reading informational text with charts and graphs...preview n name: _____ thomas edison is one of...

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The Next DoorTeacher

Reading Informational Text

Charts and Graphs

Preview

Name: ____________________________________________

People all around the world love chocolate and that includes Americans, who eat about 5.3 kilograms per person each year. Where does chocolate come from? It grows in many rainforests throughout the world. Cacao beans grow in a pod on a tropical tree, which takes five to six months to develop. When the pods ripen, they change color from green or yellow to orange or red and then workers cut them off the tree with machetes. The ripened pods are placed on banana leaves in large wooden boxes and are left to ferment for a few days. Then they're dried for one to two weeks. Next, the beans are roasted, shelled and ground into a paste. This paste is mixed with sugar and cocoa butter for dark chocolate or sugar, cocoa butter and milk for milk chocolate. The last step is that the mixture is cooked at a high temperature.

The history of chocolate is very interesting. Chocolate was discovered around 600 A.D., by the Mayan people who lived in Mexico. The Mayans, as well as the Aztecs used cacao beans as a form of money. Their favorite use of chocolate, however, was to make it into a special drink, similar to hot chocolate. In fact, the Aztec's emperor, Montezuma, drank 50 cups or more each day and would serve it to his guests in golden goblets. Although people in North and South America were familiar with chocolate, Europeans were unaware of this treat until early explorers, including Christopher Columbus, brought chocolate back from their travels. Chocolate is popular is times of peace and in times of war. In fact, during World War II, American soldiers received candy bars as part of their rations.

Amount of Chocolate Consumed by Person per Pound in 2008

© The Teacher Next Door

Historical Text:

Chocolate

Preview

1. Which country eats the most chocolate per year? ___________________

__________________________________________________________

2. Which two countries listed on the graph eat the least amount of chocolate? __________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

3. How are the ingredients different for dark chocolate and milk chocolate? __________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

4. Who discovered chocolate? ___________________________________

__________________________________________________________

5. Besides eating chocolate made from cacao beans, what other way did the Mayans and Aztecs use cacao beans? _____________________________

__________________________________________________________

6. Name TWO ways that you can tell that the emperor Montezuma loved hot chocolate: __________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

7. How did Europeans find out about chocolate since it wasn't grown there? __________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

8. Why do you think the army gave chocolate bars to soldiers during World War II? ______________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________


Preview

n

Name: ______________________________________________________

Thomas Edison is one of the most successful American inventors, with a total of 1,093 U.S. patents to his name. Most people know about Edison's inventions like the phonograph and the light bulb, but as a result of Edison's hard work, he created many more. He is quoted as saying, "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration". Edison was born in Ohio on February 11, 1847 and was the youngest of seven children. He spent short periods of time in school but was mainly taught at home by his mother. He also enjoyed reading books from his father's large collection. At the age of twelve, he created his own chemistry lab and started experimenting with various projects. Edison's first invention was most likely an automatic telegraph repeater in 1864, which helped telegraphs travel at greater distances. His first patented invention was the automatic vote recorder in 1868. He used the money from this invention to set up an "invention factory" and hired eighty workers to help him with this venture. In 1877, Edison perfected the "Electric Pen", which produced stencils to make copies and was an early version of the copy machine. Edison's most original invention was the phonograph, which received a patent in 1877. It was operated using a hand crank that made impressions on metal foil to replay sounds. By 1887, he had improved it to run by motor and to play wax records. Although Edison was not the very first person to invent the light bulb, he is credited with its invention because he took the original design for a light bulb and altered the filament so it would be able to be mass produced and used by the public. His light bulb was patented in 1879. His later inventions included the kinetoscope and the battery. The kinetoscope was Edison's motion picture camera that could photograph action on fifty-foot strips of film. The invention of the battery was not an easy one. It took Edison 8,000 trials to perfect it! After the 8,000th attempt, Edison remarked "Well, at least we know eight thousand things that don't work." The battery was finally perfected in 1910. Edison died on October 18, 1931. A laboratory in Detroit, Michigan is named after him, thanks to his friend, Henry Ford.

