Genetics: Breaking the Code of Your DNA

Inquire and Investigate

by Carla Mooney, Samuel Carbaugh (Illustrations)

Why do children resemble their parents and siblings? Introducing young readers to the fascinating world of genetics, this educational resource presents the main concepts of the science, including what a chromosome does, how DNA is structured, and how genetic inheritance works.

In Breaking the Code of Your DNA students learn about new discoveries in the field of genetics and how those discoveries have helped to cure or even prevent certain diseases, as well as examine controversial issues in genetics such as genetically modified foods and stem cell research. Combining inquiry-based, age-appropriate activities with biology, Breaking the Code of Your DNA features graphic novel illustrations, fascinating sidebars, and a glossary of important vocabulary to illuminate the complex world of genetics and bring it to life. Projects include building 3D DNA double helix models, extracting DNA, using a Punnet Square to predict an offspring’s probability of inheritance, and evaluating the benefits and risks of genetically engineering a new species. Additional materials include a list of current reference works, websites, and Internet resources.

Genetics meets common core state standards in language arts for reading informational text and literary nonfiction and is aligned with Next Generation Science Standards. Guided Reading Levels and Lexile measurements indicate grade level and text complexity.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

128 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2014

About the author

Carla Mooney is an award-winning author of numerous nonfiction STEAM books for kids and teens. She hopes to spark a healthy curiosity and love of nonfiction in youth.

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly engaging read, but occasionally felt like an overload of too technical info. The suggested activities were a fun idea but some didn't feel like they provided enough information to actually complete. Overall we liked it though. My 6th grader really liked the comics.

[Ellery · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a great introduction book into genetics. It had a lot of information that stood up to time and a great jumping off point for starting to learn about genetics. There are a variety of experiments that help to Create a conversation while learning. The problem is that it’s about 10 years old and a lot of the information and jargon in the book is outdated. There are also a few “experiments” that don’t make sense and are hard to explain how it pertains to the information given. Most of the experiments are conversation starters to continue the readers education but a few rely on chance that wasn’t what was talked about in the section.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skimmed through the book for class purposes. Has some good information and nice comics. I could see how this book may be useful for students and definitely has potential for challenging projects for middle school students, in particular.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book got me to LOOK FORWARD TO SCIENCE CLASS (I didn't enjoy it back at my old school ONE BIT) So I think it did well.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and so did my boys. It was well laid out and had plenty of interesting facts and side-bars. It touched on the issues in genetics and was done in an fair way.