DNA Structure & Function
📋 What it is
DNA is a twisted-ladder molecule that stores the instructions for building a living thing.
🗣️ Coach says
Inside almost every cell is DNA — a molecule shaped like a twisted ladder (a double helix). Its rungs spell out instructions using four “letters” (A, T, C, G). That code tells your cells how to build and run you. DNA is life’s instruction book.
🧠 Memory hook
DNA = a twisted ladder spelling instructions in 4 letters (A, T, C, G).
😂 Giggle
Why did the gene go to school?
To improve its expression!
😲 Whoa!
The same four DNA letters spell out EVERY living thing — a bacterium, an oak tree, and you all run on the same alphabet.
✅ Quick check: What does DNA store inside a cell?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
The instructions (the genetic code) for building and running the living thing — like an instruction book.
DNA encodes the information cells use to make proteins and function.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Twist your two hands around each other — you’re modelling the DNA double helix.