In this task, students will assume the role of support group members who must discuss and individually decide on the issue of whether or not to be tested for a genetic trait or disorder. Students will read nonfiction passages regarding this issue to prepare for the support group meeting that will take the form of a Socratic Seminar. Passages should have been selected by the teacher to include examples of genetic disorders with effects that can be mitigated through early detection and appropriate diet or lifestyle choices. Students will then individually state their decisions and support them through written explanations that reference the discussion and provided passages. This lesson was developed by NCDPI as part of the Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project. This lesson plan has been vetted at the state level for standards alignment, AIG focus, and content accuracy.

This lesson is designed to develop students' ability to create tree diagrams and figure probabilities of events based on those diagrams. This lesson provides links to discussions and activities related to tree diagrams as well as suggested ways to work them into the lesson. Finally, the lesson provides links to follow-up lessons designed for use in succession with the current one.

In this lesson, students understand that a probability is a number between 0 and 1 that represents the likelihood that an event will occur. Students interpret a probability as the proportion of the time that an event occurs when a chance experiment is repeated many times.