Inherited characteristics
I can identify inherited and environmental characteristics of different offspring.
Inherited characteristics
I can identify inherited and environmental characteristics of different offspring.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- When living things reproduce they pass on characteristics to their offspring. This is known as inheritance.
- Inherited characteristics are passed from one generation to another.
- Inherited characteristics include eye colour, height, skin colour, hair colour etc.
- Environmental characteristics are ones which are not passed down from parent to child.
Common misconception
Pupils may think that environmental variation, such as scars, piercings or muscle size and tone, can be passed on to offspring in the same way that inherited characteristics can.
Use the examples in the lesson to make clear the difference between characteristics that we are born with and those that are acquired, and how only those we are born with can be passed on to offspring.
Keywords
Generation - A generation in a family is all of the people born and living around the same time.
Characteristic - A characteristic is a feature or property of something that we can use to help identify it.
Inheritance - Inheritance is the process of passing on physical features from parent to offspring when they reproduce.
Inherited - Something which is inherited has been received from an ancestor.
Environmental - An environmental characteristic is one which has been learned or acquired during an organism’s lifetime.
Equipment
None required.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
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