View Learn.Genetics Materials

Seeds of Change

Module Overview


These high school-level materials align with NGSS life science standards and connect foundational genetics concepts to real-world challenges in agriculture. Students explore how farmers and scientists work to maintain or increase crop yields under difficult growing conditions.

Through multimedia and paper-based classroom activities, students explore traditional breeding, gene editing, and transgenic technologies as different applications of genetic knowledge. Each method involves tradeoffs, yet all highlight hopeful solutions for addressing food security and human health.

Use these materials as a quick tie-in to a genetics unit or as a stand-alone activity to spark discussion about how genetics and related careers can help us feed more people with fewer resources.

Designed for US High School


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Suggested Lesson Sequence

ActivityDescriptionClass Time
Harvesting Innovation
Online interactive
Will require internet-connected devices for each student or pair of students.
“scrolly-teller” where students explore how people have used genetic knowledge to improve crops throughout history. Three timelines show how traditional breeding, transgenics, and gene editing have shaped plants to thrive in different environments.		20 min
Learning Objectives

Plant genetics can be manipulated using bioengineering techniques to create desirable traits that can withstand challenging growing conditions.

Students will:

  • Recognize that crop plant genes can be manipulated through a variety of methods to yield desired traits.
  • Describe how different traits make them more or less suited for success in particular growing conditions.


Teaching Tips
Crop 'til You Drop
Online interactive
Will require internet-connected devices for each student or pair of students.
game in which students take on the role of bioengineers, designing a crop while making strategic decisions to balance trade-offs such as yield and resource investment.
Less of a gamer? See “Teaching Tips” for a starter guide and video!		30-40 min
Learning Objectives

Describe how different traits make plants more or less suited for success in particular growing conditions.

With a large global human population, scientists must consider the balance between high yield crop production and decreasing genetic diversity.

Students will recognize that there are tradeoffs between crop yield and other factors such as genetic diversity, drought resistance, and pest resistance.


Teaching Tips
Stories from the Soil

Graphic Organizer
Paper-based activity
Classroom activity that has student materials available in paper or online formats.
where students explore crop improvement trade-offs from the perspective of different types of modern farmers.
“Teaching Tips” offers several ideas for implementing the activity with your students.		30-60 min
Learning Objectives

Recognize that because perspectives, values, economics, and practices vary, a successful solution in one set of conditions may be different from a successful solution in other conditions.


Teaching Tips

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