4 mistakes learners make with variation, each one named and explained.
Some differences are inherited, some are caused by the surroundings, and many are both.
Reproduction or respiration is given where variation is wanted.
The words share a rhythm and are all learned in the same term.
Question. Differences between individuals of the same species
A common answer. reproduction
The answer. variation
Why. Reproduction is how new individuals are made, not how they differ.
Say what the word means in your own words before choosing it.
Variation caused only by surroundings is named as inherited or genetic variation.
Genetic is the word that has been said most often, so it comes out first.
Question. Variation caused only by surroundings, such as a scar
A common answer. genetic variation
The answer. environmental variation
Why. The cause named in the question is the surroundings, which is what environmental means.
The name of the type is the name of the cause. Read the cause and the name follows.
Continuous or discontinuous is given as an answer to a question about the cause of variation.
Both pairs of words are taught as ways of classifying variation, so they blur together.
Question. Variation caused only by the surroundings
A common answer. continuous variation
The answer. environmental variation
Why. Continuous describes the shape of the data, not where the variation came from.
Two different questions. Check which one is being asked before choosing a word.
A scar, a tattoo or a suntan is given as an example of inherited variation.
They are all real differences between people, and inherited is being read as simply having.
Question. An example of inherited variation
A common answer. a scar
The answer. eye colour
Why. A scar happened to you; it is not written in the DNA you were born with.
Ask whether a newborn could already have it. If not, it was not inherited.
WAJD spots these patterns in your child's answers and names the one behind their wrong answers, instead of just marking them wrong.