Genetics Text Set

Biology 1
BIO1.LS3: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

Sydnie Hines
Genetics: Unlocking the Secrets of Life

Lokere, J. (2015). Genetics: Unlocking the secrets of

life. Abdo Publishing.
Basic Genetics Concepts
This text describes genetics in an easy to understand
fashion while also talking about the history behind it.
It encompases many basic things that you need to
know when you start learning about genetics. This
could be used as an introduction into the world of
genetics as it has a lot of pictures to help students
understand the concepts and principles behind
genetics. It would be useful in small group
discussions as I find it to be a rather easy book to
read.
Genetics: Everything You Need to Get Started
Napier, J. (2012). Genetics : Everything You Need to Get
Started. Hodder Education.

Basic Genetics

This book is about genetics and it has different ways to

relate genetics to the real world. This text has many
different graphics to help students wrap their heads
around the basics of genetics. It describes it in a very
interesting way that allows for even basic readers to get
the gist of it. I believe I would use this for an introduction
to genetics, as it explains things rather well and in an easy
to comprehend fashion. This would help many students in
small group discussions, or they could use it to look at the
topic on their own as it is easy to follow.
USMLE Road Map: Genetics
George H. Sack. (2008). USMLE Road Map:
Genetics. McGraw-Hill Education / Medical.

Genetics with Medical Relation

This book is about the in depth learning of genetics

with relation to the medical field. I would most likely
use this book as a more in depth guide to genetics,
but I would not use the entire book as the last few
chapters go into genetics with relation to the medical
field. I believe if any of my students are interested in
going into the medical field, then the last few
chapters would interest them very much.
BIOS Instant Notes in Genetics
Fletcher, H., Hickey, I., & Hickey, I. (2012). Bios
instant notes in genetics. CRC Press LLC.

Advanced Genetics Concepts

This book is about the more advanced genetic
concepts that a biology student needs to know. I
really like how in depth this book goes while
talking about genetics. This is definitely a book
that I would use for in depth learning of genetics,
and I feel as though I would use it for a whole
group instruction. I would consider this book to be
a little more difficult to read, but it goes over the
topic very thoroughly.
BIOS Instant Notes in Genetics - In Depth
With the different reading level methods, it hits the nail on the head of the subject
grade that I’d like to teach. To use this independently, I would need to ensure that
my students know basic genetics concepts, which is partially why I have easier to
comprehend texts within the text set as well as the more difficult texts. This book
would require a decent amount of background information before my students could
take off with it.

