2010 Teacher Created Resources, Inc.

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "2010 Teacher Created Resources, Inc."

Annice Strickland
5 years ago
Views:

Editor in Chief Ina Massler Levin, M.A. Creative Director Karen J. Goldfluss, M.S. Ed.

Swierski Publisher Mary D. Smith, M.S. Ed.

Eric Migliaccio The classroom teacher may reproduce copies of materials in this book for

Reproduction of any part for an entire school or school system is strictly prohibited.

1 Editor in Chief Ina Massler Levin, M.A. Creative Director Karen J. Goldfluss, M.S. Ed. Illustrator Kelly McMahon Cover Artist Barb Lorseyedi Imaging Leonard P. Swierski Publisher Mary D. Smith, M.S. Ed. Contributing Authors Ruth Foster, M. Ed. Eric Migliaccio The classroom teacher may reproduce copies of materials in this book for classroom use only. Reproduction of any part for an entire school or school system is strictly prohibited. No part of this publication may be transmitted, stored, or recorded in any form without written permission from the publisher. Teacher Created Resources, Inc Industry Way Westminster, CA ISBN: Teacher Created Resources, Inc. Made in U.S.A.

2 Table of Contents Introduction...3 Practice Pages (In order, the practice pages include a nonfiction story, a fiction story, and a set of five questions about the stories.) 1. Stories All Kinds of Eggs and The Egg Puzzles Stories Night Walkers and Why Bats Aren t Bad Stories Cookie to the Rescue and An Alaskan Adventure Stories Caught by the Teeth and Mr. Gem s Story Stories The Sources of Sound and The Sound on the Stairs Stories Jet s Planes and My Job Stories The Eel Ladder and All Things Connected Stories The Steel Bubble and An Adventure Above Stories Sticks and Cans and Fast Max Stories The Equality State and A Kiowa Legend Stories The Mouths of Crocodiles and Small Deer s Plan Stories A Popular Mistake and Traveling Through Italy Stories The Birth of Blue Jeans and The Gambler s Route Stories The Bus Boycott and Bundle of Strength Stories Surviving the Night and Life on the Express Stories Traveling by Tornado and Sally Spots a Swindle Stories The Sphinx s Riddle and Riddle Day Stories Cheetah on the Loose! and Grandpa s Morning Walk Stories An Inky Escape and The Sneak Attack Stories The History of the Piggy and The Miser s Hole Stories The Really Good Fakes and Outsmarting the King Stories Running Out of Air and The Best Way to Judge...46 Answer Key...48 #3031 Nonfiction & Fiction Reading 2 Teacher Created Resources, Inc.

3 Practice 1 Stories Nonfiction All Kinds of Eggs You may think that if you have seen one egg, you have seen them all. But not all eggs are the same. They come in different shapes, sizes, and colors. For instance, the biggest egg is the ostrich egg. An ostrich egg is on the average 6 inches (150 mm) in length, and its diameter is about 5 inches (125 mm). It weighs about 3 pounds (1.35 kg). How long would it take to hard-boil an ostrich egg? It would take about two hours! (Hard-boiling chicken eggs takes about minutes.) Then there are murre eggs. These eggs are pear-shaped, but they may be different colors. Some may be blue, while others are green or pink. They are marked with red, brown, or black specks. Why are murre eggs pear-shaped? Why are they different colors? Murres are sea birds that nest on high, rocky cliffs. A pear-shaped egg, if knocked or blown by a strong wind, does not roll straight. It spins in a circle because of its shape. The pear-shape helps keep the egg from falling into the ocean. The different colors help murre parents know which eggs are theirs. The bird that lays the largest egg for its size is the kiwi. A kiwi that weighs 5 pounds (2.3 kg) can lay an egg that weighs 1 pound (.45 kg)! Fiction The Egg Puzzles Manny said, I have two eggs. One egg is raw. It has not been cooked at all. The other is hardboiled. My egg puzzle is this: tell me which egg is the hard-boiled egg without cracking the shell. Susie said, I will solve your puzzle if you can solve mine. Tell me, how can you remove the shell from a hard-boiled egg without cracking it? Manny said, Ha! You thought I d be stumped, but I know the answer. All you have to do is dissolve the shell by putting it in a jar full of with vinegar. In just a few hours, the egg will begin to feel soft and rubbery. The shell will be completely gone by the next day. Susie said, I don t need vinegar to solve your puzzle. All I need is a flick of my wrist! I will flick my wrist to spin both eggs on the table. I have to stop them quickly and then immediately let go of them again. Only one of the eggs will start spinning again. Good! said Manny. The egg that keeps spinning will be the raw egg. It s because the liquid inside it is still moving. Susie said, That s right. Now let s go eat lunch and talk about what came first: the chicken or the egg. #3031 Nonfiction & Fiction Reading 4 Teacher Created Resources, Inc.

