Land Biomes TG
PRIME SCIENCE Teacher’s Guide Overarching Understanding* The world’s seven major land biomes have characteristic climates and communities, and require people’s conservation efforts to preserve them.
Land Biomes
Science Objectives • Identify the biotic and abiotic factors that affect Earth’s major land biomes • Identify the adaptations that allow different plants and animals to survive in each biome
Hands-On Science Inquiry • Why Is It Hotter at the Equator? page 12 • Why Do Leaves Have Different Shapes? page 20 • Create a Climograph, page 40
Metacognitive Strategies • Determine text importance • Visualize: Use fix-up strategies
Comprehension Strategy • Compare and contrast
Content Vocabulary • Glossary, page 46
Vocabulary Strategy** •U se context clues (direct definitions and descriptions) to define unfamiliar vocabulary
Word Study • Analogies • Suffixes • Classify words
Level W/60
Language Forms and Functions • Imperatives
Writing Connection • How to write a lab report, pages 44–45
Graphic Features Focus • Climate maps and climographs
Related Resources • • • • •
Land Biomes Interactive Whiteboard Edition Comprehension Strategy Assessments Comprehension Question Card Comprehension Power Tool Flip Chart ExC-ELL Vocabulary Strategies Card**
* Essential Questions for each chapter drive the unit of study. These questions encourage students to think critically about the big ideas, or essential understandings, and to formulate further questions for inquiry. Students who have read the text with comprehension should be able to demonstrate their understanding through discussion and through the “Putting It All Together” activities at the end of each chapter.
Level R/40
** If you are using this text with ExC-ELL students, please refer to the ExC-ELL Vocabulary Strategies Card.
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Introduce the Book Make Connections/Build Background Build Science Concepts and Vocabulary •P ose a question. Read the Prime Questions on the inside front cover of Land Biomes. Initiate a discussion about the plants and animals of the students’ community in its past (natural) state. • Think/pair/share. Ask students to work in small groups to discuss and record the characteristics of the natural environment in which they live. Ask: What living things are there? What land features are there (mountains, deserts, forests, etc.)? What is the climate like? • Create a word web anchor chart. Bring the class together to share. Write the words “Our Biome” in the center circle and descriptor categories (plants, animals, land features, climate, and so on) in surrounding circles. As students share, write the characteristics around each category. • Post the anchor chart to support students’ understanding of biomes throughout their reading of the book.
Preview the Book • Invite students to flip through the book and view photos, or project the whiteboard version of the text and preview the pages together. • Have students turn to the Table of Contents and read the chapter heads and Essential Questions for each chapter. • Invite students to read the book description and the “About the Author” blurb on the back cover of the book. Ask: How do these features help you figure out what you’ll learn about in this book? • Think/pair/write/share. Focusing on the Table of Contents, ask students to work in pairs or small groups to generate a list of questions they have about biomes.
Read Aloud the Book Introduction •A sk: Have you ever heard of a redwood tree? Have you ever seen one? • Have students turn to pages 4–5, or display the pages on your whiteboard. Ask students to look at the pictures of redwood trees and talk about how what it might feel like to stand in a redwood forest, looking up. • Read aloud the text on pages 4–5, or listen and follow along with the talking e-book in the whiteboard edition. • Ask students how much water they think it might take to support a forest of huge plants such as redwood trees. Encourage them to think of what the climate is like in other places with many plants or trees. Tell students that they will learn about different types of land biomes on Earth and how the climate affects what plants and animals grow in them.
•C reate an anchor chart similar to the one below. Discuss the types of data collected in each box and give examples as needed. • Generate ideas and conduct research. Allow students to work in groups to discuss possible questions to be researched. Example questions: • How much do changes in temperature affect the growth of a plant? • How has the construction of new buildings in their community affected the number of trees in the area? Students may choose to work individually or in teams to conduct their labs. • Using the anchor chart, review the characteristics of a lab report. • Ask students to use Lab Report Planning Guide (BLM 1) to plan and develop their reports. • Confer with individual students to support their research. Have they chosen an appropriate topic/question for their experiment? Is it “testable”? Have they identified appropriate procedures for gathering data? Are they including all required sections? Is their data specific and complete?
Introduction:
Write the question you are trying to answer and background information that explains why you want to know.
Hypothesis:
Write your original idea for how to answer the question.
Materials:
Include a list of all items used in the experiment.
Safety Precautions:
Include this section only if needed.
