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Hi, I am George Amato, and I'm a molecular biologist. Sometimes the government calls me to help solve mysteries, like this time in 1993. One of their officers told me he had spotted some suspicious packages at Kennedy Airport in New York City. These boxes contained handbags and shoes.

By looking at the pattern on the reptile skins, the officer had a hunch they were made from Yacare caiman, a relative of the crocodile and alligator.

My blood started to boil. "But the Yacare caiman is a protected species," I said into the phone. "Bringing skins of that animal into the U.S. is against the law!"

"Exactly!" said the guy at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "That's why the officer seized the shoes and handbags from the reptile skin importer."

"So, what's the problem?" I asked.

"The importer said it was not a protected caiman," he said.
The importer claimed that it's impossible to tell the difference between caimans just by comparing skin patters. This disagreement went to court. And that's where I came to the rescue.

First, I took samples of the reptile skins to my lab at the American Museum of Natural History. Then, I made lots of copies of the the DNA, so it was easier to study. Next, I used a machine to figure out the DNA's sequence, which looks like a long string of letters. Finally, I compared this skin's sequence with other crocodilian sequences in our DNA computer library. It was a perfect match to the Yacare caiman! Those shoes and handbags were definitely made from a legally protected species.

I gave this report to the judge. Based on the DNA evidence, the judge agreed that the skins were illegal. The skins were taken away and the importer had to pay a fine.

Source: https://www.amnh.org/explore/ology/genetics/dna-detective

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1) I will scan the text for words/phrases written in bold and write them below. Next, I will write the definitions in my notebook.

2) I will decide if each statement is true/false. If it is false, then I will write the correct information in my notebook.

a- The boxes at the airport were full of shoes and clothes. __________________________

b- The Yacare caiman is a relative of the crocodile and alligator.
___________________________

c- Illegal means “with the law”.
_______________________

d- A DNA's sequence is a like along string of letters.
____________________________

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 "The Farmer Who Shared" By Sherya Sharma

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 "The Farmer Who Shared" By Sherya Sharma

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There once was a farmer who had great fields of corn. She grew the best corn in the area. She won first prize at the state fair every year, and everyone flocked to her fields in late summer to enjoy her delicious harvest.

One day, a news reporter went to interview the farmer and ask her about her secrets to success. Days of research before the interview revealed to the reporter that the farmer would always share her best-producing seeds with the neighboring farms.

When it came for the interview, the reporter was loaded with a powerful question. The reporter asked, “Ma’am, why did you share your best seeds with your neighbors, knowing that they are also going to enter their corn into the competition against you. Wouldn't this make it difficult for you to win?”

The farmer looked up and took a deep breath before she replied. The farmer answered, “During the season when the strong wind comes across the fields, pollen from the ripening corn is swirled from field to field. It is very important to understand that if my neighbors grow poor corn, the cross-pollination will ultimately degrade the quality of my own corn. So, If I want to grow great corn, I must help my neighbor grow good corn as well.”
Source: https://www.bedtimeshortstories.com/farmers-inspirational-story

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1. I will pick 2-4 new words and look them up in a dictionary.

2. I will answer the following questions:

1. What was the secret to the farmer’s success?

2. What’s the reason that the farmer shares her best seeds?

3. I will write a paragraph answering the following question:

What do I think is the moral of the story? And how can I apply this to my life?

I can start my paragraph with this sentence: “I think the moral of the story is…”

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Create and label your own animal by using the body parts of other animals, on a piece of paper.

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Create and label your own animal by using the body parts of other animals, on a piece of paper.

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Instructions:
• Collect old pictures of different animals.
• Choose the body parts such as head, body, wings, legs and tail, to suit where your animal lives, its food and how it moves.
• Cut the body parts you need for your animal (ask a family member to help you).
• On a piece of paper, use the animal parts you cut to make a new animal.
• Glue the body parts in place.
• label the parts of the new animals (head, eyes... etc.).

 Write down (2-3) sentences about the new animal that you create, including the following:
Its name, where it lives and what it eats.
 Read out your sentences to a family member or a friend.

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1. I will pick 2-4 new words and look them up in a dictionary.

2. I will answer the following questions:

1. What was the secret to the farmer’s success?

2. What’s the reason that the farmer shares her best seeds?

3. I will write a paragraph answering the following question:

What do I think is the moral of the story? And how can I apply this to my life?

I can start my paragraph with this sentence: “I think the moral of the story is…”

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Source: Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff/Published:9/24/2015

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Genes Might Make You Healthy or Unhealthy 

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Genes Might Make You Healthy or Unhealthy 

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1. What is the main idea of the introduction?
2. I will create a mind map of the key information presented in the article. I will draw it in my notebook.
3. I will write a letter to the scientist, Ms. Melissa, explaining what I understood from the article and asking her if she could provide more information about the FTO gene.

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Najlaa and her brother, Ahmad, like to play around the big, tall tree near their house. She always notices this type of tree when she goes with her family to Amman National Park. Najlaa decided to write a description about this tree for her class presentation next week.