A New Canis Familiaris

Learning Objectives

Students learn how artificial selection can be used to develop new dog breeds with characteristics that make the dogs capable of performing a desirable task and they “create” a dog that could be bred for their purposes.

Grade Levels

6-8

National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Standards:

Construct an explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic variations of traits in a population increase some individuals’ probability of surviving and reproducing in a specific environment. MS-LS4-4

Materials Needed

Computer with internet access

Canis familiaris Sheet

Lesson

Introduction (5 minutes)

• Have students read the article Beagle, Harrier, Foxhound: The Same But Differentfrom American Kennel Club Click Here
• Discuss with students how these three dogs are connected and why they are different.

Explicit Instruction/Teacher Modeling (10 minutes)

• Ask students to describe the features or abilities of dogs for which humans might breed.
• Point out that it is possible to select dogs to breed for particular traits because all dogs are from the same species, Canis familiaris.
• The various breeds can mate with each other to produce offspring.

Independent Working Time

• Divide students into teams of 2-4.
• Explain that each group will be attempting to artificially select a new dog with certain traits by crossing two breeds.
• Students must determine the following:
  • What will we want our dog to be good at?
  • What physical features will he/she need?
  • What behavioral features will he/she need?
• Students should use the following resources for research:
  • AKC Breeds
  • AKC Compare Breeds
  • AKC DNA Resource Center
• Once students have collected the information, they will need to fill out the Canis familiaris sheet and introduce their new dog.

Review and Closing

• Discuss why pure bred dogs are valuable to the community.

References

Beagle, Harrier, Foxhound: The Same But Different. (2015, October 7). Retrieved fromhttps://www.akc.org/content/akc-history-archive/articles/beagle-harrier-foxhound-different/.

Compare Breeds. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.akc.org/find-a-match/compare-breeds/.

Dog Breeds. (n.d.) Retrieved from www.akc.org/dog-breeds.

DNA Resource Center. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.akc.org/dna/resource-center/.