Activity 1

1. Choose four students (two girls and two boys) to play the roles in the skit, Paint’s Family Tree. Have them read and act out the skit. 
2. Give each student a copy of the skit and a Trait Summary activity sheet. Allow students to read the skit and fill out the activity sheet individually.
    
   
    
3. After students have completed the Trait Summary, break them up into pairs.
4. Give each pair of students a copy of the Paint’s Family Tree activity sheet. Have them color this sheet according to how they filled out the information on the Trait Summary activity sheet. They should also label each horse with its name and relationship to Paint (see Paint’s Family Tree Master). Doing this in pairs will help students to correct any mistakes they may have made on the Trait Summary activity sheet. 
5. Next, divide the students into seven groups, and give each group a Family Tree Horse activity sheet. Assign each group a different member of Paint’s family. The group must come to a consensus on how to color their family member using their previously colored family trees. They may need to refer back to the skit for verification. 
6. When each group is finished, review with them the Paint’s Family Tree Master. Students may have put socks and spots in different places; that’s okay. (When horses are registered in the “real world,” the spots and socks are noted while looking at the horse so that the markings are accurate. This illustration then becomes part of the horse’s registration). Have the groups make corrections to their horses’ colors and markings only if they are obviously wrong; if not, proceed to the next step.
7. Post the large sheet of butcher or chart paper in an accessible location. Have each group place their horse on the paper in the appropriate location to form a family tree. Ask the group to describe their horse’s traits. Have students draw lines between the horses to show lines of descent between generations. 
8. As a class, discuss the similarities and differences in traits among the family members and how each trait might have been inherited. Point out to students that traits are inherited from both parents. However, these traits are not always expressed in every generation (such as the blue eyes that Paint and his maternal grandmother have). Consider using the following questions to further the discussion:
   • What traits were unique to Paint?
   • Can you name other inherited traits that may not be visible?
   • From which relatives did Paint get the black on his tail and mane? His white face? His temperament?
   • If another animal (pig, chicken, cow, etc.) were chosen, would you be able to determine from which parent its traits may have been inherited? How would you do it?
   • Imagine that Kuan’s family ranch wants to start giving tours using horse-drawn wagons. What characteristics would make their horses suited to this kind of work? What could they do to make sure that the next generation of horses is well suited to pulling wagons?