Procedures:
Write a summary of what you did, step by step.
Results:
Include notes, tables, graphs, charts, or other recordings you made during the lab experiment, which can be attached.
Analysis/Conclusions:
Accept or reject your hypothesis and use the results to explain your decision.
References:
Include a list all sources used to research the topic—books, articles, Web sites.
Write a Lab Report Introduce and Plan •H ave students turn to pages 44–45. Read the writing feature and model together. • Say: Lab reports are very important tools for scientists. Why do you think that’s true? Where might we find other examples of lab reports to review? (Allow responses.) • Generate a list of places, such as science textbooks and Internet sites, describing research in medicine, biology, geology, ecology, and other sciences.
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land biomes ©2010 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. ISBN: 978-1-61672-219-7
Chapter 1: Climate and Biomes Before Reading Make It Comprehensible for ELs Use the following strategies to help ELs understand concepts and acquire academic language. • As you introduce concepts and vocabulary, use images from the book or from the image bank on the interactive whiteboard edition to illustrate concepts and terms. • Pair ELs with fluent English speakers during small-group or partner discussions and activities. • Model the use of academic sentence frames to support ELs’ vocabulary and language development. (See Suggested Academic Sentence Frames for each chapter.)
Discuss the Essential Question: How does climate influence the development of biomes? •A sk students to turn to page 6. Read the Essential Question together. • Ensure that students understand the difference between climate and weather. Explain that some important characteristics of an area’s weather are its temperatures and its precipitation (amount of rainfall or snowfall). Define climate as the average weather of an area over a long period of time. • Explain that a location’s climate is affected by its latitude (its distance from the equator) as well as its altitude (its distance above sea level). Say that nearby land and water features, such as mountains and lakes, also affect a location’s climate. • Invite students to think about how climate affects their everyday lives. Ask: How would your life change if you lived someplace where the climate is very different? How do you think climate affects the lives of other living things? (Allow responses.) • Tell students that they will learn why climate is important to the different types of biomes found on Earth. • Ask the class to discuss these questions: How does climate affect the types of plants and animals in our area? Can you name examples of how the body types and behaviors of animals are well adapted for the climate? • Record students’ responses and save them to refer to after reading.
Discuss the Essential Vocabulary: Use Direct Definitions to Determine Word Meanings •P oint out the Essential Vocabulary on page 6. Note that you have introduced many of these words while discussing the Essential Question (above). • Ask: What do you already know about each of these words? Take a moment to jot down what you know in your science journal. Have students draw a graphic organizer like the one below in their journals to evaluate their knowledge of the Essential Vocabulary words. • Invite students to share and discuss their graphic organizers with a partner or the whole group.
Words I Know
Words I Think I Know
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•M odel using direct definitions. Say: Often, an author provides definitions of words right in the text. These are called direct definitions. For example, I find the word climate in the second paragraph of page 7. The boldfaced type signals that it’s an important word. I’m going to look for a direct definition in the text. The author gives it in the same sentence. She says that climate is . . . • On Level: the average weather pattern of an area over a long period of time • Bridges: the average weather of a place • Say: Paying attention to direct definitions helps me understand words that the author thinks are really important. • Think/pair/share. Have students work in pairs. Assign an essential word to each group. Tell them to find the direct definition in the chapter and add it to their vocabulary notebooks. • Provide time for students to share. Reinforce the importance of using direct definitions to become more independent readers.
Share English/Spanish Cognates for Essential Vocabulary If you have ELs whose first language is Spanish, share the cognates below to support academic vocabulary. Be aware, however, that students may not understand the meaning of all of these science words in their first language, either. adaptation/la adaptacíon (page 8), altitude/la altitud (page 14), climate/el clima (page 7), polar/polar (page 10), precipitation/las precipitaciones (page 8), temperate/templado (page 10), tropical/tropical (page 10)
Preview Text and Graphic Features: Climograph •A sk students to turn to page 9. Point out the climograph at the bottom of the page. • Ask: What do you think this feature is? (Allow responses.) • If necessary, say: This is called a climograph. It’s a graph used by scientists to show the average temperature and precipitation for an area over a set period of time. • Ask: Why do you think this graphic feature is included here? How can it help you as a reader? (Allow responses.) • Say: A graph highlights changes much better than a list of dates and numbers does. A climograph helps us see how temperatures rise and fall over time.
