Cootie Genetics!

 
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Cooties has been published in American Biology Teacher, you can download the article here: ABT Cooties

If you are out of Arizona and would like to purchase the Cooties materials for your classroom, contact Nadja Anderson

Cootie Genetics is an educational app made to be used with the "Cootie Genetics" lab through the University of Arizona Biotech Project.  
 
Cootie Genetics is a hands-on inquiry based activity that enables students to learn Mendelian laws of inheritance.  The activity begins with two true breeding Cooites of the same species that exhibit five observable trait differences.  Students observe the retention or loss of traits among the first-generation heterozygotes, hypothesize what happened to these traits and design an experiment to test their hypotheses by mating these first-generation Cooties.  With the second generation, students will see that the random selection of trait factors trait factors will create new and interesting Cooties! This fun lab teaches students how recessive and dominate traits combine in the Cootie offspring, Mendal's principles of segregation and independent assortment, and provides the tools necessary to construct Punnett squares. 
 

In this activity students will simulate the work of Gregor Mendel to investigate how traits are inherited. Students mate "Cootie" organisms with different true breeding traits and explore  trait behaviors (dominant, recessive) and trait probabilities- while having fun!  This lesson should be introduced before genetic terminology, DNA and/or Punnett Squares. [Three to four 50 minute class periods]

Downloads: (Note that the lab manual has not been updated for use with the new App.  The older, compatible, version of the app is located at the bottom of the page.)

 

 

Available on the Chrome Web Store

Note to teachers: 
The admin password, used for overwriting data, clearing data, and which can be used in place of a forgotten password is:
"CootieGeneticsAdmin"
(Without the quotes)

Below is the older version of the software used in the lab.

Cootie Genetics: (Older Version)

Cooties Student Guide 

Cooties Terminology (Terminology should be introduced after the activity). 

Cootie Power Point Presentation

How-to Software Directions

Cootie Software Download

Alternative Cooties Download—if your students already have been introduced to the terminology of genotype and phenotype, then you can use this Cooties Software Download 2.