Unit Plan 22 (Grade 7 Science): Mutations & Trait Effects

Focus: Model how changes in genes (mutations) can lead to harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects on proteins and traits, and explain why the impact depends on both the type of change and the environment.

Grade Level: 7

Subject Area: Science (Life Science — Inheritance & Variation; Molecular Models)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session

I. Introduction

In this unit, students zoom in on mutations—changes in the structure of genes—and explore how these changes can affect proteins and traits in different ways. Using and extending their previous gene→protein models, they simulate various structural changes (substitutions, insertions, deletions) and examine their effects on protein patterns. Through scenario cards and environmental contexts, students classify mutations as harmful, beneficial, or neutral, building toward clear explanations aligned with MS-LS3-1.

Essential Questions

• What is a mutation, and how does it change the structure of a gene?
• How can changes in gene structure impact the proteins built from those genes and the resulting traits?
• Why are some mutations harmful, some beneficial, and many neutral for an organism?
• How can models and scenarios help us describe and explain the effects of mutations without examining real DNA directly?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Define mutation as a structural change in a gene’s sequence (e.g., substitution, insertion, deletion).
2. Use and extend a gene→protein model to show how changing a gene’s sequence can change a protein pattern—or sometimes leave it mostly unchanged.
3. Explain, using models and simple scenarios, how gene changes can lead to harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects on traits and organism function.
4. Analyze environmental contexts to decide whether a particular mutation is helpful, harmful, or neutral in that setting.
5. Create a final Mutations & Trait Effects Model & Explanation that clearly describes why structural changes to genes may affect proteins and may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects, aligned with MS-LS3-1.

Standards Alignment — 7th Grade (NGSS-based custom)

• MS-LS3-1 — Develop and use a model to describe why structural changes to genes (mutations) may affect proteins and may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism.
  • Students manipulate symbolic gene sequences, map them to protein patterns, and classify effects using non-personal scenarios.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can define a mutation as a change in a gene sequence.
• I can use a model to show how a mutation changes (or doesn’t change) the protein built from a gene.
• I can classify a mutation as harmful, beneficial, or neutral based on how it affects the protein and the organism’s trait in a given environment.
• I can explain, in my own words, why not all mutations are bad and how some can be helpful or make no difference.
• I can create a diagram and written explanation showing how structural changes to genes may affect proteins and lead to different types of trait effects.