Activate Metacognitive Strategies: Visualize •T ell students that good readers use many strategies to help them understand what they are reading. • Say: One very helpful strategy is visualizing. Good readers make pictures in their minds as they read. They pay close attention to the descriptions in the text. They try to see what they are reading so they will understand better and remember more. Let me show you how visualizing helps me when I read.
Words I Don’t Know
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Chapter 1 (continued) •M odel. Read aloud the first paragraph of page 8. Say: When I read about the places and animals this mentions, I see them in my mind. I can see the huge, fur-covered polar bear panting in the hot desert sun. That picture in my mind helps me understand how animals are better suited to some climates than others. As you read this chapter, try to visualize what you are reading. Use the descriptions and the illustrations to help you make images in your mind. Visualizing helps you understand and remember important concepts.
Set a Purpose for Reading •S ay: As we read this book, you’re going to take notes using a strategy called Q notes. • Distribute the Q Notes Guide (BLM 2). • Explain: Q notes help you organize important information when you read. Use the left side of the page to write questions about what you’re reading. You can turn the headings, subheadings, and topic sentences into questions. That’s a good way to focus on the most important information. After you write each question, use the right side of the form to write the answers.
Read the Chapter
Model Comprehension Strategies: Compare and Contrast •E xplain: As you read, you are trying to understand some key concepts. Many times, that requires you to compare and contrast information. When you compare, you focus on likenesses. When you contrast, you focus on differences. Let me show you how to use compare and contrast when I read. • Model compare and contrast. Read aloud the last paragraph on page 8. Say: The author is explaining wet and dry biomes. She tells us that they are alike because both have plants that have adapted to the amount of precipitation their biome gets. She also tells how the two biomes are different. One is very dry because it gets very little precipitation. The other is very wet because it gets a lot of rain or snow. She also tells how the plants are different. The plants in wet places release water. In the dry places, the plants store water. • Say: As you read, pay attention to how the author uses compare and contrast to explain important information. This book uses compare and contrast a lot to help you understand about the various types of land biomes.
Vocabulary/Word Study: Suffixes
Choose from the activities below to extend students’ science and content-literacy skills.
•T ell students that suffixes are endings added to words to make new words. • Write the suffix -tude on chart paper or on the whiteboard. Explain that it is used to form two key terms used in Chapter 1, altitude and latitude. Write both words and circle the -tude suffix. Tell student that the suffix means “state of,” “condition of,” or “degree of.” • Say: Both altitude and latitude are words formed by adding -tude to a Latin word. • Write altus on chart paper or on the whiteboard. Say: This word means “high” in Latin, so the word altitude means “degree of height.” • Write latus on the whiteboard or chart. Say: This is the Latin word for “wide.” Latitude means “degree of width.” In this book it means specifically about how far a certain place would be north or south of the equator. • Ask students to work in pairs to think of and record other words they know that use the -tude suffix. (Some examples are magnitude, longitude, gratitude, solitude.) Challenge students to share the meanings based on the suffixes and roots.
Discuss Key Concepts
Language Forms and Functions: Imperatives
Ask students to share the questions and answers recorded on their Q notes. Discuss how the Q notes helped them identify key points and how it will help them as they study.
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Choose the option below that meets the needs of your students. Prompt students to use the metacognitive strategy of visualizing to help them identify the main ideas in the chapter. • Read with a teacher. Meet with small groups of students to focus on content-comprehension strategies as you read the text together. Students can read silently, or you can do a shared read-aloud of the text. Have the students use the Q notes strategy to focus on key concepts. • Read with a partner. Have students read the chapter with a partner and complete the Q Notes Guide (BLM 2) together for the chapter. • Read independently. Assign students the chapter to read on their own before the next class period. Students should complete the Q Notes Guide (BLM 2) together for the chapter.
After Reading
Suggested Academic Sentence Frames • A question answered in the chapter is _____. • The answer to the question is _____.
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ead the following sentence from Chapter 1, page 7. R • On Level: Think of a place that is very hot and dry. • Bridges: Think of a place that is hot and dry. Explain. Tell students that the sentence is called an imperative sentence because it instructs readers to do something. Ask: In the sentence I just read, which word is used to tell the reader what to do? (Allow responses.) Write the word “Think” on chart paper or on the whiteboard. Say: Imperative sentences give commands or instructions, and they almost always have no subject because they address the reader directly. Tell students that the book they are reading about land biomes uses many imperative sentences.
