How to Teach Meiosis to Children

Divide the students into pairs or small groups. Ask them to make some X-shaped "chromosomes" from colorful construction paper. For instance, they can use red for chromosomes from the mother and blue for ones from the father. They need at least four chromosomes for the demonstration, two pairs. Have the students make the chromosomes different sizes so that they are easy to differentiate; for instance, their hypothetical cell can have one blue and one red small chromosome and one blue and one red large chromosome for a total of four chromosomes and two pairs.

Ask the students to cut two T-shaped pieces of paper. These are centrosomes, which move DNA during the replication process.

Ask the students to line up their chromosomes in a horizontal row, with the pairs together and the centrosomes on either side. This is the prophase I, one of the stages of the process.

Ask the students to move their chromosomes so one of the pairs is above the other pair; for instance, the large pair is side by side and directly above the small pair, which is also side by side. They need four short pieces of string. Have them put a piece of string between the top left chromosome and left centrosome, then bottom left chromosome and left centrosome. Repeat for the right side. The centrosomes use spindles, or the strings, to divide the chromosome pairs in half. This is the metaphase.

Have the students move each chromosome closer to its centrosome. Explain that at this point, the cell is dividing, and each half of the cell has one of the chromosome pairs, a big one and a small one in their hypothetical cell. This is the anaphase, and the process of division is the telophase.

Tell the students that the cell is about to divide again. During meiosis, a single cell will ultimately form four cells. Remove the strings, and have the students line their chromosomes in a row again, keeping the chromosomes that "divided" separate. This is the prophase II stage.

Have the students create two more centrosomes, one on each side of their divided cell. Line up the chromosomes so that they are on top of each other, and cut four more strings. As before, the centrosomes will separate the chromosomes. Attach a string to the left half of the top chromosome and to the left centrosome on one cell, then to the left half of the bottom chromosome and the left centrosome on the same cell. Repeat for the right side, then repeat for the other cell. This is the metaphase II stage.

Ask the students to cut each chromosome in half the long way, making two shallow L shapes for each chromosome. Move each of these to their respective centrosome. This is the anaphase II stage. When each cell has divided to form four cells total from the original, this is the telophase II stage, and the meiosis process is complete.