Dogs & DNA

Learning goal: Compare pets and stuffed animals to distinguish between living and non-living things (e.g., living things grow, reproduce and have DNA).

• Reading= I Wish My Brother Was a Dog by Carol Diggory Shields (or Chewy Louie by Howie Schneider), The Perfect Pet by Margie Palatini, Corduroy by Don Freeman and The New Puppy by Judith Tabler. Cat lovers can include Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes. Letter of the day: D is for dog and DNA.
• Art= Make pet collars and dog ear headbands. Attach faux jewel stickers on a paper collar, write your name on it, then tape it around your neck. Personalize dog ears (also cutout from paper) using crayons, circle stickers for spots, or tissue paper for fur (orange, black, brown). Staple the dog or cat ears to a strip of heavy paper that can be placed around your child’s head. Tip: Dog ear cutouts can be made by tracing your child’s shoe.
• Science: Present a variety of living and non-living things (e.g., a plant, an animal, soil, a rock and a stuffed animal). Which of these things is alive? Explain that living things eat, grow, have families (or reproduce), and have feelings (or can respond to their environment). Talk about the plant or animal you brought. What does it eat? How tall will it grow? Will it have babies or produce seeds? How does it respond to weather and other animals or humans?
• Experiment: What makes living things grow? DNA! Extract DNA from dried peas using a blender, dish soap and rubbing alcohol. See instructions. Then plant pea seeds in soil using a clear plastic cup as a container. Measure the pea plants growth over time by marking its height on a piece of butcher paper. Track your child’s growth over time as well. Explain that plants, animals and humans grow because they have DNA. Additional reading: I Know How My Cells Make Me Grow by Kate Rowan.
• Play= Build dog houses out of tables and blankets, look for a hidden dog bone or ball of yarn, and serve lunch in dog or cat bowls. Or, visit a veterinarian and learn what they do to help sick pets feel well again.
  

Fun facts: DNA day is celebrated every year on April 25 to commemorate both the discovery of its structure in 1953 (see photo of James Watson and Francis Crick above) and the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003. The sequence of the dog genome was recently published in Dec. 2007.