Easy explanation and worksheet on 'variation' for kids Gr 4-5

Just look at your friends around you.  You all look different from one another, even though some may have the same color hair or eyes.

If you think about animals, even if they are the same species, they can still look different from one another.

You and your sibling look a lot like your mom and dad, but still not exactly the same.

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All of this is called 'variation' and there are two factors that play a role in how you look.  I can either be 'inherited' or because of 'environmental causes'.

If variation is 'inherited' it means you have gotten it from your mom and dad.  We have spoken before on how the male and the female sex cells combine during fertilization (the egg cell is fertilized by the sperm cell).  

This is why you have some features that look like your mom and some of your dad, because half of your 'genes' comes from your mom and the other half from your dad.

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• Think about what you have 'inherited' from your dad and from your mom and which features of you are totally different than them?
• Why do you not look exactly like your mom or your dad but more of a 'mix' between the two?

We can inherit a few features from our parents like our eye color, hair color and also the color of your skin.  Some people have 'lobed ears' and others  can role their tongue.  There is nothing wrong with you if your friend can do it and you cannot, it just means you have inherited different genes than them.

Some genes are are 'recessive' and some are 'dominant' which means that if the green eye gene is dominant over blue eyes, more people will have green eyes.

                                               

image source

• Look at the table above and decide if you have the dominant or recessive gene for the specific traits/features.
• for enrichment you can read https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/about-genetics.html 
• make sure you look up any words you do not understand or find some videos on certain aspects.

The second reason why animals and plants differ from each other is because of their environment.

Things that play a role here are accidents, your culture and beliefs and what type of life style you live and also the climate of the area you live in and your diet.

Just think about it.  

• If you do not live a healthy life and you eat too much, you will gain weight and look different than the rest of your family.  
• If a plant fell out of a pot and damaged its leaves, it will look different from the other plants.  
• If your cat's tail got broken in a fight or an accident, it will look different than the tails of other cats.  
• A plant that does not get enough sunlight, will be smaller than the other plants in the sunlight.  
• Your religion and your language will also differ from people living in another country.

All these differences are there, because of 'environmental differences'.

We are all unique, because of our genes we have inherited and because of the environment and the circumstances you grow up in.  The same with plants and animals.  Some things like what you get from your environment you can change, but you can do nothing about your genes.

So embrace your uniqueness and be the best version of yourself.  "Nobody can be a better 'You' than you", like Dr Seuss likes to say.

   &

Just look at your friends around you.  You all look different from one another, even though some may have the same color hair or eyes.

If you think about animals, even if they are the same species, they can still look different from one another.

You and your sibling look a lot like your mom and dad, but still not exactly the same.

source

All of this is called 'variation' and there are two factors that play a role in how you look.  I can either be 'inherited' or because of 'environmental causes'.

If variation is 'inherited' it means you have gotten it from your mom and dad.  We have spoken before on how the male and the female sex cells combine during fertilization (the egg cell is fertilized by the sperm cell).  

This is why you have some features that look like your mom and some of your dad, because half of your 'genes' comes from your mom and the other half from your dad.

source

• Think about what you have 'inherited' from your dad and from your mom and which features of you are totally different than them?
• Why do you not look exactly like your mom or your dad but more of a 'mix' between the two?

We can inherit a few features from our parents like our eye color, hair color and also the color of your skin.  Some people have 'lobed ears' and others  can role their tongue.  There is nothing wrong with you if your friend can do it and you cannot, it just means you have inherited different genes than them.

Some genes are are 'recessive' and some are 'dominant' which means that if the green eye gene is dominant over blue eyes, more people will have green eyes.

                                               

image source

• Look at the table above and decide if you have the dominant or recessive gene for the specific traits/features.
• for enrichment you can read https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/about-genetics.html 
• make sure you look up any words you do not understand or find some videos on certain aspects.

The second reason why animals and plants differ from each other is because of their environment.

Things that play a role here are accidents, your culture and beliefs and what type of life style you live and also the climate of the area you live in and your diet.

Just think about it.  

• If you do not live a healthy life and you eat too much, you will gain weight and look different than the rest of your family.  
• If a plant fell out of a pot and damaged its leaves, it will look different from the other plants.  
• If your cat's tail got broken in a fight or an accident, it will look different than the tails of other cats.  
• A plant that does not get enough sunlight, will be smaller than the other plants in the sunlight.  
• Your religion and your language will also differ from people living in another country.

All these differences are there, because of 'environmental differences'.

We are all unique, because of our genes we have inherited and because of the environment and the circumstances you grow up in.  The same with plants and animals.  Some things like what you get from your environment you can change, but you can do nothing about your genes.

So embrace your uniqueness and be the best version of yourself.  "Nobody can be a better 'You' than you", like Dr Seuss likes to say.

                         

image source

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