Science at key stage 3 (Year 9)

Unit 9A: Inheritance and selection
Section 7: Why do farmers produce new breeds of animals?

Objectives

Children should learn:

to appraise texts quickly and effectively for their usefulness
to make precise links and connections within their own writing
that domestic farm animals have been bred to possess 'desirable' characteristics

Activities		Outcomes
		Children:
Explain to pupils that modern farm animals have been bred by humans to have characteristics that are desirable for stock management, or in the food produced. Ask pupils to suggest what particular features may have been desirable in breeding, eg dairy cattle, pigs, beef cattle, sheep, poultry. Remind pupils, eg by showing some examples of pupils' work, how to make precise links between ideas when they are putting together an explanation or argument, and about skimming texts to see whether they are useful or not. Provide secondary sources of information for pupils to use to find out more about breeds of domestic and farm animals. They could be asked to focus on specific issues, eg how 'desirable' features have changed through the ages the origins of domesticated farm animals how desirable features may be very local depending on the environment, such as short-legged sheep for upland hills how some breeds are now no longer used on farms but are still protected to ensure that useful genes are not lost Ask pupils to write an account of their findings about one of the questions, supported by pictures and/or diagrams.		identify useful sources of information select information relevant to the question describe and explain 'desirable' characteristics in a breed of animal, making clear links between the description and the reasons it is desirable

Points to note

Teachers will be aware, in choosing examples, of the need to be sensitive to the religious beliefs of some groups and to attitudes to eating meat.
Literature on breeds of farm animals and their particular characteristics may be obtained from sources such as farming organisations and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
A good example is the mating of Hereford bulls with Friesian cows to improve the meat quality of offspring, which also bear the white face of the Herefords as an identification mark. Details of genetics of the cross are not required at this level.
Extension: organise a visit to a farm or rare-breeds centre, where animals can be observed.

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This unit is divided into sections. Each section contains a sequence of activities with related objectives and outcomes. You can view this unit by moving through the sections or print/download the whole unit.


	1. What characteristics can be inherited?
	2. Why are offspring of the same parents similar but not identical?
	3. a. How do differences between offspring with the same parents compare with differences between offspring of different parents?
	4. b. How do differences between offspring with the same parents compare with differences between offspring of different parents?
	5. How are new breeds of animal produced?
	6. Checking progress
	7. Why do farmers produce new breeds of animals?
	8. a. How are new varieties of plant produced?
	9. b. How are new varieties of plant produced?
	10. Are varieties produced by selective breeding different from each other?
	11. What is a clone?
	12. Reviewing work

Science at key stage 3 (Year 9)

Objectives

Activities

Outcomes

Points to note

Sections in this unit