Use a "create a species" project to teach children about genetic traits. To complete the project, the student creates sketches of the different traits, including the genotypes (the genetic code) and phenotypes (physical manifestation) of each type of trait.
Biology Corner demonstrates a "create a species" project for different types of genetic traits. Included are single allele traits, which contain only one dominant and one recessive possibility and express the dominant allele in the appearance of the species. Human Biology 101 also includes codominant traits combine to create an intermediate trait. You can include any genetic traits your student is studying.
Use "create a species" assignments to teach about types of relationships between species, the University of Miami suggests. For example, you may want to include relationships where only one species benefits, such as parasitic relationships, as well as mutually beneficial relationships. Instruct the children to create as many species as they need to demonstrate an interspecies relationship. Or, for a more complex group project, instruct the students to create several species with several different types of relationships.
You can also use a "create a species" project to introduce students to the many different types of plant life and their methods of reproduction and biological adaptations. For this project, instruct the children to study the diversity of plant life, especially the methods used to feed, how plants compete with other plants in the habitat and what biological adaptations plant develop to better reproduce. After several weeks of studying, the student then creates her own plant species, paying attention to methods of reproduction and protection against pests.
"Create a species" projects don't just work for biology classes, they also teach important methods for art classes. In an art class, take your students on a field trip to the local zoo. Instruct each student to create an amalgamate creature (a creature that combines many different aspects of animals), such as a chimera, Pegasus or a centaur. This project requires the student to think about the body, creating connections in musculature between, for example, a chicken leg and human torso. Additionally, combining creatures in this manner to create a species teaches the children about symbolism in art.