EDU643+Jeremiah+Schmiege

This experience involves caring for and breeding fruit flies, analyzing one or two generations, and attempting to determine whether traits are dominant or recessive and whether they are sex-linked. The richest version of this set of experiences would be one in which students were able to carry out all of the different experiences over the course of a unit on biotechnology, DNA, or heredity. Depending on the time available to carry out the different exercises and the ability of the students, the teacher could carry out some of the steps outside the normal class hours and let students do smaller parts of the plan.
 * Introduction**

manage a small colony of fruit flies. determine gender of fruit flies. compare phenotypes of fruit flies. design an experiment to determine characteristics of certain traits. communicate findings accurately. keep an observation notebook and record experiences.
 * Objectives: The student will…**

Living cultures of a variety of different phenotypes of drosophilia ($8 - $20 each) Fly Media ($8) Empty Vials ($50) Dissecting Microscope FlyNap or CO2 ($14) Forceps Drosophilia manual ($7) Observation notebook Preserved fruit fly specimens of different phenotypes and genders there can be one of each available phenotype, but at least five of each gender. (teacher can use alcohol and live flies to prepare preserved flies)
 * Materials:**

//All prices drawn from the online version of the Carolina Biological Supply Company, retrieved from// [|//http://www.carolina.com/living-organisms/insects/flies/drosophila-fruit-fly/10592.ct?mCat=10476&sCat=10568&ssCat=10591&intid=srchredir_fruit_flies&_requestid=336349//]//. Alternatively, Carolina offers kits that combine specific phenotypes and more instruction. This would reduce the amount of inquiry that students would be able to do, but would allow for a more controlled experience.//

By the time they are analyzing the first generation of offspring, students should be familiar with the work of Gregor Mendel, Punnett squares, recessive and dominant genes, sex-linked traits and the basics of heredity. Students could do some of the initial steps during the beginning of the unit.
 * Background knowledge:**

Students will use a dissecting microscope and preserved flies to practice determining the gender of fruit flies. Students should look for the sex combs on the male flies’ forelegs, body size, and body coloring. The teacher should label preserved specimens 1-10. Students should attempt to correctly identify the gender of five of the ten flies and write down their observations in their observation notebooks.
 * Experience 1:** Determining fruit fly gender (10 min)

Students will use a dissecting microscope and preserved flies to compare the differences between a wild type drosophilia and some commonly found mutated phenotypes. Students should also compare some of the mutant phenotypes with each other. Students should draw pictures of some of their comparisons in their observation notebooks.
 * Experience 2:** Comparing phenotypes (10 min)

Groups of three to four students will type a proposal for a research project that attempts to ascertain something about fruit fly heredity. They should choose to cross two different phenotypes and then cross the offspring so that they can study parent, F1, and F2 generations of flies. The teacher should approve the project proposals before the students actually get to work on them. An example student proposal would say something along the lines of, “We want to study the heredity of the eye color trait in fruit flies by crossing wild type fruit flies with amber eyed fruit flies.” Better proposals could include a hypothesis about dominance, recession, or sex-linked traits. Still better proposals will include a description of the plan of action.
 * Experience 3:** Forming a proposal/hypothesis (overnight assignment)

Groups of students should first prepare a vial with media to support about ten breeding flies and their offspring. They should follow the instructions on the package of media. When the teacher has approved their vial, students will obtain live virgin female flies of one of their chosen phenotypes. They will also obtain males of a different phenotype. (*) After placing the flies into the vial, it should sit for one or two days until the flies have successfully bred. Once it is apparent that the next generation of eggs/larvae are in the media, parent-generation flies should be removed from the vial. Students should record their process in their observation notebook. It will take a few days for this generation to mature, so experience 5 cannot happen for a few days.
 * Experience 4:** Breeding flies (25 minutes, wait a day or two, 10 more minutes)

//Students could successfully complete Experience 5 if the teacher completed Experience 4 outside of class hours.// Students should anesthetize their flies with FlyNap or CO2 and observe them with a dissecting microscope. Students should make verbal and pictorial descriptions of all of the different phenotypes in their F1 generation in their observation notebooks. Students should tabulate the numbers of flies that belong to each phenotype, and make an initial analysis of which traits they think are dominant, recessive, and sex-linked. (#) After completing their observations and tabulations, students should return their flies to the vial of media and repeat the steps of Experience 4 starting with the (*).
 * Experience 5:** Observing the F1 Generation (40 minutes)

Students should follow the protocols for Experience 5 up to the (#).
 * Experience 6:** Observing the F2 Generation (40 minutes)

//Students could use live, anesthetized flies, preserved flies, or a data table to analyze data without completing any of the first six experiences. This would be the least rich experience and provide the least opportunity for inquiry, but could work in a time-crunch.// Using accurate data from the Parent, F1, and F2 generations, students should propose an analysis of which of the traits they studied were recessive, dominant, sex-linked, and unrelated. Students should compose a short paper (two or three pages) that includes predictions, methods, data tables, and analysis.
 * Experience 7:** Analyzing the data (40 minutes)

The student… || kept messy and incomplete notes with few pictures. || kept messy, but complete notes with some pictures. || kept a neat, complete notebook and included some pictures. || kept a neat, precise notebook that included many well-drawn color pictures. || The student… || correctly identified one or zero flies. || correctly identified three or two flies. || correctly identified four flies. || correctly identified five flies. ||
 * Assessment**
 * **Topic** || **Poor (1)** || **Fair (2)** || **Good (3)** || **Excellent (4)** ||
 * **Observation Notebook (4x)**
 * **Gender ID (1x)**
 * **Phenotype Comparisons (1x)**

The student… || made notes about one comparison. || made notes about two comparisons. || made notes about three comparisons. || made notes about four or more comparisons. || The student… || wrote a proposal that was incomplete or hard to understand. || wrote a proposal that only described the planned cross. || wrote a proposal that described the planned cross and expected outcomes. || wrote a proposal that described the planned cross, expected outcomes, and methods. || The student… || was messy and inaccurate. || was messy, but accurate. || followed all procedures. || followed all procedures and kept a neat work area. || The student… || did not accurately tabulate phenotypes. || tabulated phenotypes, and included pictures. || tabulated phenotypes and included pictures and initial analysis. || tabulated phenotypes, included color pictures, and initial analysis. || The student… || wrote a paper that was incomplete or too brief to effectively portray information. || wrote a paper that had the required parts, but was inaccurate or jumped to illogical conclusions. || wrote a logical paper that had all the required parts and accurate conclusions. || wrote a logical paper that had all the required parts, accurate conclusions, and comparisons to fellow student data. ||
 * **Proposal/ Hypothesis (2x)**
 * **Breeding (2x)**
 * **F1 and F2 Observations (2x)**
 * **Analyzing (5x)**

Artiss, T., & Hughes, B.(2007) The American Biology Teacher. //Taking the headaches out of anesthetizing drosophilia.// Retrieved from []. Carolina Biological Supply (2014) //Drosophilia (Fruit Fly)// Retrieved from [|//http://www.carolina.com/living-organisms/insects/flies/drosophila-fruit-fly/10592.ct?mCat=10476&sCat=10568&ssCat=10591&intid=srchredir_fruit_flies&_requestid=336349//]//.// Service, E. (n.d.). //The Wonderful Fruit Fly.// UNC Baccalaureate Education in Science and Teaching. Retrieved from [].
 * Resources**