It can be tricky to find high-quality resources about inherited traits and variations. A lot of the material out there is geared toward high school students, but I’m here to help make this topic accessible for our elementary students! Here are the very best inherited traits books and videos to help teach how plants and animals inherit certain traits and also variations of those traits.
Inherited Traits Books and Videos
The following fictional and non-fiction books are the perfect additions to your science library. They are a great addition to your lessons and an easy way to introduce the topic of inheritance and variations in third grade science.
1. Let’s Notice Plant and Animal Traits
by Martha E. H. Rustad
This is a great book to start with to introduce your students to animal and plant traits. It’s a simple story with fun illustrations that follows a class on a nature walk.
Bonus points if you can take your class for their own nature walk after reading!
2. Inheritance of Traits: Why Is My Dog Bigger Than Your Dog?
by Jen Green
After your students are able to define traits and observe those around them, they can then dive deeper!
This book does a wonderful job of introducing the topic of inheritance and inviting students to ask more questions.
3. The Same But Different Too
by Karl Newson
The Same But Different Too is a great read-aloud to add to your Inherited Traits unit! It focuses on individuality (yay for social-emotional books), and could be a great segue to a fun activity about your students’ unique traits.
4. Who Do I Look Like?
by Lundgren
This one is always a fan-favorite in my classroom because who doesn’t love looking at pictures of cute baby animals?!
Beyond the adorable pictures, it does a fabulous job discussing why some offspring look like their parents and some do not.
5. Traits and Heredity
by Joseph Midthun
This book touches on some higher-level concepts and is great to have on hand for those students who are interested in learning more.
It’s a fun graphic novel that covers topics such as variation, hybrids, mutations, and nature versus nurture.
Check out more of my favorite books about Inherited Traits and Variations on Amazon!
Videos to Help Teach Inherited Traits
As always, I love to supplement my lessons with engaging videos. Here are a few of my favorites! You can find more recommendations inside my complete Inherited Traits unit for 3rd graders!
1. It’s All in the Genes—Inheritance and Variation of Traits
Through the use of animations and real photographs, the narrator does a phenomenal job introducing students to traits, inheritance, and variations.
2. Variation of Traits
My students always love when I incorporate Generation Genius videos into the lessons! They are engaging, yet very informative.
This one even includes a fun DIY experiment that can be duplicated in class!
3. Animal Traits and a Changing Environment
Ranger Olivia takes students on a virtual field trip to a nature park while discussing what happens to an animal’s traits when their environment changes.
It does cover some higher-level concepts so make sure your students have a basic understanding of traits and variations first.
4. Why Are Flamingos Pink
This video is a great addition to your inherited traits unit as it fosters your students’ inquisitive nature.
The title alone is sure to engage your entire class and leave them with their own questions to explore and research.
More Resources Teach About Inherited Traits and Variations
If you are looking for more science activities to teach about inherited traits and variations, be sure to check out my complete 3rd-grade inherited traits and variations science unit! Inside you’ll find 21 days of done-for-you lesson plans, teaching slides, experiments, assessments, and more.
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