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In this lesson for high school life sciences, students explore case studies of human remains that have challenged scientists’ ideas about how gender and sex operated in ancient times to help us better understand how gender, sex, and sexuality change our bodies and our stories in the present day.
Lewis Steller created this lesson as part of the Science Friday Educator Collaborative.
This unit for high school psychology classes covers four topics:
Gender as a Biopsychosocial Construct
Cultural and Historical Considerations about Gender
The Importance of Pronouns
Seeking Support at School
Gender-inclusive simulation of independent assortment for a genetics or evolution lesson. Adapted from slides created by Laura Funk (staff profile page) by modifying “mom” to egg-giver and “dad” to sperm-giver. Can also serve as model for discussion about mutations, epigenetics, evolution, chromosomes, alleles, nondisjunction. See also Teach.Genetics.Utah.edu's paper-based activities. See steps below and the questions for the assessment at the end. (Originally published here in 3/17/21.)
NGSS Works towards HS-LS3-1. Follow up with meiosis and HS-LS3-2.
Step 1: Flip a coin and highlight the capital or lowercase letter for that row.
Step 2: Combine the results from Step 1 to create a genotype (two letters).
Step 3: Use the third slide to decode the phenotype.
Step 4: Build the reebop based on the phenotype.
Assessment: Answer the questions in the Google Form.
0. Attach completed Reebops Nursery from your Drive.
1. Name your Reebop
2. What do you think each letter represents in the model?
3. What do you think combining the letters represents in the model?
4. All models are wrong. Some models are useful. What are some things missing from this model? List as many as you can think of.
5. Gametes (egg & sperm cells) contain 1 pair of chromosomes (n = haploid), the other body cells contain 2 pairs of chromosomes (2n=diploid). Is your baby reebop haploid or diploid?
Resource Roundup is a newly periodic attempt to capture all the links aggregated through conversations and requests, shared by many. We focus on science education materials but have encountered enough sex education-adjacent curriculum to share the collection below. Your mileage may vary. (RXS)
We shared this guide with attendees at a workshop this year.
TITLE: Gender Inclusive Adaptations to Environmental Education
Principles of Gender Inclusive Biology (cheat sheet)
How to Respond to Common Questions/Objections to GIB teaching (quick & easy tips)
Gender-Inclusive Biology: A Framework in Action (NSTA article with resources)
How do we present gender, sex, and sexuality as part of inclusive and accurate science teaching? (extensive STEM Teaching Tools brief)
Middle & High School Resources (direct links to lessons)
Scientific American - Beyond XX and XY (flowchart)
GLSEN Gender Triangle Education Guide (identity-expression-attribution-assignment)
Gender Unicorn (spectra)
Gender & Sexuality Galaxies (cloud concept map)
Language Guide (table, differentiated by discipline & intensity)
Talking to Kids About Science in a Gender-Inclusive Way (article w/ table)
STEM/Equity Etymology Posters (print-ready slides)
Temperature-dependent sex determination (crocodile video)
Temperature-dependent sex determination (turtle video)
Touch-based sex determination (slipper limpets video & diagram)
Early life nurturing & later life stress response (lick your rats)
Evolution of Sexual Reproduction (Nature summary)
Gender Showcase (bite-size posts about enduring variation in survival)
Queer species database of 200+ organisms (research source)
Diverse Animal Reproduction (survey & reflection) (r- k- strategy gallery walk)
Pigeonetics Game (answer key available in guide)
Why do the foods we eat matter? (Native-driven environmentalism for salmon in 3 case studies) (at a glance guide)
(See also newsletter issue Oct2019)
Resource roundup on this coming soon; just need to describe them (RXS)
FURTHER RESOURCES
Myths of Human Genetics (data and graphs for lots of human genetic traits that aren’t clear; tongue rolling, widow’s peak, etc.)
Questionable Questions About Transgender Identity (Answers to Qs it’s rude to ask)
Attendees also received a summary of all the resources and Q&As generated during the workshop, as well as opportunities to workshop their own curriculum on request. (If you’re interested in a workshop online, send us a note via the form at the bottom of the page.)
Alex Maes created this investigation which includes a variety of videos and infographics also featured on this website. Two versions are available, one more scaffolded than the other.
Alex writes:
I've made a lesson like this too using lots of resources from genderinclusivebiology.com, as well, as some of my own. I have an individual, less scaffolded version I do with my IB juniors, and a more scaffolded version with whole class, individual, and small group components I did with my freshman! Feel free to use!
Edit (6/8/23): Thank you to Wayne for noting the lesson materials include diagrams including humans in a chart entitled hermaphrodites. It is important to discuss with students how language changes when describing human versus non-human species because of how “hermaphrodite” was historically used as a pejorative to stigmatize people. Wayne provided the link embedded in the disclaimer most frequently seen on related GIB posts: Editor’s note: The term "hermaphrodite" is appropriate for referring to non-human animals with sex characteristics that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies. For humans, “intersex” is the appropriate term—learn more here! (-RXS)
In this lesson for grades 5-8, students explore diversity in mating and parental behaviors across species with a clearly defined concept of sex as opposed to gender.
The most authentic way to teach Mendelian genetics is to focus on real-life traits in humans and non-human species. The InstaGene app is a user-friendly database of single-locus Mendelian traits in several species. The name of the gene, dominant allele, recessive allele, and source are given. Both allele phenotypes are explicitly named, with neither referred to as “normal”. Many of the alleles code for non-harmful variations, which averts the common association between mutation and disease. The app was created with Glide Apps and can be viewed, copied, and remixed all in a web browser - no app download required.
InstaGene can be used as a teacher reference or it can be given to students for reference while they complete practice problems. A set of sample problems, with model language, is provided below.
