Have students draw conclusions using the information from the text about inherited and acquired characteristics.
Ask: What conclusion could Mendel draw when he produced two tall plants from crossing one short and one tall plant? What conclusion can you draw about the language a child will speak if he or she is born in Japan to Japanese parents? How about a child born in Japan to one American and one Japanese parent?  

Word Work

Syllables
Review what a syllable is, and make sure students understand that each syllable in a word contains a vowel sound. Write the word rabbit on the board, and have students read the word. Ask students how many vowel sounds they hear and how many syllables the word has. Divide the word into syllables (rab-bit), and point out that the syllables end with a consonant, so they are called closed syllables. Most closed syllables have a short vowel sound. Have students read and divide the words napkin, husband, sunset, and fossil. 

Then write the word paper on the board, and have students tell you the number of syllables. Ask them where they would divide the word (pa-per). Explain that the first syllable ends with a vowel, and that this is called an open syllable. Open syllables often have a long vowel sound. 

Write the words generation, genetics, dominant, recessive, environment, and information on the board. Ask volunteers to divide the words into syllables. Have them point out open and closed syllables. Discuss how knowing the sound of the vowel in open and closed syllables can help them work out the pronunciation of a word. 

Suffix -ive, -ative, -itive
Write the word recessive on the board and circle the suffix -ive. Point out that the word recessive is an adjective, and that it describes the word gene in the text. The root word is recede, meaning to draw back. Adding the suffixes -ative and -itive changes words from verbs to adjectives. Talk about how the spelling of the root word has changed with the addition of the suffix: deceive/deceptive; talk/talkative; repeat/repetitive. 

Give students Worksheet 2. Have them create new words by adding the suffix -ive, -ative, or -itive to the words. Have them check the dictionary if they are unsure of the word. They should then use the new word in a sentence. 

Learning Through Visual Devices
Have students use the diagrams of Punnett squares to track genetic traits. Have them first explain how the diagram helps them understand the directions in the text. 

Talk about how the photos and captions support the text and help students better understand the topic of heredity. 

Writing Link
Have students write descriptions of the people in their families. These should include the characteristics of each family member. Have students decide whether the characteristics are inherited or acquired. If the characteristics are inherited, have them decide from which branch of the family these characteristics came from. 

Assessment

• Review students' completed KWL charts to determine if they are able to find specific information in the text and organize it on a chart. Note whether they can ask questions that are relevant to the topic.
• Review students’ completed vocabulary worksheets to assess whether they can use suffixes to create new words. Note whether they understand that the new words are adjectives, and whether they can use the words appropriately in sentences.