4 Practice 1 Questions Directions: Fill in the bubble next to each correct answer. 1. From the story All Kinds of Eggs, you can tell that A no birds can tell green from black. B few birds can tell green from black. C all birds can tell green from black. D some birds can tell green from black. 2. From the story The Egg Puzzles, you can tell that Manny and Susie A knew murre eggs didn t spin. B knew egg shells could be removed. C knew that the chicken came before the egg. D knew how long it would take to hard-boil an egg. 3. An egg is spinning. A person quickly stops the egg by touching it but then lets go. The egg will continue to spin A as long as the liquid inside is dissolved. B as long as the liquid inside is hard-boiled. C as long as the liquid inside is still moving. D as long as the liquid inside is covered in vinegar. 4. Write one fact about each kind of bird egg. a. ostrich b. chicken c. murre d. kiwi 5. Look at the picture to the right. Which story does it show? A All Kinds of Eggs B The Egg Puzzles Teacher Created Resources, Inc. 5 #3031 Nonfiction & Fiction Reading

5 Practice 2 Stories Nonfiction Night Walkers When we picture vampire bats, we usually imagine them flying through the air or hanging upsidedown. But they can walk, too! When a vampire bat spots its next meal, it can fly down and land on the ground. It can then walk slowly and silently, carefully moving toward its prey. A special thumb on each wing helps the bat with balance. This same thumb also helps the bat jump up from the ground onto its prey. Often, the prey never knows that the bat is there. It never even knows that it provided the bat with a meal! But it has: the vampire bat has eaten the prey s blood. Vampire bats are found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. They are small and shy, and they can fit into the palm of ones hand. They are also nocturnal, which means that they are active at night. Vampire bats feed on sleeping animals, such as cows, horses, and pigs. They like to feed on the same animal night after night. Vampire bats cannot smell blood, but they can smell their prey. Using their sense of smell, they can pick the same animal out of a large herd. Sometimes vampire bats can t find food, but they don t go hungry. This is because other bats will share food with the hungry bats. How do vampire bats share their food? They vomit up blood into the hungry bat s mouth. Fiction Why Bats Aren t Bad Benito said, I don t like bats. Bats are blind, dirty, birds. Bats don t do any good. I wish there weren t any bats. Dave laughed and said, Benito, you can think what you want about bats, but you should have your facts straight. First, bats are not blind. Bats can see quite well. Second, bats are not dirty. They spend a lot of time grooming themselves and their roost mates. Third, bats are mammals, not birds. They are the only flying mammals in the world. Benito said, Okay, bats aren t blind, dirty birds, but I still wish there weren t any. Dave said, Do you like bananas or avocados? Benito laughed. He said, What do those foods have to do with bats? Dave said, You said bats don t do any good. The truth is that if it weren t for bats, we might not have bananas, figs, avocados, or many other tasty foods! Fruit- and nectar-eating bats are great pollinators. They pollinate many trees and shrubs. They scatter seeds, too, through their droppings. And then there are bats that are insect eaters. Some bats can eat as many as 3,000 crop-destroying pests or mosquitoes in one night! Just then, a mosquito began to buzz around Benito s face. I could use a bat right now! said Benito, slapping at the mosquito. #3031 Nonfiction & Fiction Reading 6 Teacher Created Resources, Inc.

6 Practice 2 Questions Directions: Fill in the bubble next to each correct answer. 1. What is not true about bats? A Some bats are birds. B Some bats eat insects. C Some bats scatter seeds. D Some bats pollinate trees. 2. What type of bat did Benito most likely wish for? A vampire bat B fruit-eating bat C nectar-eating bat D insect-eating bat 3. Most likely a vampire bat will vomit blood into the mouths A of dirty bats. B of its roost mates. C of crop-destroying bats. D of bats that scatter seeds. 4. Fill in the bubble next to the wing that most likely belongs to a vampire bat. Then, explain your answer on the lines below. A B C 5. List five facts about bats that were mentioned in the story Why Bats Aren t Bad. a. b. c. d. e. Teacher Created Resources, Inc. 7 #3031 Nonfiction & Fiction Reading

2009 Teacher Created Resources, Inc.

2009 Teacher Created Resources, Inc. Editor Heather Douglas Illustrator Mark Mason Cover Artist Brenda DiAntonis Editor in Chief Ina Massler Levin, M.A. Creative Director Karen J. Goldfluss, M.S. Ed. Art Coordinator Renée Christine Yates