Elizabeth Duthinh, a physician and high school teacher, developed these inclusive activity and practice problem sets covering the Monohybrid Cross, Dihybrid Cross, X-linked Traits, Non-Mendelian Inheritance, and the PTC taste lab.
Elizabeth writes:
These problem sets and PTC tasting lab are adapted to cover Mendelian genetics without presuming gender based on chromosomes and without assuming families and individuals are cisgender or heterosexual. We suggest pairing the X-linked characteristics problem set with the video What it's Like to be Intersex by InterACT and a short introduction to the SRY region of the Y chromosome.
This highly accessible lesson was designed by Sabrina Kayed for Grade 11 Biology. The lesson is designed to move students’ understanding of biological sex beyond the simplistic binary model and introduce them to the idea of sex as a spectrum.
A female, transgender, and male symbol are written in chalk in the colors of the trans pride flag: pink, white, and blue. Equal signs are drawn between each symbol.
This article from Science News for Students is one way to introduce transgender identity in the science classroom. The article includes explanations of transgender identity and profiles several transgender researchers and how their identity intersects with their work as scientists.
The article is written in student-friendly language, and includes a glossary of “power words” that can be used as an additional learning tool.
Pedigree charts are one of the most requested topics that we get from visitors to our website. We have built a guidance document below that will be continually updated. You can also view it on Google Docs.
Image https://www.theknowledgeroundtable.com/tutorials/decoding-pedigrees-made-easy/ What is a pedigree chart? A pedigree chart is a diagram that shows the occurrence of phenotypes through several generations of genetically related individuals. Because a pedigree chart is often confused with a family tree, and uses symbols to differentiate males and females, it is important for educators to give clear and inclusive messaging to their students about these charts.
This poster provides an important clarification when learning about biology - that our biological or genetic concept of family may be different from social or legal understandings of family. You can teach your students that all families are valid using this poster or other resources in the Gayby Baby Project’s Diverse families Toolkit.
Pigeonetics is a game developed by the University of Utah Genetic Science Learning Center for web browser and mobile devices (iOS and Android). Players complete pigeon breeding challenges through trial and error. Students use evidence to learn the patterns of simple genetic inheritance, sex chromosome inheritance, and eventually incomplete dominance with dilution.
As curators of gender-inclusive resources, we like this game because it accurately portrays sex in animal species without conflating sex with gender or anthropomorphizing the animals. It also comes with a teacher guide.
Some schools do a lab exercise where students stain their own cells and determine their sex chromosomes (X and Y). This is a letter from the Executive Director of interACT that can be used to advocate for not doing this exercise due to the potential harm it can cause for intersex individuals.
In this lesson, students do a reading about R- and K-selection and then a gallery walk of four more unique reproductive strategies in animals. Students use the notes taken during the gallery walk to write a paragraph response comparing two different strategies.
The examples chosen include sequential hermaphroditism in clownfish and unisexual populations of all-female salamanders. However, they are limited in that all the example species are described to have binary sex. This lesson could be supplemented with examples of species where there are more than two sexes - see Scientific Evidence for examples.
Editor’s note: The term "hermaphrodite" is appropriate for referring to non-human animals with sex characteristics that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies. For humans, “intersex” is the appropriate term—learn more here!
For a longer and more inquiry-based lesson, the gallery walk information could be shortened to remove the explanation for why each species has a unique reproductive strategy. Students could be tasked with hypothesizing the relationship between reproductive strategy and social structure or environment of the animal.
When I switched to science teaching, I worried we weren’t preparing students for the diverse professional work environments I had left. Peers from different backgrounds often struggle to work together, and some curriculum can limit, not expand, the student conversation.
“You need a mom and dad to make a baby.”
“Same-sex pairings or transgender behavior is unnatural because they don’t produce babies.”
“My textbook says a characteristic ‘goal’ of life is to mate and have biological children.”
“But I was taught that everyone is XX or XY. Is that wrong?”
Even in San Francisco, more experienced teachers asked me, a nonbinary immigrant biology teacher, whether science had any unbiased resources for talking to students in a gender-inclusive way. I’m passionate about creating a classroom where students can stay curious about new experiences and identities, but I still want to keep science at the center.
To get you started, I’m sharing four ways teachers at any level or subject can respond to common gender-related questions using the evidence-based model of actual scientific research. Click through to read the article on WeAreTeachers, which includes the infographic below. Feel free to print and/or share!
–RXS
In this blog post, Gender-Inclusive Biology contributor Lewis Maday-Travis shares a presentation he created to wrap-up a unit on the skeletal system. The presentation focuses on the science of the intersex experience and nonbinary identity, both of which are supported by scientific research yet frequently erased in public discourse.
Image shows nine animals species that exhibit sexual dimorphism or unique reproductive strategies: elephant seals, seahorses, mallad ducks, Indian peafowl, Mormon cricket, honey bee, magnificent riflebird, clownfish, and slipper limpet.
In this lesson, students learn briefly about the reproductive strategies nine different animal species. Student use a tally to track what strategies are most common - for example, male competition, female mate choice. More unique patterns like sex-changing clownfish and touch-mediated sex development are included within the nine species.
When I taught this lesson, students learned about each species through short video recordings of teachers in our school describing the species. For more general use, I changed the lesson as posted on this website to have students do online research instead of watching the videos.
Caption: Photograph of a Chimera Butterfly, from Kathy Pillsbury at the Insectarium, Montreal, CA
Source: Welcoming Schools (HRC)
OBJECTIVES
• Students will learn about Chimera butterflies that are both female and male.
• Students will engage in a discussion and art activity that will help them understand
what the concept non-binary means.
• Students will create a colorful butterfly that is unique to them.