I used this hands-on activity as a review/reinforcement with my 7th graders and it really helped them understand the different blood types, about blood donation, and basic Punnett Squares. Plus they had fun playing the games and making up their own games.
- One set of laminated flashcards (pdf) per person, or two sets shared in a group of 4 students
- pencil and lined paper to make Punnett Squares
All of the instructions and different games to play are explained in the handout. Some examples are: Who can donate? Punnett Square Practice, Identification, Memory, and Matching.
Other ways to use the cards:
- Flashcards – Students can print their own at home and use them to study
- You can set up a station/rotation to play the games as they are, or as ‘make your own’ game stations. Or a combination of both. Place one game at each station and have the students rotate every 7-10 minutes (see below for logistics)
- Rotation Directions – students will rotate from table to table and learn to play the game at each station
- Need a group of 4 students at each station.
- When it is time to rotate, only 2 go to the next station, and 2 stay.
- The 2 that stay are the experts on that game.
- The 2 experts teach the 2 novices how to play when they rotate to the table.
- When it is time to rotate, the 2 experts who stayed go to the next group, and the novices are now the experts and teach the 2 new novices that came to the station.
- Quiz-Quiz Trade –
- give each student a RBC card and have them identify it, then trade
- give each student a blood-type card and ask for the genotype (ie AA or AO)
- Or mix both decks and play both games
- Find your Partner –
- give half or your class Blood Type Cards and the other half of the class RBC cards and have them find the matching set
Interactive Links for further practice
- Blood Typing Game – can you make the right choice? (link)
- Are you my blood type? can you find the donor? (link)
- Emergency Room – figure out the blood type and correct transfusion (link)
- NatGeo – interactive heart (link)
- BrainPOP: Blood & Blood Pressure
If you use this lesson in your classroom, I am always happy to hear how it went!
For related lesson plans, please visit my Life Science page.