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Chapter 2: Earth’s Land Biomes •P ractice. Have students work in pairs to find other imperatives in Chapter 1. Allow time for students to share as you record their examples on chart paper and circle the word(s) that give the command or instruction.
Hands-On Science Inquiry Ask students to work in pairs to conduct the experiment on page 12 (Why Is It Hotter at the Equator?).
Differentiated Collaborative Learning Invite partners or small groups to complete one of the “Putting It All Together” activities on page 15 to demonstrate their understanding of the essential information. Note that the activity choices accommodate learners with a range of learning styles.
Before Reading Make It Comprehensible for ELs Use the following strategies to help ELs understand concepts and acquire academic language. • As you introduce concepts and vocabulary, use images from the book or from the image bank on the interactive whiteboard edition to illustrate concepts and terms. • Pair ELs with fluent English speakers during small-group or partner discussions and activities. • Model the use of academic sentence frames to support ELs’ vocabulary and language development. (See Suggested Academic Sentence Frames for each chapter.)
Write a Lab Report: Draft •T ell students that they will be using their Lab Report Planning Guide (BLM 1) to begin drafting their lab reports. • Discuss organization. Remind students that lab reports follow a set format. Discuss the importance of beginning with the anchor chart they developed for a lab report. Say: The goal for your lab report is to clearly and precisely communicate your results so that readers will understand what you did, why you did it, how you did it, and what you found out. From your report, readers should also be able to duplicate your experiment. • Conference with students as they complete their drafts. Use items 1–8 on the Lab Report Checklist (BLM 3) to draw students’ attention to characteristics they need to include. Focus on how students have organized their ideas and the voice of the writer. Do they have all of the features given in items 1–8? Are their question and hypothesis sections clear and easy to understand? Are the procedures and results complete and accurate? Are their conclusions logical and based on the results? • Pair students for peer conferencing.
Home Connections: Constructed-Response Journal Writing In their science journals, have students answer the textdependent comprehension questions for Chapter 1 on Comprehension Questions (BLM 4). These questions, at four text-dependent comprehension levels, help prepare students for the questions they will encounter on standardized content-area reading assessments. To model strategies for answering text-dependent comprehension questions, use the information and prompts provided on the Comprehension Power Tool Flip Chart. Answers for each question on BLM 4, along with additional questions, can be found on the Comprehension Question Card.
Discuss the Essential Question: What are the characteristics of each land biome? •A sk students to turn to page 16. Read the Essential Question together. • Open discussion. Ask the class to think about places around the world that are similar to or different from where they live. Ask: What is it like to live in a place that is always hot and steamy? How does a hot place feel, look, sound, and smell? Repeat the question by asking students about a place that is always cold and icy. • Begin a concept map to record the sensory experiences they share. Save the concept map to refer to after reading.
Discuss the Essential Vocabulary: Use Descriptions to Determine Word Meanings • Point out the Essential Vocabulary on page 16. • Say: The vocabulary words in this chapter are mostly the names of the different land biomes on Earth. To help us understand, the author uses descriptions to explain what each biome is like. Words that describe often help us understand meanings. Let me show you. • Model. Point to the boldfaced word tundra on page 17. Read the sentence that contains it aloud. Say: I see words in this sentence that help me understand what tundra is. Words such as dry and cold and phrases about low growths of plants really describe what tundra looks like. Those descriptions help me understand what tundra is like. • Think/pair/share. Pair students and assign each pair two of the Essential Vocabulary words. Challenge the pairs to locate the words in the chapter and list the descriptive words used to explain their meanings. Allow students to share. Record their findings on a word web.
Share English/Spanish Cognates for Essential Vocabulary If you have ELs whose first language is Spanish, share the cognates below to support academic vocabulary. Be aware, however, that students may not understand the meaning of all of these science words in their first language, either. desert/el desierto (page 24), taiga (also known as a boreal forest and boreal is a Spanish word) (page 18), temperate/templado (page 19), tropical/tropical (page 22), tundra/la tundra (page 17)
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Chapter 2 (continued) Preview Text and Graphic Features: Tables • Ask students to turn to page 26. Point out the table. • Ask: What do we call this graphic feature, and why do you think the author included it? (Allow responses.)
