 |  | ||||
Twins: Double Trouble, or Twice as Nice?By KRISTEN STERNBERG | NIE Educational Consultant Jon and Joe Field have a lot in common. They made the same choices about their education, they own a business together and, as a sideline, they are professional racecar drivers. The two also share their parents and their birthday: Jon and Joe are twins!
Statistically, only two of every 80 or so babies born in the United States come into the world as twins. In some societies, twin births are even rarer. Some twins are fraternal, which means that each has grown from an individual egg inside the mother. Fraternal twins don't always share physical traits such as hair color, eye color, blood type or gender. Fraternal twins are no more or less alike than any siblings who share the same set of parents. Another type of twin is an identical twin. Identical twins occur when a single egg splits in two, and each half grows on its own. Identical twins carry the same chromosomes, or genetic information. Because each of the eggs contains the same genetic material, both twins will share the exact physical traits. Check out some interesting identical twins in a recent Daytona Beach News-Journal article about a family that considers itself "twice blessed." You probably enjoyed reading about how the twins in that article sometimes "switch identities" as they try to fool their friends, teachers and even parents! The temptation must be almost irresistible, because most families with twins tell similar stories. When twins pretend to be each other, act alike or make similar choices, there may be more to it than meets the eye. Some scientists are studying the special intimacy that can occur between identical twins. There's evidence that these twins may understand each other in ways that other people can't imagine. Some of the stories are fascinating. Identical twins who, for one reason or another, were separated at birth have been found to lead lives astoundingly similar to their twins. Although they grew up under different circumstances, thousands of miles apart, when reunited, they discovered some strange "coincidences." They may find, just for example, that they have given their pets the same names, that both are teachers and that they married on the same day. You can follow a web link provided below if you want to read about more coincidences. Other twins are known to have invented their own, secret languages, ones that they use only between themselves. Experts are eager to understand how and why some twins invent this special method of communication. Within the two types of twins, fraternal and identical, are a variety of other possibilities. You'll find opportunities to learn more when you check out the web links provided below. Partly due to advances in medical technology, the rates of fraternal twins, triplets (three), quadruplets (four) and other multiple births is on the rise. So far, technology and other factors have not caused an increase of identical twins. Twins are interesting reminders that there is a lot about life we don't know. The answers to some of our questions may be just around the corner. In the meantime, if you know families that have twins, you may want to ask them if twins are "double trouble" or "twice as nice." Try these interesting activities using The Daytona Beach News-Journal1. Fraternal twins and multiples are increasing, partly due to advances in medical technology. Read The News-Journal routinely to learn of scientific discoveries in genetics, biology or medicine. Keep a list of words and phrases that you don't know. Look up their meanings in a dictionary or other reference. (Sunshine State Standards: LA.A.1.2.4, SC.H.3.2.4) 2. Use The News-Journal to become familiar with how reporters write up interviews. Skim several articles and note what kinds of important questions are answered as you read. Locate twins or other multiples that you might interview among your family, school or community. Write a news-style story on your findings. (Sunshine State Standards: LA.A.2.2.5, LA.B.2.2.6) 3. Imagine that you have a twin brother or sister. (If you really do have a twin, get him or her to help you with this activity!) Based upon your own likes and dislikes, use The News-Journal to find and clip items that "describe" your real or imaginary twin. Try to find items from the following categories (and add some of your own): food, recreation, toys or games, pets, sports, music, movies, museums, etc. Create a collage using your clippings and a large sheet of paper. Display it on your refrigerator at home. (Sunshine State Standards: HE.B.2.2.4) 4. The game of Concentration is made up of pairs of cards that contain the same words or pictures of things. Design your own Concentration game by using items you find in The News-Journal. Choose illustrations to make up pairs, using broad categories; for example, two pictures of cars, even though they may be different cars, might be used as a pair. Find and clip pairs for 12 different categories (for a total of 24 pictures). Glue each clipping to a heavy backing about the size of a playing card. (In fact, you can use an old deck of cards for your base.) Later, mix up your pairs, lay your "cards" face down and challenge yourself or others to find and remember the location of the pairs. (Sunshine State Standards: LA.B.2.2.2, LA.C.3.2.3, MA.D.1.2.1, MA.D.2.2.1) 5. Make up a similar game using pairs of numbers clipped from The News-Journal. As an added challenge, create your own Concentration "flash cards" with made-up math problems. Be sure that you use each answer twice on your cards. Here's an example of a "pair" that can be made using numbers you clip: 7 + 9 = ? and 4 X 4 = ? Since both question marks in these equations stand for 16, sixteens become one "pair." (Sunshine State Standards: LA.B.2.2.2, LA.C.3.2.3, MA.A.3.2.1, MA.A.3.2.2, MA.A.3.2.3, MA.D.1.2.1, MA.D.2.2.1) A copy of Florida's Sunshine State Standards can be found at intech2000.miamisci.org/. Check out these links to learn moreFrom The Learning Channel at Discovery.com you can pursue links to more information about twins separated at birth, the secret language of some twins and more. The site offers many stories about twins and takes a look at the interesting theory of the "vanishing twin." tlc.discovery.com Here's a site for good readers: after an "introduction to twins" you'll probably especially enjoy following links to "Informative Fun Facts" and "Nature or Nurture." post.uwstout.edu Take a look at some world class athletes who are twins at www.twinstuff.com/twinolympics.htm. Also at Twinstuff.com, you can learn more about famous twins in even more sports, music and politics. www.twinstuff.com The Newspaper Association of America's web site contains links to many newspapers in the U.S. and around the world, which may contain additional news stories about this topic. To access the newspapers at the site, select a state. Click on the "Internationals" button to view choices from other countries. The Daytona Beach News-Journal NIE Program, published May 6, 2002 |
Copyright © 2009 NIE WORLD (www.nieworld.com). All content copyrighted and may not be republished without permission. The News-Journal has no control over and is not responsible for content on other Web sites. Privacy Policy. |