Get a free trial until June 30, 2026!
New members get full access to our science units, hands-on activities, mini-lessons, & more!

New members get a full, free trial through June 2026!
Back > Share
What do dogs and pigeons have in common?
Fates of Traits Unit | Lesson 2 of 5
Back > Share

What do dogs and pigeons have in common?

Fates of Traits Unit | Lesson 2 of 5
Lesson narration:
English Spanish
Scroll for prep
Video trouble?
Slide Image
DISCUSS:
What differences can you notice in these pigeons’ traits?
Video trouble?
Slide Image
DISCUSS:
Look at these pigeon offspring. Can you find some traits that look more like one parent and some traits that look more like the other parent?
Video trouble?
Slide Image
DISCUSS:
Do you think the park pigeons could have offspring that look like this?
Why or why not?
Video trouble?
Step
01/16
You’ll work with a partner.
Decide who will be Trait Tracker and who will be Similarity Sleuth.
Video trouble?
Step
02/16
Get your supplies.
Video trouble?
Step
03/16
Cut along the thick black line.
Sleuth: Cut out the 4 parent cards.
Tracker: Cut out the 8 offspring cards & put them to the side.
Video trouble?
Step
04/16
Carefully observe Charlie’s pet pigeons.
Discuss:
Video trouble?
Step
05/16
Tracker: Glue the Tango & Toto cards into the top two boxes.
Sleuth: Glue the Sonic & Stardust cards into the top two boxes.
Video trouble?
Step
06/16
Tracker: Get the 8 offspring cards and lay them all out on your desk.
Video trouble?
Step
07/16
Look carefully at all the traits of the pigeon offspring.
Try to match each pigeon with the correct pair of parents.
Video trouble?
Step
08a/16
Review how you sorted your pigeon cards with your partner.
Make your final choices about which offspring belong to which
parents.
Video trouble?
Step
08b/16
Here’s what we said.
Check your pigeon families to make sure they look like this.
Video trouble?
Step
09/16
Sleuth: Glue all of Sonic & Stardust’s offspring into the boxes.
Tracker: Glue all of Tango & Toto’s offspring into the boxes.
Video trouble?
Step
10/16
Discuss as a class.
Sleuth: Answer question 1 on your Sonic & Stardust worksheet.
Tracker: Answer question 1 on your Tango & Toto worksheet.
Video trouble?
Step
11/16
Discuss as a class.
Sleuth: Answer question 2 on your Sonic & Stardust worksheet.
Tracker: Answer question 2 on your Tango & Toto worksheet.
Video trouble?
Step
12/16
Discuss as a class.
Sleuth: Answer question 3 on your Sonic & Stardust worksheet.
Tracker: Answer question 3 on your Tango & Toto worksheet.
Video trouble?
Step
13/16
Charlie wants her future pigeons to have even more foot feathers.
Discuss:
Video trouble?
Step
14/16
Sable and Doodle had babies together.
Examine the traits of their offspring.
Discuss:
Video trouble?
Step
15/16
Charlie wants her future pigeons to have even more head feathers.
Discuss:
Video trouble?
Step
16/16
Topaz and Cookie had babies together.
Examine the traits of their offspring.
Discuss:
Video trouble?
Video trouble?
Slide Image
DISCUSS:
Which traits do you think people selected for in each of these pigeon breeds?
Video trouble?
Slide Image
DISCUSS:
How could all these different dog breeds be related to ancient wolves?
Video trouble?
Slide Image
Slide Image

offspring


1 of 8

babies
Slide Image

siblings


2 of 8

offspring that have the same parents
Slide Image

trait


3 of 8

something you can observe about a living thing, such as the color of a pigeon’s feathers
Slide Image

variation


4 of 8

differences in a trait between living things of the same kind, such as different feather colors of pigeons
Slide Image

inherit


5 of 8

to get a trait from parents
Slide Image

artificial selection


6 of 8

the process of humans choosing certain traits of living things so that they are passed to the offspring
Slide Image

ancestor


7 of 8

a relative that lived long ago
Slide Image

breed


8 of 8

a group of living things with specific traits that have been selected by people over time; for example, pugs are a breed of dog
🎉 That’s it for this lesson! How did it go?
Sign up now for more great lessons!
Sign up