Thomas Edison's Inventions

Automatic Vote Recorder Phonograph Kinetoscope

1868 1877 1888

1875 1879 1900

Copy Machine

Called the "Electric Pen"

Incandescent

Light Bulb Battery


Historical Text:

Thomas Edison

Preview

1. How many U.S. patents did Edison obtain? _____________________________

______________________________________________________________

2. What do you think Edison meant when he said "Genius is one percent inspiration

and ninety-nine percent perspiration"? _________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

3. How old was Edison when he opened his first chemistry lab? ________________

______________________________________________________________

4. Which invention allowed Edison to open an "invention factory"? ______________

______________________________________________________________

5. Which invention allowed people to replay sounds? ________________________

______________________________________________________________

6. It took Edison over 8,000 tries to invent the battery. What does this show about his character? __________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

Use the timeline to answer questions # 7 - 9

7. What did Edison invent in 1888? ____________________________________

______________________________________________________________

8. Which was invented first, the copy machine or the kinetoscope? ____________

______________________________________________________________

9. When was the battery invented? ____________________________________

______________________________________________________________


Preview

Name: _________________________________________________________________

Rainforests can be found in several places around the world, though they cover only 6% of

the land's surface. Rainforests have a high amount of rain per year (50 – 260 inches) and grow in warm regions. Almost all rainforests lie near the equator. More than half of all the world's plant and animal species live in rainforests and rainforests produce about 40% of Earth's oxygen. Besides being a source of oxygen, rainforests are helpful because many of the medicines we use today

come from rainforest plants. Currently ¼ of all of our medicines come from the rainforest. For example, curare comes from a tropical vine and it is used for anesthesia (a pain reliever) during surgery. Quinine, which is from the cinchona tree, is used to treat malaria and rosy periwinkle has been very successful treating some forms of cancer. Scientists are constantly searching for new medicines which can be created using rainforest plants.

Layers of the Rainforest: Although each of the three largest rainforests (the Asian, the African, and the American) have different plants and animals, they all have four very distinct layers. These layers include the emergent, the upper canopy, the understory, and the forest floor.

Emergent: This area has very tall treetops (100 – 240 feet tall) with umbrella shaped canopies that grow above the forest. These trees have small pointed leaves which drop during the brief dry season, in monsoon rainforests. The giant trees have straight, smooth trunks with few branches. Although their root system is shallow, the roots grow out to a distance of 30 feet.

Upper Canopy: The upper canopy has trees that are 60 – 130 feet tall and is exposed to sunlight. This is the area where most of the rainforest's animals live. In the upper canopy there is so much available food that some animals never venture down to the forest floor. Upper canopy trees have leaves with "drip spouts", which allow rain to run off to the lower levels.

Understory: Trees that are around 60 feet grow in this level, as well as the trunks of the canopy trees, shrubs, plants and smaller trees. This level is very humid and is almost always shaded.

Forest Floor: This level is usually completely shaded, unless a canopy tree has fallen down, which creates an opening. Few bushes grow here since they receive such little sunlight. In fact, only 1% of the light that hits the top of the rainforest, makes it way to the floor. Dead leaves and bark (called litter) fall to the ground and are decomposed by termites, earthworms and fungi. The organic matter is then absorbed by the tree's shallow roots.


Scientific Text:

The Rainforest

Preview

1. Most rainforests in the world are near what? ____________________ ________________________________________________________

2. Why do rainforests produce so much oxygen? ____________________ ________________________________________________________

3. Other than providing oxygen, how are rainforests helpful? ___________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 4. How many layers make up the rainforest? _______________________ ________________________________________________________

5. Which layer has the tallest trees? _____________________________ ________________________________________________________

6. Where do most of the animals live in the rainforest? ________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

7. How are some animals able to stay in the upper canopy all of the time? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

8. Where do shrubs, plants and small trees grow? ___________________ ________________________________________________________

9. The forest floor is covered with litter. What is this kind of litter made up of? _____________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

10. Name three types of decomposers that live on the forest floor: ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________


Preview

l

When most people hear "Tasmanian devil", they think of the feisty cartoon character with the same name. Tasmanian devils are real creatures however and are the largest carnivorous (meat eating) marsupials in the world. Marsupials are animals who carry their babies in their pouches. These nocturnal animals can only be found in the wild, on the island of Tasmania, which is near Australia. They used to also live in Australia thousands of years ago but scientists think they became extinct in Australia, when Asian dogs named dingoes arrived there. In 1941, the government made Tasmanian devils a protected species and their numbers started to rise until the 1990's when Tasmanian devils contracted a form of facial cancer that made it hard for them to eat. Currently, scientists are researching ways to stop the spread of this disease and to help the Tasmanian devils make a comeback.

Tasmanian devils are about the size of a medium dog and can weigh up to 26 pounds. Their length is about 22 - 32 inches long and they have a bushy tail about half of that length. They have thick brown or black fur with a white stripe on their chest and sometimes a white marking on their rear end and sides as well. Tasmanian devils have strong jaws and teeth and are mostly scavengers, searching for dead animals. One of their favorite foods is wombat but they also will eat live beetle larvae or even poultry. When they are well fed, they store extra fat in their tails.

