Table of ContentsBIG CATS 3Hunting for Endings Language Arts Activity ________7Count the Cats! Mathematics Activity ______________8African Wonderland Geography Activity __________9Big Cat Continents Geography Activity ___________10Big Cat Continents Geography Activity ___________11A Rainforest Surprise Reading Activity____________12Big Cat Fun Language Arts Activity ______________13Answer Key __________________________________14

SPORTS 15Go, Team! Language Arts Activity _______________19Tickets for Sale! Mathematics Activity_____________20Team Players Mathematics Activity _______________21Telling It Like It Is Reading Activity _______________22Fueling Up Science Activity _____________________23Practice Makes Perfect Social Studies Activity ______24Scrambled Sports Language Arts Activity _________25Answer Key __________________________________26

INSECTS 27A Bug’s Body Science Activity ___________________31Bugging Out Mathematics Activity _______________32Staying Alive Science Activity ___________________33Create-a-Critter Reading Activity ________________34Imagine That! Mathematics Activity ______________35Pesty Patterns Mathematics Activity ______________36Tic-Tac-Toe! Language Arts Activity ______________37Answer Key __________________________________38

TOP FIVE 39Fishing for Words Language Arts Activity _________43Hot Stuff! Geography Activity __________________44Hot Stuff! Geography Activity __________________45Going in Circles Language Arts Activity __________46Dream Weavers Language Arts Activity __________47Sweet Teeth Social Studies Activity ______________48Top Five Mathematics Activity ___________________49Answer Key __________________________________50

AFRICA 51Who am I? Reading Activity ____________________55Let It Rain! Mathematics Activity _________________56I’m Hungry! Language Arts Activity ______________57Home, Sweet Home Geography Activity __________58Home, Sweet Home Geography Activity __________59Energize Me! Science Activity___________________60Did You Know? Language Arts Activity ___________61Answer Key __________________________________62

HUMAN BODY 63Beat It! Mathematics Activity ____________________67What a Busybody! Science Activity ______________68Pulse Play Science Activity______________________69Take That! Reading Activity _____________________70Could It Be? Language Arts Activity ______________71Some Like It Hot! Social Studies Activity __________72Where To? Social Studies Activity________________73Answer Key __________________________________74

THE OCEAN 75Headed to America Reading Activity _____________79Sea Smarts Mathematics Activity ________________80Living It Up Science Activity_____________________81The Name Game Geography Activity ____________82The Name Game Geography Activity ____________83Something Fishy Mathematics Activity ____________84Gone Fishing Language Arts Activity _____________85Answer Key __________________________________86

WEATHER 87Brrrrrrrrr!!!! Reading Activity ___________________91Extra! Extra! Reading Activity ___________________92Counting in the Cold Mathematics Activity ________93Get Wet! Science Activity ______________________94You’re the Meteorologist Language Arts Activity____95Answer Key __________________________________96

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MINI BOOKMINI BOOK

BIG CATSBIG CATSWild cats live all over the world. They are incredibly fast. They love to hunt. They can swim.They are heavy. What are some other qualities wildcats have in common?

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Cheetahs are the world’s fastest land animals. Their lean bodies and long legshelp the animal run as fast as 72 miles perhour. Some peoplecall the cheetah the“greyhound” of thecat family. As thecheetah runs, onlyone foot touchesthe ground at atime. At its fastestpace, the cheetahaverages about three tofour strides per second.

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There are many differentkinds of wild cat. Some wildcats have spots. Others havestripes. Some wild cats arequicker or stronger than others. Still, all wild cats haveone thing in common: Theyare excellent hunters.

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Lions are muscular and powerful. Still, they have trouble running for long distances. That is because lions have difficultymaintaining their speed. The lionesses are the

hunters in the group. Themales are the first to feedonce the prey has been

caught and killed. Thenthe females take theirturns. Last are the cubs.

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DID YOU KNOW...that blackleopards are called panthers?

Leopards vary in size depending on wherein the world they live. Some live in Asia andsome live in Africa. Some live on islands.Leopards are able to live in so many differenttypes of environment because they are veryversatile. This means that they can adapt tomany different kinds of places.

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Tigers live in forests and grasslands. Theylike to stay near water whenever they can. Theyare strong swimmers, and they love to bathethemselves. Tigers prey on large animals. Theychase wild boar, monkeys, deer, and buffalo. Atiger will quietly stalk its prey before attacking.It will usually attack its victim’s throat.