Featured Reviews

“My students and I thoroughly enjoyed this lesson. I heard them discussing observable traits with their partners and using other science vocabulary during our work time. ”
· Amanda · Teacher
“The materials were great, and easy to use and implement. It was a great visual when learning hereditary traits for the students.”
· Audrey · Teacher
“My students were engaged and interested! They worked together in pairs, had great conversations, and made connections to the previous lessons. I used this for a formal observation, and my administrator was so impressed! We love Mystery Science!”
· Sarah · Teacher
“The entire lesson was awesome, my students enjoyed figuring out how the pigeons could mate and produce different traits. They loved the pictures and the activity. I like the vocabulary, and how it was linked to the concepts and pictures in the video. Thank You.”
· Vanita · Teacher
“My students loved this lesson! Through the whole lesson students were engaged and they were very excited when they matched the offspring with the parents. Great lesson!”
· Abbie · Teacher
“The students loved it and stayed engaged the entire lesson. ”
· Dana · Teacher
“We loved to compare and contrast the pigeons and talking about traits. ”
· Kaitlin · Other
“the activity was great, It was super fun getting to find the traits. ”
· Brenda · Homeschooler
“The engagement of the students and their ability to investigate which pigeon would give the best results for a particular trait. I also liked the fact that the handouts were easy to use and the questions were "easy" for them.”
· Angela · Teacher
“The kids loved the different pigeon names :) but it really showed them how different traits are passed on”
· Katie · Teacher
Lesson narration:
English Spanish

Grade 3

Heredity, Survival, & Selection

Trait Variation, Inheritance, & Artificial Selection

3-LS3-1

Activity Prep

Print Prep
This lesson was revised on May 31, 2024. Here is a link to the previous version.
In this lesson, students explore the extreme trait variation of different dog breeds -- and pet pigeon breeds! In the activity, Pigeon Pairings, students analyze trait similarities and differences among parent, offspring, and sibling pigeons. They interpret this data to discover that the variation and inheritance of traits creates a pattern that explains why we see such extreme traits in artificially selected animal breeds.
Preview activity

I have a Mystery Pack

Pigeon Cards printout Print 15 copies
Pigeon Pairings worksheet 15 copies
Pigeon Pairings Answer Key teacher-only resource 1 copy
Glue Sticks
30 glue sticks
Scissors
30 pairs
Prep Instructions

We suggest students work in pairs. Homeschool students can work on their own.

Exploration

12 mins

Hands-On Activity

35 mins

Wrap-Up

12 mins

Grade 3

Heredity, Survival, & Selection

Trait Variation, Inheritance, & Artificial Selection

3-LS3-1

Slow internet or video problems?
Credits
 
Selection Lesson 2: What do dogs and pigeons have in common?

How did the lesson go?
Terrible OK Good Great Terrific!

How can we improve it?

If you'd like our team to reply to you, please Contact Support instead.

Thanks for your feedback! If you have a question or need help, please contact us. Please consider sharing your review:

Sorry the lesson didn’t go well. We read every single review in an effort to improve our Mysteries.

Thanks for letting us know. We’ll wait to ask you for feedback until after you've actually taught it.

Thanks for the feedback! We read every single review in an effort to improve our Mysteries.

Is the video not playing properly?

Please follow these steps:

  1. Very rarely a video will fail to completely load in your browser. Try to reload this page to see if that fixes the problem.
  2. If reloading does not help, try our other video player .
  3. If the video still fails to play, open this video in a new tab and please let us know you’re having trouble. We want to fix this issue for you.

Close

How can we help you?

💡For purchasing info, see our Pricing Page

This episode is locked

This lesson is not included in your limited access.

View pricing

This episode is locked

Your membership is expired. The archive of past Mini Lessons is not included in your limited access.

View pricing