Students investigate how inheritance patterns beyond simple dominant and recessive traits help explain real family and population data. Through a Trait Trail Walk, class trait data collection, graphing, pedigree analysis, critique cycles, and a genetic counselor Q&A, they build and revise evidence-based explanations of codominance, blood type inheritance, and other non-Mendelian patterns. The week leads to a public lab expo where students use posters and interactive models to explain their reasoning to guests. A final performance task asks each student to analyze a new pedigree and trait scenario and defend the most likely inheritance pattern with evidence.

Students will analyze pedigrees and non-Mendelian inheritance cases, including codominance and blood type, to determine the most likely pattern of inheritance and justify their conclusions with evidence. They will collect observable trait data, organize it in tables and graphs, and use those patterns to compare traits across families and populations. Students will revise their explanations after peer critique and use accurate genetics vocabulary in conversations with a genetic counselor and expo visitors. They will communicate their reasoning through a poster set, an interactive family trait model, and a short performance task based on a new pedigree and trait scenario.

Students will create a Patterns in Inheritance poster set that includes a pedigree, a non-Mendelian trait chart, class data tables or graphs on traits such as blood type and eye color, and a short claim-evidence-reasoning summary. They will also build an interactive family trait model using flip cards or sliders so expo visitors can test codominance, blood type, and pedigree outcomes during quick conversations. Throughout the week, teams will produce and revise trait-trail evidence notes, draft pedigree analyses, and comparison feedback on graphs and pattern explanations after peer critique rounds. By the end, each student will complete a short performance task analyzing a new pedigree and non-Mendelian scenario and defending the most likely inheritance pattern with evidence.

Open with a Trait Trail Walk in which students rotate through fast, hands-on stations featuring eye color, blood type, codominance examples, and pedigree puzzles, recording patterns they notice in families and populations. At each stop, teams sort evidence cards, make quick predictions about likely inheritance patterns, and add class data to a shared table or graph that will be revisited later. End with a brief whole-group debrief that introduces the driving question about inheritance beyond Mendel, then use a three-minute circle for students to name one pattern they saw and one question they still have.

Host a “Patterns in the Family Lab Expo” where student teams run small interactive tables for classmates, families, and the guest genetic counselor. At each table, visitors compare a pedigree, a non-Mendelian trait chart, and a flip-card or slider model for blood type, codominance, or other inheritance patterns, while students explain their claim-evidence-reasoning in quick one-on-one conversations. Include a feedback card or sticky-note prompt asking guests to name the inheritance pattern they think fits each case and one question they still have, giving students a final chance to discuss and clarify their reasoning. End with a brief whole-group share-out where teams highlight one surprising pattern they found in family and population data.