Sceince Chapt 5 doc

Dear Parent,

Your son?s or daughter?s science class will soon begin exploring the chapter entitled ?Heredity.? In this chapter, students will learn about the passing of traits from parents to offspring. By the end of the chapter, students should demonstrate a clear understanding of the chapter?s main ideas and be able to discuss the following topics:
1. what experiments Gregor Mendel conducted (Section 1)
2. how genes and alleles are related to genotypes and phenotypes (Section 2)
3. how to use the information in a Punnett square (Section 2)
4. how Mendel?s ideas are supported by the process of meiosis (Section 3)
Questions to Ask Along the Way
You can help your child learn about these topics by asking interesting questions as he or she progresses through the chapter. For example, you may wish to ask your son or daughter the following questions:
? How do flowers reproduce?
? Do you look like either of your parents? If so, why do you think that is?
? What is a similarity you can recognize in at least three of your relatives?
? Why is it important that cells can divide?

California Science Standards

The following standards are addressed in this chapter:
Investigation and Experimentation
7.7 Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations.
Focus on Life Sciences
7.2 A typical cell of any organism contains genetic instructions that specify its traits. Those traits may be modified by environmental influences.
7.2.b Students know sexual reproduction produces offspring that inherit half their genes from each parent.
7.2.c Students know an inherited trait can be determined by one or more genes.
7.2.d Students know plant and animal cells contain many thousands of different genes and typically have two copies of every gene. The two copies (or alleles) of the gene may or may not be identical, and one may be dominant in determining the phenotype while the other is recessive.
7.2.e Students know DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the genetic material of living organisms and is located in the chromosomes of each cell.

The Internet at Home
If you have Internet service at home, you and your child can access information related to the ?Heredity? chapter. The following resources are available for your use.
sciLINKS: At www.scilinks.org you will find links to Web sites that have been selected by the staff at the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). The staff at NSTA regularly scans the Internet to find sites that are current, engaging, and appropriate for middle school students. Check out the latest links by typing in the sciLINKS numbers listed below.
GO TO: www.scilinks.org
TOPIC: Heredity sciLINKS NUMBER: HY70738
TOPIC: Dominant and Recessive Traits sciLINKS NUMBER: HY70423
TOPIC: Genotypes sciLINKS NUMBER: HY70664
TOPIC: Phenotypes sciLINKS NUMBER: HY71135
TOPIC: Meiosis sciLINKS NUMBER: HY70935
TOPIC: Genetic Diseases, Screening, sciLINKS NUMBER: HY70651
Counseling
go.hrw.com: The resources at this Web site come to you directly from the publisher of your child?s textbook. Here you will find resources to help your son or daughter better understand the chapter entitled ?Heredity.? You can access these materials and other information by entering the keyword below.
GO TO: go.hrw.com
KEYWORD: HY7HERF
Thank you for your time and interest. Your participation in your child?s education is a sure way to encourage learning!

Sincerely,

Ms. B
AKA Lorraine