DID YOU KNOW... that most adulttigers weigh around 420 pounds?

Jaguars look a lot like leopards, only heavier.Jaguars are excellent swimmers. They are goodat fishing and use their paws to flip fish out ofthe water. Jaguars make their dens in caves orunder overhanging rocks. Like many other cats,jaguars do their hunting at night. The jaguar’sjaws are the strongest of any land mammal.This makes it easy for the jaguar to eat its prey.

DID YOU KNOW... that the AncientMayans considered the jaguar a god?

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Hunting for EndingsRead the sentences and look at the matching pictures below.

Then write each verb with its correct ending.

Endings: -s -ed -ing

This jaguar __________ in the lake.

Last week, a tiger __________ a buffalo.

We watch as the jaguar __________up the tree.

The lioness is __________ in the jungle.

A tiger always __________ its prey.

The cub was __________ in the river.

swim

attack

climb

hunt

stalk

bath

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Count the Cats!Each of the fractions below has two numbers.

The bottom number will tell you how many big cats there are in each group.

The top number will tell you many big cats in each group you should count.

Read the sentences and look at the pictures below.

Then circle the correct fraction to answer each question.

There are 5 cheetahs. How many of them are running?3/5 1/5 2/5

There are 4 tiger cubs. How many of them are swimming?3/4 1/3 1/4

There are 4 jaguars. How many of them are in the tree?1/2 1/3 1/4

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N

S

W E

African WonderlandThere are many different types of landforms in Africa.

Use the map key to help you color in this map of Africa.

1. Find the grasslands. Color them brown.

2. Find the deserts. Color them yellow.

3. Find the mountains. Color them purple.

4. Find the rainforests. Color them green.

What type of landform is at the southern tip of Africa?

___________________________________________________

mountains

deserts

rainforests

grasslands

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Big Cat Continents This world map shows where different wild cats live.

Find each cat on the map.

Next to each cat’s picture, write the name(s) of the continent(s) where that cat can be found.

World map with continents labeled. Pictures od big cats aroundthe page. Lions should be south of the Sahara in African andin the Gir Forest of India. Cheetahs in eastern and southernAfrica. Jaguars in Mexico, Central and South America, andSouthern Arizona and New Mexico. Leopards are in Africa as farnorth as the Sahara and in Asia from Turkey to Korea to Java.Tigers in southern Asia (especially Indian and Thailand). Asmall number of tigers in eastern Siberia.

N

S

W E

Key

cheetah jaguar leopard tiger lion

NorthAmerica

SouthAmerica Africa

EuropeAsia

Australia

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spots of eachof the fivecats to goabove label

spots of eachof the fivecats to goabove label

spots of eachof the fivecats to goabove label

cheetah

jaguar

leopard

tiger

lion

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A Rainforest SurpriseRead the passage below. Then fill in the story chart.

My mom travels a lot. One year she went to Asia. She hired a guide who took her deep into the rainforest. They were walking down a trail when a deer ran into an open space upahead. Suddenly, a big, striped head looked out from the bushes. It was a tiger! The tiger watched its prey for quite awhile, and then jumped out to surprise the deer. It caught thedeer with its sharp teeth and stood proudly over it.

My mom was nervous that the tiger might come after her,too. The guide told my mother to be quiet. They moved quicklyand quietly back to the jeep. They were lucky, because the tigerwas distracted by his catch. While it ate its meal, Mom and theguide were able to drive back to safety!

characters

setting

problem

solution

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Big Cat FunAcross1. Many big cats have strong _______ and teeth. 4. Stripes provide some big cats _______ for the jungle.6. Tigers have _______ on their coats.7. Big cats chase after their_______.

Down2. When leopards run, their _______ blur.3. This big cat likes to stay near the water.4. Big cats have sharp _______ to help them climb. 5. Cheetahs have long _______ that help them run fast.

Word Bankcamouflage

claws

jaws

legs

prey

spots

stripes

tiger

4

6

5

21

7

3

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Big Cats Answers

Page 7-s, -ed, -s, -ing, -s, -ing

Page 81/5, 3/4, 1/4

Page 9

mountains

Page 12Characters: mom, guide,deer, tiger

Setting: rainforest in Asia

Problem: The tiger mightprey on the mom and herguide.

Solution: The mom and herguide drove to safety whilethe tiger was eating and distracted.

Page 131 — jaws; 2 — spots; 3 — tiger; 4 across — camouflage; 4 down — claws; 5 — legs; 6 — stripes; 7 — prey

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