DETAILED LESSON PLAN IN SCIENCE

I. Objectives
Given an activity, at least 90% of the students will be able to:
a. describe the structure of the DNA molecule;
b. explain rules of base pairing; and
c. create a DNA model based Chargaff’s rule.

II. Subject Matter

A. Deoxyribonucleic Acid Structure
B. Materials: Licorice stick (twizzlers), colored marshmallow, toothpick and students hand
out, paper clips, and masking tape
C. Time Allotment: 1 hour
D. Values: Collaboration, Critical thinking

III. Lesson Procedure

Teacher’s Activity Student’s Activity
Preparatory Activity
A. Opening prayer.
Dear God,

Thank you for our school. We pray it would

be a safe place of learning, fun and
friendship. Please watch over all our
teachers, children and families.

Help us to learn new things, to explore the

world together and to play and be happy.

Help us to have love for each other, to have

forgiveness at our heart, and to build
kindness into every day.

Amen.
B. Checking of attendance.
C. Checking the physical condition of the
classroom.
(Let the student arrange their chairs and pick-
up pieces of paper.)

Motivation
If you want to bake a batch of chocolate chip
cookies, what would you need?
You probably need some chocolate chips,
flour, sugar, butter and eggs.

Correct! And maybe some nuts or rolled oats

if you like. But, how do you know how to
make it? By using a recipe!

That’s right! But why do you need a recipe?

Because recipe contains the instructions for
how to put all the ingredients together to
make the cookies.
Exactly! Now let's say instead of making
chocolate chip cookies, you wanted to clone a
human. What would you need? You would need a donor cell, and an
unfertilized egg.

Very good! And, where is the recipe that tells

us how to combine all the ingredients to make
or to clone a human? Our DNA contains the recipe for making the
cells and proteins in our bodies.

That's right! Now you are ready for our lesson

which is all about DNA.

Lesson Proper
Class, did you now that if uncoiled, the DNA
in all our cells would go 10 billion miles.
That’s from Earth to Pluto – and back.

Do you know who discovered DNA? James Watson and Francis Crick discovered
DNA.
You’re correct! The discovery of the double
helix was by James Watson and Francis Crick
of Cambridge University, UK.

Do you have any idea about DNA what DNA

is? DNA stands for DIOXYRIBONUCLEIC
acids. It provides the instructions for
building and operating all living things.
Very good! DNA is a pair of molecules
usually found in each cell's nucleus that
contains codes (the recipe) for the proteins
that make our body tissues.

Do have another definition of DNA class? DNA is also called the blueprint of life and
is a genetic material.
That’s right! It is called the blue print because
it contains instructions needed to build cells.

Please take a look at the illustration on board.

This illustration is a structure of DNA. What
can say about it? The illustration of DNA is twisted like a
ladder.
Yes you’re right!

But it is not just twisted like a ladder but it is

twisted to the right. And this is called a
DOUBLE HELIX. DNA is a very long
polymer.

What are the two sides of DNA?

The sides of the DNA ladder are called the
backbone and are made up of sugars
(deoxyribose) and phosphates.

You’re correct! The rungs, or steps, of the

ladder attach to the sugars and are made up of
paired nitrogen bases. There are four nitrogen
bases found in DNA: Adenine (A), Cytosine
(C), Guanine (G), and Thymine.
One important thing in DNA is the base
pairing. In base pairing we have follow the
Chargaff’s rule. Please read the Chargaffs
rule, please?
The base pairing according to Chargaffs rule
is that the relationship of that the number
of adenines equals the number of
thymines, and the number of cytosines to
the number of guanines. In other words
A= T and G=C.

Let us try complimentary base pairing of

DNA which you need for your activity later
on. For example the code of the genetic
material is T C A A T T T A A. What is the
base pair of the code?
The base pair of the code is:
AGTTAAATT
You’re correct! Do you want more?
Here is a longer one;

GGTACTTCAAGCTAGACC
The answer is:
CCATGAA CGATCGTGG
Very good! I think you are now ready for
your activity. If you don’t have any question
let us proceed to our activity which is building
your own DNA model.

Activity
Please count off up to 6.Group one will stay
together. Our activity for today is MAKING
YOUR OWN MODEL OF DNA. I am going
to give you hand out with the procedures. Let
us read the steps all together. Step 1. Choose one of the sequences in the
hand-out.
. Step 2. Assemble one side of your DNA
molecule.
Step 3. Label the backbone
Step 4.Match the chemical base pairs.
Step 5. Complete your DNA model.
Step 6. Twist your DNA model.
Step 7. Label your model.
You may start doing the activity. If you have
any questions feel free to ask me. Work
silently. Please follow the directions properly.

Before doing the activity I am going to give to

you the materials. First is the twizzler or the
licorice, this will represent the sugar-
phosphate backbone. The marshmallow will
also represent the four chemical bases. The
toothpick will represent the hydrogen bonds.
Okay you may start.

(After 10 minutes…)
Are you done class?
Yes ma’am!
Wow! You did a great job. You did well in
 making a model of DNA.

(When students have completed the

activity, assess their understanding of the
structure of DNA by examining whether or
not they have built and labeled their
models correctly and followed the rules of
base pairing. Teacher will act as a
facilitator. Also let one member of the
group to present their output.)

Generalization
Tell me what you know about DNA now?
That’s right! What is made up of the
backbone?
Correct! What is the code for the proteins that
our cells make?
It is shaped like a double-helix ladder.
The backbone is made of deoxyribose, a
sugar phosphate, and the ladder rungs are
the nucleotide bases.
The nucleotide bases are the codes for the
proteins that our cells make.

Can you give me again the four chemical

bases of the DNA? The four chemical bases are Adenine,
Thymine, Cytosine and Guanine.
Very good! Let me check your knowledge on
our topic. Please answer the following
question in ten minutes.

IV. Evaluation

Have Your DNA and Eat it Too!

1. What do the toothpicks represent in the candy model? Hydrogen bonds

2. Why could just the licorice not be considered a complete representation of the backbone?
How could the model be adjusted? Because the backbone consists of both a sugar
group and a phosphate group.
3. Why does using only one marshmallow for every nitrogen base make this model less
accurate? Because it uses the same size marshmallow for different sized base pairs.
The purines have two carbon-nitrogen rings and the pyrimidines have one carbon-
nitrogen ring, so only one marshmallow to represent both creates an inaccurate
scale.
4. What shape did you make out of the candy DNA? A double helix
5. If this was the DNA for an organism, what might it be called? Any made up organism
name… eg: the gingerbread man

V. Assignment
Research on the different uses and functions of DNA. Write on your assignment
notebook.

PREPARED BY: MARIFE D. GUADALUPE