Born to run?
Age Group:
Key Stage 3 (11-14 years)
Prep time:
5 minutes
Class time:
50 minutes
Learning Objectives:
1. To understand some of the implications of testing children for sporting ability.
2. To recognise that sporting ability is determined by a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
3. To explore a debate from the perspective of different stakeholders.
Lesson plan:
1. Launch the interactive whiteboard activity and ask pupils to read
the newspaper article reporting on the development of a genetic test
for predicting whether or not a child will be good at sport.
2. In the next screen you will be presented with the following
statement: ‘children’s genes should be tested to help find future
sports stars’. Invite pupils to come up to the board and vote for the
extent to which they agree or disagree with the statement by touching
the board along the line. Once everyone has voted, push ‘display data’
to reveal a graph showing the range of opinions in the class and invite
volunteers to share their viewpoints.
3. Next you will be prompted to watch a 4 minute film in which
different stakeholders discuss some of the issues around testing a
child’s genes for sporting ability. After the film, discuss:
a. What makes the perfect athlete?
b. How would you feel if a genetic test predicted you were unlikely to
do well at sport, when deep down you’d always wanted to be a footballer?
c. When is a child old enough to decide whether or not they want to have a genetic test?
d. How might a genetic test for sporting ability improve on conventional methods for identifying talent in young people?
4. Return to the voting board and invite the class to vote again on
the original statement. Then compare the range of opinions at the
beginning and the end of the class. Did anyone change their mind about
the test? If so, why?