Lesson Plan: DNA Discovery and Structure Biology
This lesson plan includes the objectives and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to describe the structure of DNA and outline contributions made to its discovery.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- describe the structure of DNA as a polymer composed of many nucleotides joined by phosphodiester bonds forming a sugar–phosphate backbone,
- recall that DNA is held in a double-helix shape by hydrogen bonds that form between complementary base pairs,
- understand that DNA is read in the – direction,
- apply knowledge of DNA base pairings to simple calculations,
- recall that the double helix model of DNA was proposed by Watson and Crick,
- outline the contributions of Rosalind Franklin to the discovery of DNA structure.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- DNA replication/synthesis.
