DNA Model

The model has been a great success with my students. They love it! It really is the best I've seen.

The kids had already read about and made an origami model of the double helix before they saw your model. I linked half of the nucleotides together into a single chain while they told me the parts. Then I handed out the rest of the nucleotides to the class. As I went down the chain I called out a base students called out if they had the complement.  I went around the room and students 'hydrogen bonded' their nucleotides to my chain. After I had all the complements snapped on, I 'made like an enzyme' and knit the other backbone together. There was actually an intake of breath as they saw the helix taking shape.

On Friday afternoon we met with 4 biology students during their double period lab. The students used the models to review the concepts of DNA replication. The design of the model allowed the students to easily recognize the different types of bonding in the DNA molecule by the bonds’ varying strengths.  The students also tactually identified the macromolecules that comprise the DNA molecule by their unique shapes and locations.  The construction of the molecule allowed the students to use it to carry out all the DNA processes illustrated in high school biology texts. In addition, the models enable the students to lean the basics of the DNA code and to build sample codons. The learning activities possible with this model are the most varied and beneficial of any DNA model I have ever used.
By using this model the students were able to easily understand concepts that they had struggled to learn and that I had labored to teach them with our existing resources. Our students' comprehension of the principles of DNA will be evaluated by the MCAS testing. Also the information about DNA and genetics that sighted students can learn by looking at diagrams or computer generated modeling can only be conveyed to our students by effective models such as these. In addition, an understanding of DNA is essential in today's growing biotechnology industries.  Possibly models such as these could open up future careers for our students.

Thank you.

Kate Fraser
Secondary Science teacher
Perkins School for the Blind

The pictures were great; the instructions in general were incredibly helpful.  The understanding of the DNA structure and replication was deep and sufficient.  Students enjoyed manipulating the pieces and discovering how DNA could and could not be constructed.

Emily Flaherty
Westbrook, ME

I teach two biology courses made up primarily of sophomores and juniors. I have students of all learning styles and abilities in these two classes. I choose to introduce this lesson after covering cell structure and function, and mitosis and meiosis. I had previously given notes on DNA, assigned reading from the “The Way Life Works”, constructed DNA from paper, and extracted DNA with my two classes. After having already completed much of my instruction related to DNA, I believed that introducing the model to my classes would serve primarily as a reinforcement activity. I was wrong. 

The DNA model is three dimensional, and there is only one correct way for it to be assembled. Prior to this lesson, my class was could correctly represent DNA on paper, discuss how it is replicated, identify the parts of a DNA molecule and could describe how DNA is unzipped and replicated. I was amazed by how many of my students, when asked to physically construct a DNA molecule using the “realistic” model, initially struggled with the application of their knowledge. 

At first, many groups asked for more information from me. I directed my students to the materials they had before them, and assured them that they had all of the information they needed in order to complete the assignment. A change vibrated throughout the room as group by group began to correctly assemble the model. I heard many exclaim “oh now I get it…” and students encouraged their classmates to “try this…”, “pull on this…”, and “connect that…”. Many of the things I believed they had already learned about DNA were either newly discovered or reinforced as they progressed through the lesson. 

After this lesson we went on learn about protein synthesis and RNA. I pulled out the model to again reinforce what the students were learning, as well as to support my own instruction. It served as an excellent representation of part of this process as it allowed me to hold nucleotides before them and physically move them about during my explanation. 

I know that my class now clearly understands DNA. My students have also informed me that they definitely prefer the realistic model of DNA to the paper copy they had to label, color, and cut. They weren’t afraid to handle and manipulate the three dimensional model. It was durable to exploration, great for discovery, and far more beneficial in comparison to the paper representation most classes rely on. 

I highly recommend the book and model as an effective, educational, hands-on, and fun way to teach students about the structure and replication of DNA. These resources were an asset to my high school biology courses. 

Shannon Cutts
Upper Valley Teacher Institute
NH