Activate Metacognitive Strategies: Visualize and Determine Text Importance •R eview. Remind students that when they read Chapter 1, they practiced the strategy of visualizing as they read. Say: Good readers visualize as they read. How did visualizing help you understand the characteristics of each biome? (Allow responses.) • Explain. Tell students that another important strategy is determining important information. Say: Good readers know that some information is more important than other information. Your job as you read this book is to find the information that is the most helpful for understanding about each type of biome. Let me show you how to do that. • Model. Read aloud page 18. Say: As I read this page, I noticed some clues that tell me what information is most important. First, the heading “Taiga” lets me know that I will be reading about taiga biomes. I need to focus on information that is specifically about taiga. I also noticed that the word taiga is printed in boldfaced type. The boldfaced type signals that it’s a glossary word. It’s important to the concepts in the text. • Practice. Challenge students to practice the strategy as they read. Say: As you read this chapter, pay close attention to information that explains the characteristics of each type of biome. Focusing on the most important information helps you understand.
Set a Purpose for Reading •H ave students continue to use BLM 2 to take Q notes as they read Chapter 2.
Read the Chapter
Choose the option below that meets the needs of your students. Prompt students to use the metacognitive strategies of visualizing and determining text importance to help them identify the main ideas in the chapter. • Read with a teacher. Meet with small groups of students to focus on content-comprehension strategies as you read the text together. Students can read silently, or you can do a shared read-aloud of the text. Have students use the Q notes strategy to focus on key concepts. • Read with a partner. Have students read the chapter with a partner and complete the Q Notes Guide (BLM 2) together for the chapter. • Read independently. Assign students the chapter to read on their own before the next class period. Students should complete the Q Notes Guide (BLM 2) together for the chapter.
After Reading
Choose from the activities below to extend students’ science and content-literacy skills.
Discuss Key Concepts
Suggested Academic Sentence Frames • Before reading, I thought _____. • After reading, I think _____.
Practice Comprehension Strategies: Compare and Contrast •A sk: What does it mean to compare and contrast? What types of information are you looking for? (Allow responses.) • Guide practice. Say: Let’s reread the paragraphs about hot deserts and cold deserts on pages 24–25. How does the author compare and contrast these two biomes? (Allow responses.) • If necessary, model: The author says that these two biomes are alike because they are both deserts and both get very little precipitation. The differences are in climate (hot versus cold and windy) and in the number of animals found. Cold deserts have fewer animals. • Say: Understanding how things are alike and different is a key strategy for understanding many science concepts.
Vocabulary/Word Study: Classify Words •E xplain: Classifying is grouping things together according to what they have in common. Recognizing how words can be classified is a very helpful strategy. It expands our knowledge of words we know and helps us understand the meanings of new terms. • Say: We’ve talked about seven different land biomes. We have words we use as specific names for these biomes. We also have words we use to describe the climate and other characteristics of these biomes. These words can be grouped by the specific biome they describe. These words can also be grouped by the specific characteristic, or factor, they describe such as weather, temperature, land features, etc. • Present the following list of biome names (tundra, taiga/ boreal forest, temperate rain forest, temperate deciduous forest, grassland, tropical rain forest, desert) and work with the class to generate a list of descriptive words they might use to describe these biomes. (Suggested words might include: arid, barren, cloudy, cold, desolate, dry, fertile, foggy, frigid, grassy, green, hot, humid, lush, mild, mountainous, polar, rainy, rocky, sandy, snowy, sunny, temperate, tropical, warm, temperate, wet, etc.) • After the class has generated a rich list of words, display the chart below and ask students to classify words. Allow the class to discuss and work together to complete the chart. Provide clarification and support as needed. Words That Describe Land Features
Words That Describe Weather and Climate Features
barren, desolate, fertile, grassy, green, lush, mountainous, rocky, sandy
arid, cloudy, cold, dry, foggy, frigid, hot, humid, mild, polar, rainy, snowy, sunny, temperate, tropical, warm, temperate, wet
Return to the concept map developed prior to reading the chapter. Invite students to add information using new understandings gained from their reading. Discuss how the new information changed or expanded their images of each type of environment they discussed before reading.
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Chapter 3: Conservation of Land Biomes Language Forms and Functions: Imperatives •E xplain: Remember that an imperative is a sentence that tells the reader to do something. It may be a command or an instruction. • Ask students to look at the first paragraph on page 17 and reread it along with you. Ask: Which sentence from that paragraph tells you do to something? (Allow responses.) Write Bring on the whiteboard and tell students to find the sentence with this word on page 17. Tell students that this word signals the imperative because it gives a command or instruction. • Practice with a partner. Ask students to work in pairs to find other imperatives and identify the signal words. • Allow students to share their examples as you record them on chart paper. Suggested Academic Sentence Frame • _____ before you _____.