Tasmanian devils do a number of things when they feel threatened. They may lunge at their attackers, bare their teeth, howl, shriek and even spin around like their cartoon character, "Taz". Their ears will also turn bright red and their tails stand up straight in the air. They exhibit these same behaviors when they try to join other devils who are eating a carcass or when they are fighting for a mate. When Tasmanian devils have babies, there are usually four of them and they are the size of raisins. These tiny babies stay in the pouch and feed on their mother's milk for about four to five months until they are able to survive on their own.

Vegetation

Wallabies Rodents

Snakes

Tasmanian Devils

Birds of Prey Owls

Australia

Tasmania


Scientific Text:

Name: ________________________________________________ Tasmanian Devils

Food Web

Preview

1. Define the following words:

Carnivorous: ____________________________________________________

Marsupial: ______________________________________________________

Nocturnal: ______________________________________________________

2. Look at the map. Traveling from Australia, in which direction would you go to get

to the island of Tasmania? __________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

3. Look at the Food Web. Name two animals that Tasmanian Devils like to eat.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

4. How do scientists think Tasmanian devils became extinct in Australia?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

5. Why do you think Tasmanian devils have strong jaws and teeth?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

6. List three things a Tasmanian devil does when it feels threatened:

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

7. To which object does the author compare a newborn Tasmanian devil's size?

______________________________________________________________

Why does the author make this comparison? _____________________________

______________________________________________________________

8. How long do Tasmanian devil babies stay in their mother's pouch?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________


Preview

Name: _________________________________

Mancala is one of the oldest board games still played today. Archaeologists discovered stone boards in Egyptian pyramids (four in King Tut's tomb alone) as far back as 1400 BC. Mancala is played around the world with slight variations, with the African version being the most popular.

Game Materials: The most common mancala board is made out of wood and has six indentations (baskets) on each side and two larger indentations (mancala basket) at each end. The 48 game pieces may be seeds, rocks, beads, or most commonly flat glass pieces that are similar to marbles. To set up the game, place four game pieces in each of the 12 baskets.

Directions for the Game: The object of the game is to get as many game pieces into your mancala basket as possible. To play the game, decide who will go first. The first player to start, picks up all of the pieces from one of his/her baskets. Moving counter-clockwise, the player drops a single game piece in each of the baskets, including his/her own mancala basket (when a player is sitting in front of his/her board, their mancala basket is to the right and their opponent's mancala basket is to the left). If the player still has game pieces in his/her hand, they can be dropped into the opponent's baskets but never into the opponent's mancala basket. If the last piece ends at the player's own mancala basket, that person gets another turn. If the player's last piece ends in an empty basket on that player's side and the opponent's basket opposite of it is empty, he/she can put that piece into the mancala basket. If the last piece ends in an empty basket and the opponent has game pieces on the basket opposite of it, the player is able to take all of the game pieces from the opponent's basket and put them in his/her mancala basket. Continue to play until there are no more pieces on the board.

Board Games Timeline

Senet game found in Egyptian tombs

Mancala stone board found in

Egypt

Dominoes invented in China

2600 BC 1400 BC 1500 AD

1500 BC 1100 AD 1530 AD

Tic Tac Toe game

found in ruins Checkers invented in

Europe Bingo invented in Italy


Technical Text:

How to Play Mancala

Preview

1. Where did Archaeologists discover mancala boards? _____________

______________________________________________________

2. In which country was the most popular version of mancala started? ______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

3. Besides glass pieces, name three things that can be used at game pieces: ________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

4. If you are playing mancala, is your mancala basket to your right or to your left? _______________________________________________

5. If your last game piece ends in your own mancala basket, what do you do? ___________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

6. How do you determine who wins? ____________________________

Use the timeline for # 7 – 10:

7. What was the earliest board game called? _____________________

______________________________________________________

8. Which board game was invented in 1100 AD? ___________________

______________________________________________________

9. Which board game was invented first, dominoes or bingo? _________

______________________________________________________

10. Which game originated in Italy? ___________________________

______________________________________________________


Preview

s

Name: __________________________________________________________

Hot air balloons are beautiful to look at and fun to ride. They're also a good example of some basic scientific principles. Hot air balloons rise into the air because of warm air. That's because warm air has less mass than cool air, and so it is lighter and tends to rise. It takes a great deal of heated air to lift a hot air balloon. For example, to lift 1,000 pounds of weight, you would need 65,000 cubic feet of heated air. A hot air balloon is able to produce large amounts of hot air by heating it with a special burner which send the hot air upwards, into the balloon.

