3rd Grade Inheritance and Variation of Traits: Next Generation Aligned

This product contains 50 slides that cover the basic inheritance and trait variation for elementary school students. The slides are aligned to Next Generation Science Standards but will work with any similar science standards across the world.

There is a PowerPoint and PDF file in the compressed folder.

That does not grant commercial rights to this information. All information is researched-based and is my understanding and interpretation of the content.

Next Generation Standards Addressed:

3-LS1-1   From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.

3-LS3-1   Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits
Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits exists in a group of similar organisms.

3-LS3-2   Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits
Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.


Topics included are:
Diversity in our world
General life cycles
Pattern of life
7 life processes: movement, reproduction, sensitivity, nutrition, excretion, respiration, growth (all 3rd grade appropriate)
Specific life cycles of frog, butterfly, salmon, squirrel, bald eagle (3 video links are included)
Passing traits from parents to offspring
Variation of traits
Environmental effects on ladybugs, finches, flamingos
Genes and the environment
Identical twins
Environmental impacts
Effect of chemicals, temperature, and light on traits