Method Level Grade Equivalent

Flesch-Kincaid 46.1 11.8

Dale-Chall 7.3 9-10

ATOS 10.8 11-12

BIOS Instant Notes in Genetics - Blooms Questions
1) Remember (Explicit)- Define what a gene is.
2) Understand (Implicit)- Explain how a frameshift mutation changes genetic
material.
3) Apply (Explicit)- Compare and contrast the differences between dominant genes
and codominant genes
4) Analyze (Implicit)- Examine the relationship between mutations and genetic
disorders.
5) Evaluate (Explicit)- Select the start and stop codons from this list of codons.
6) Create (Implicit)- Construct a sequence of DNA using the provided template
strand.
 BIOS Instant Notes in Genetics- Think Aloud
Source of variation
All genetic variation originates from mutations (Section A5),
which are changes in the sequence of bases in the DNA (or
RNA of RNA viruses). These usually destroy the allele’s ability to
function, and so are usually detrimental to the fitness of the
genotype. Null mutations are due to complete destruction of the
gene’s function, typically by deletion. Stop codons (nonsense
mutations) or frameshifts early in the coding sequence, or point
mutations changing essential amino acids (e.g. in enzyme active
sites) have similar effects. All loss-of-function alleles can be
considered together. They are recessive if a single copy of a
functional allele is sufficient to produce a normal phenotype.
They are usually deleterious (often lethal) when homozygous,
and cause the typical human genetic diseases. Some null
mutations may be advantageous (e.g. loss of the I A allele
prevents expression of the A blood group antigen, which is not
essential, and its loss confers some resistance to smallpox).
When I read the first sentence, I think to myself: “Okay, variation is changes and
mutations are what cause those changes and the sentence finishes by reminding me
what those changes are.”
Looking at the second sentence:
“When it says to destroy an allele’s function, that just means that it can’t do it’s original
job anymore, and being detrimental to fitness means that the organism’s ability to
survive has been lowered. So mutations cause survivability to lower.”
The third:
“Null usually gets said as null and void, so that means that a null mutation means that
the original job of the gene has been removed, and the text confirms this with the rest
of the sentence. It tells us that null mutations are usually caused by deletions.”
The fourth:
“Stop codons make a line of genes stop coding, and it has nonsense mutations in
parenthesis, so that means that nonsense mutations cause stops. A frameshift is
exactly how it sounds, the frame shifts. Point mutations pick a point and change the
amino acids, which we know by the sentence telling us. Similar effects meaning they
essentially do what null mutations do, they destroy a gene’s function.”
The fifth:
“Loss of function means exactly that, they lose their function.”
The sixth:
“Recessive means they can be covered up with a dominant allele, so if a loss of
function has one allele that works, then that one allele makes it normal.”
The seventh:
“The sentence tells me that deleterious means lethal, when homozygous means that
they’re the same (so aa, bb). It finishes by telling us that it causes typical diseases. So
loss of function alleles, when both alleles are recessive, cause genetic diseases.”
The last:
“This is simply telling us of an example when a null mutation can be useful.”
Genetics
Ahluwalia, K. B. (2009). Genetics. New Age
International Ltd.

Advanced Genetics

This book goes into extreme detail with

regards to genetics. I would consider this
book to be highly advanced and it would be
used for an in depth discussion of the topic.
The book has different genetics problems
within it and would be a good resource for
students to learn how to solve those
problems.
Genetics for Dummies
Robinson, T. R., Spock, L. (2019).
Genetics For Dummies. United States:
Wiley.

Genetics

This book is a very thorough

explanation on genetics and the
processes behind it. I believe I would
use this as a resource for small group
discussions, that way you can find
individual problems with the topic and
use the book to help them gain a
clearer understanding.
 Pedigree Illustration

This illustration would be used

to help students to see how
traits pass down through
generations.

The website is also a helpful

resource for students to use to
understand pedigrees.

Khan Academy. (n.d.). Pedigrees Review (article) | heredity. Khan Academy. Retrieved from
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/ap-biology/heredity/non-mendelian-genetics/a/hs-pedigrees-review
 Mitosis vs Meiosis Picture
This illustration should help students
to understand the processes between
mitosis and meiosis. When talking
about genetics, it is imperative that
students understand these processes.
When introducing them to these
concepts, a diagram is very important
for visual learners to see.

The website is also useful for students

to understand the processes.

Mitosis vs meiosis: 14 main differences along with similarities. Science Facts. (2020, November 3). Retrieved from
https://www.sciencefacts.net/mitosis-vs-meiosis.html
Reflection
This text set would be used during the study of inheritance and the variation of traits. It’s extremely important
for students to learn genetic concepts to understand these topics. I would use these texts during entire class
discussions and small group discussions to guide my students through each concept, as I find it to be a difficult
topic.

I searched through each book in this text set to ensure that it had materials that I found relevant for a high
school/dual credit biology course. The books are rich with content and they contain many different images for
visual learners and to provide easier comprehension. Each of these texts range from middle school to late high
school reading levels and I feel as though they are relatively balanced. Two of my text sets are upper high school
leveled and the others are middle school leveled, making them easier to read while covering the same topics. I do
believe that they all have different levels of depth within the subject, but at least two of them fully cover the entire
topic up to an advanced level. I learned most of these concepts in high school, and some I did not learn until
college, but I feel as though these texts provide a well rounded coverage of the subject and I believe that they’re
not too difficult to read.