Parts of a Hot Air Balloon:

1. The Envelope: This is the actual fabric balloon that holds the air. The main part of the envelope is made out of nylon or polyester, which is the same type of material a parachute is made of. The bottom part (nearest the burner) is made out of Nomex, which is a heat resistant material used by firefighters. The hyperlast is the top part of the envelope and it is made from a special fabric that is particularly strong and has a silicone coating to prevent the growth of mold.

2. The Burner: The burner is like the engine of the hot air balloon and it propels warm air into the envelope to make the balloon rise. There are different types of burners that are selected based on the size of the balloon. The burner uses propane (like a propane BBQ) to heat the air. It is stored in cylinders in the basket, along with the pilot and passengers. When the pilot starts the pilot light on the burner, it lights the propane, creating a flame. The flame heats the air and it starts to rise.

3. The Basket: The basket is the bottom part of the balloon which holds the pilot, passengers and the propane cylinders.

Baskets come in several different sizes and can hold 2 – 20 people, depending upon their size. They are either opened or partitioned. Baskets are usually made of Kooboo or Palambang, which are both very sturdy but lightweight.

An open basket A single T- partitioned basket

A double T- partitioned basket


Technical Text:

Hot Air Balloons

Preview

1. Why does warm air rise? _____________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ 2. The envelope is made out of the same material as which item? __________ __________________________________________________________ 3. Why does the bottom part of the envelope need to be flame resistant? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ 4. Which profession uses the fabric Nomex? _________________________ __________________________________________________________

5. Why do you think the middle part of the envelope is called the equator? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Which part of the envelope has a tendency to get mold? _______________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. To which object was the burner compared? _______________________ __________________________________________________________

8. What type of fuel does the burner use? ___________________________ __________________________________________________________

9. Why were the Kooboo and Palambang chosen as materials to make the basket? ___________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________

10. Look at the hot air balloon diagram. What does the parachute valve do? __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________


Preview

s

Name: _______________________________________

Go to http://easyscienceforkids.com/all-about-dolphins/

and answer the following questions:

1. Why are dolphins sometimes called the dogs of the sea? ____________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

2. Are dolphins mammals or fish? ______________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

3. What are two ways that dolphins and porpoises are different? _______________________

_______________________________________________________________________

4. What is the most common type of dolphin? ______________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

5. What is a dolphin group called? _______________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

6. How do dolphins communicate? _______________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

7. How are dolphins like bats? __________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

8. What is the smallest dolphin? ________________________________________________

9. Why do you think orcas are called killer whales if they’re actually dolphins? _______________

_______________________________________________________________________

10. Are male or female dolphins the leaders in dolphin groups? __________________________

_______________________________________________________________________


Webquest:

Dolphins

Preview

http://easyscienceforkids.com/all-about-dolphins/

s

Name: ____________________________________

Go to http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-volcano.htm


1. Why do volcanoes erupt? _______________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

2. Name three of the five things a volcano can trigger: ___________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

3. What's the difference between an active, dormant and extinct volcano? _____________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

4. How many active volcanoes are there right now? _________ How many are in the ocean? ______

___________________________________________________________________________

5. Describe the difference between magma and lava: ____________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

6. Name three reasons why pyroclastic flow is so deadly? _________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

7. What type of rock is made from volcanoes and resembles a sponge? _______________________

___________________________________________________________________________

8. What is the world's largest volcano and where is it located? ______________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

9. What is the name of the area in the Pacific that has a large concentration of earthquakes and

volcanoes? ___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Webquest:

Volcanoes


Preview

http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-volcano.htm

Name: __________________________________________________

Go to http://tcrr.com/ and answer the following questions:

1. When was the main line of the transcontinental railroad completed?

__________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

2. Which president supported the building of the Transcontinental Railroad? ________________

_______________________________________________________________________

3. Name two of the four modes of transportation that the transcontinental railroad replaced:

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

4. Which event in 1849 caused many people to move west? ____________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

5. What were the names of the two railroad companies who built the railroad?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

6. Which two things slowed down the building of the Central Railroad? ______________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

7. Why did some Native American groups raid the Union Pacific Railroad's labor camps?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

8. How many years did it take to complete the Transcontinental Railroad? __________________

________________________________________________________________________

9. Why was the "Golden Spike" only a gold-plated spike and not pure gold?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________


Webquest: The Transcontinental Railroad

Preview

http://tcrr.com/

Record Sheet Name: ______________________________________ 1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. most = least =

8.

9. 10. 1 1. 12.

