51ºÚÁÏ

This lesson provides opportunities for students to consider the impact of the selective breeding of food plants and domesticated animals. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been primarily designed to cover the content set out in point 6.2.3 of the AQA GCSE biology and combined science specifications, but also challenges students on previously-covered topics including sexual reproduction and inheritance.

The lesson begins with a picture of a cow auction and the students are asked to suggest what the farmers might be considering before making a bid. This leads into the concept of selective breeding and students will understand that this process has been used for thousands of years. A step-by-step guide goes through the 5 simple steps to selective breeding, and opportunities are taken to challenge current understanding and prior knowledge through exam-style questions. The answers to all questions are embedded into the PowerPoint to allow students to assess their progress.

The remainder of the lesson considers the issues with selective breeding, including the reduction in the size of the gene pool, and the health problems that are associated with animals that have been selectively bred for certain features.