies that influence artificial selection, showing how humans choose and enhance traits in plants and animals using both traditional breeding and modern biotechnologies.
Grade Level: 7
Subject Area: Science (Life Science — Biological Evolution & Human Influence)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
In this unit, students investigate how humans have used artificial selection to shape traits in plants and animals, from traditional selective breeding to more modern technologies. They compare artificial selection with natural selection, then gather information from articles, diagrams, timelines, and videos about tools and technologies that make trait selection faster, more precise, or more powerful. Students consider benefits, tradeoffs, and impacts on food supply, biodiversity, and ecosystems, then synthesize their learning into a clear product aligned with MS-LS4-5.
Essential Questions
- What is artificial selection, and how is it different from natural selection?
- How do technologies (such as controlled breeding methods, greenhouses, genetic tools, and data systems) influence which traits humans can select and how quickly they can change a population?
- What are some benefits and tradeoffs of using technology to influence traits in crops, livestock, and other organisms?
- How can we gather and synthesize information from multiple sources to explain how artificial selection technologies work and why they matter?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Define artificial selection and explain how it differs from natural selection in terms of who/what chooses which traits are passed on.
- Identify examples of human-influenced trait selection in plants and animals (e.g., crop varieties, livestock breeds, companion animals).
- Gather information from multiple sources (texts, charts, timelines, images, short videos) about technologies that influence artificial selection (e.g., controlled breeding programs, artificial pollination, marker-assisted selection, genetic engineering, data and tracking tools).
- Describe how these technologies make artificial selection more efficient, targeted, or widespread, and summarize benefits and tradeoffs.
- Create an Artificial Selection & Technology Brief or Infographic that synthesizes information about at least one technology and clearly explains how it influences artificial selection, aligned with MS-LS4-5.
Standards Alignment — 7th Grade (NGSS-based custom)
- MS-LS4-5 — Gather and synthesize information about technologies that have changed the way humans influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms (artificial selection).
- Students gather and combine information from multiple sources on traditional and modern technologies and their impacts on trait selection.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can explain what artificial selection is and how it differs from natural selection.
- I can give examples of how humans have used technology to influence traits in plants and animals.
- I can gather information from more than one source and combine it into a clear explanation of how one artificial selection technology works.
- I can describe at least one benefit and one tradeoff of using technology to influence traits.
- I can create a brief or infographic that someone else can read to understand how a technology affects artificial selection.