13. 14. 15. 16. most = least =

17. 18. 19. 20.

21. 22. 23. 24.

25. 26. 27. 28.

29. 30. 31. 32.


Preview

Reading Charts and Graphs

1. How many more chickens were there than cows?


3. How many cats and dogs were there

altogether?


2. How many cars were sold on Tuesday and

Wednesday combined?


4. How many people chose either football or

soccer?

© The Teacher Next Door © The Teacher Next Door


Preview


5. How many shorts and shirts were collected in all?


7. Which grade has the most boys?

Which has the least boys?


6. How many people grabbed 33 or 34?


8. How many more people liked rock than

classical?



Preview


29. How many more starfish were there than jellyfish?


31. What was the total amount of rainfall from

February to April?


30. How much money did the brownies and

cookies raise altogether?


32. How many students were surveyed

altogether?



Preview

Key

Mancala is one of the oldest board games still played today. Archaeologists discovered stone boards in Egyptian pyramids (four in King Tut's tomb alone) as far back as 1400 BC. Mancala is played around the world with slight variations, with the African version being the most popular.

Game Materials: The most common mancala board is made out of wood and has six indentations (baskets) on each side and two larger indentations (mancala basket) at each end. The 48 game pieces may be seeds, rocks, beads, or most commonly flat glass pieces that are similar to marbles. To set up the game, place four game pieces in each of the 12 baskets.

Directions for the Game: The object of the game is to get as many game pieces into your mancala basket as possible. To play the game, decide who will go first. The first player to start, picks up all of the pieces from one of his/her baskets. Moving counter-clockwise, the player drops a single game piece in each of the baskets, including his/her own mancala basket (when a player is sitting in front of his/her board, their mancala basket is to the right and their opponent's mancala basket is to the left). If the player still has game pieces in his/her hand, they can be dropped into the opponent's baskets but never into the opponent's mancala basket. If the last piece ends at the player's own mancala basket, that person gets another turn. If the player's last piece ends in an empty basket on that player's side and the opponent's basket opposite of it is empty, he/she can put that piece into the mancala basket. If the last piece ends in an empty basket and the opponent has game pieces on the basket opposite of it, the player is able to take all of the game pieces from the opponent's basket and put them in his/her mancala basket. Continue to play until there are no more pieces on the board.

Board Games Timeline

Senet game found in Egyptian tombs

Mancala stone board found in

Egypt

Dominoes invented in China

2600 BC 1400 BC 1500 AD

1500 BC 1100 AD 1530 AD

Tic Tac Toe game

found in ruins Checkers invented in

Europe Bingo invented in Italy


Technical Text:

How to Play Mancala

Preview

1. Where did Archaeologists discover mancala boards?

Egyptian pyramids

2. In which country was the most popular version of mancala started?

African

3. Besides glass pieces, name three things that can be used at game pieces:

seeds, rocks, or beads

4. If you are playing mancala, is your mancala basket to your right or to your left?

to your right

5. If your last game piece ends in your own mancala basket, what do you do?

you get an extra turn/go again

6. How do you determine who wins?

the person with the most game pieces wins

Use the timeline for # 7 – 10:

7. What was the earliest board game called? Senet

8. Which board game was invented in 1100 AD? Checkers

9. Which board game was invented first, dominoes or bingo? dominoes

10. Which game originated in Italy? bingo


Preview

s

Key

Go to http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-volcano.htm


1. Why do volcanoes erupt?

Pressure inside the earth

2. Name three of the five things a volcano can trigger:

Answers vary: tsunami, earthquakes, flash floods, mudflows, rockfalls

3. What's the difference between an active, dormant and extinct volcano?

Active = recently erupted and may erupt soon, dormant = hasn't erupted for a long time but may erupt

again, extinct = hasn't erupted in thousands of years and probably won't erupt again

4. How many active volcanoes are there right now? 1,500 How many are in the ocean? 80

5. Describe the difference between magma and lava:

Magma is liquid rock inside a volcano and lava flows outside a volcano

6. Name three reasons a pyroclastic flow is so deadly?

They are fiercely hot, contain toxic gases, and move at phenomenal, hurricane-force speeds.

7. What type of rock is made from volcanoes and resembles a sponge?

Pumice

8. What is the world's largest volcano and where is it located?

Mauna Loa in Hawaii.

9. What is the name of the area in the Pacific that has a large concentration of earthquakes and

volcanoes?

Ring of Fire

Webquest:

Volcanoes


Preview

http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-volcano.htm

reading informational text with charts and graphs...preview n name: _____ thomas edison is one of...

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