1-LS3 Inheritance and variation - parents and offspring
Aligned to 1-LS3 — Next Generation Science Standards.
What this lesson teaches
Baby plants and animals usually look a lot like their parents, but they are not exactly the same. A puppy looks like its dog parents, yet it might have different spots or a different size. Looking alike but not identical is normal.
Worked examples
Example 1
In a litter of kittens born to the same mother cat, one kitten might be all gray, another striped, and another white with one black ear. They all came from the same parents but each looks a little different.
Example 2
Puppies look like their parents — four legs, floppy ears, a tail — but one may be spotted and another solid brown.
Example 3
A sunflower seed always grows into a sunflower, never a rose. Offspring are like their parents, just not identical.
Practice questions
- Do baby animals look exactly like their parents?
- Name one way a puppy might look different from its mother.
- Why might two kittens from the same litter not look the same?
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
1-LS3 Herencia y variación — padres y crías
Las plantas y los animales bebé generalmente se parecen mucho a sus padres, pero no son exactamente iguales. Un cachorro se parece a sus padres perros, aunque puede tener manchas diferentes o un tamaño distinto. Parecerse pero no ser idéntico es algo normal.
Ejemplo 1: En una camada de gatitos nacidos de la misma gata, uno puede ser completamente gris, otro rayado y otro blanco con una oreja negra. Todos tienen los mismos padres, pero cada uno se ve un poco diferente.
Ejemplo 2: Los cachorros se parecen a sus padres — cuatro patas, orejas caídas, cola — pero uno puede ser manchado y otro café liso.
Ejemplo 3: Una semilla de girasol siempre se vuelve un girasol, nunca una rosa. Las crías se parecen a sus padres, solo que no son idénticas.
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