Hands-On Science Inquiry Ask students to work in pairs to conduct the experiment on page 20 (Why Do Leaves Have Different Shapes?).
Differentiated Collaborative Learning Invite partners or small groups to complete one of the “Putting It All Together” activities on page 27 to demonstrate their understanding of the essential information.
Share the Cartoonist’s Notebook •H ave students’ read the Cartoonist’s Notebook spread on pages 28–29 independently, with partners, or as a whole group. (You may wish to project the spread on your whiteboard.) • Open discussion. Ask students to think about and discuss the following questions. Can you think of other ways in which people have adapted to different land biomes? Which land biome do you live in? How do you know?
Write a Lab Report: Edit and Revise •B ased on your observations of students’ writing, conduct appropriate mini-lessons to help them improve their reports, For example: • the importance of following the format on the class anchor chart (format for writing a lab report) • using accurate information to describe procedures and results • analyzing data appropriately to make logical conclusions • using language that supports readers’ understanding • Remind students to use the Lab Report Checklist (BLM 3) as they revise and edit independently. • Conference with students, focusing on format, word choice, accuracy, and conventions. • You may want students to continue their revisions and editing at home.
Before Reading Make It Comprehensible for ELs Use the following strategies to help ELs understand concepts and acquire academic language. • As you introduce concepts and vocabulary, use images from the book or from the image bank on the interactive whiteboard edition to illustrate concepts and terms. • Pair ELs with fluent English speakers during small-group or partner discussions and activities. • Model the use of academic sentences frames to support ELs’ vocabulary and language development. (See Suggested Academic Sentence Frames for each chapter.)
Discuss the Essential Question: How can people preserve biomes for the future? •A sk students to turn to page 30. Read the Essential Question together. • Pose a question. Ask students to answer the Essential Question in their science journals. Tell them to develop their answers using what they have learned about biomes and what they already know about efforts to save Earth. • Allow students to share and work together to decide which answers are logical.
Discuss the Essential Vocabulary: Use Direct Definitions and Descriptions to Determine Word Meanings •P oint out the Essential Vocabulary on page 30. In their science journals, have students evaluate their word knowledge using the same graphic organizer they used for the previous chapters. • Invite students to share and discuss their journals with the class. • Model using direct definitions. Say: Remember that authors often include definitions of key words or terms directly in the chapter. Often a direct definition appears in the sentence just before or just after the term. Sometimes, it is even given in the same sentence as the term itself. Look at page 30. The word conservation is near the bottom of the page. A direct definition of the word is given in the same sentence. The text says that conservation is the careful protection of Earth’s natural environment. • Model using description. Say: Another vocabulary strategy we talked about is using description. Turn to page 34 and find the term global warming. (Read the first paragraph to students.) Say: All of the description in this paragraph really helps me understand about global warming. I know what it is and why it is such a big problem for Earth. • Say: As you read Chapter 3, pay close attention to the direct definitions and descriptions in the text. They can help you understand key terms and concepts.
Home Connections: Constructed-Response Journal Writing In their science journals, have students answer the textdependent comprehension questions for Chapter 2 on BLM 4.
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Chapter 3 (continued) Share English/Spanish Cognates for Essential Vocabulary If you have ELs whose first language is Spanish, share the cognate below to support academic vocabulary. Be aware, however, that students may not understand the meaning of all of this science word in their first language, either. • conservation/la conservación (page 30)
Preview Text and Graphic Features: Climographs and Tables •A sk students to scan Chapter 3 and point out examples of climographs (pages 34 and 41) and tables (pages 32 and 41) in this chapter. • Ask: How will you use the climographs and tables to help you understand? (Allow responses.)
Review and Discuss Metacognitive Strategies: Determine Text Importance and Visualize •S ay: As we’ve read this book, we’ve been using two important reading strategies. One of them is determining what is most important in the text. Why is that important? (Allow responses.) What are some ways in which you can decide what information is most important? Engage students in a discussion of how they can look for headings, subheadings, and words in boldfaced type to help them figure out what information they need to focus on as they read. • Say: The other strategy we’ve practiced is visualizing. What does that mean? How has making images in your mind about what you’re reading helped you understand better? (Allow responses.)
Set a Purpose for Reading •A sk students to continue making Q notes as they read Chapter 3.
Read the Chapter
Choose the option below that meets the needs of your students. Prompt students to use the metacognitive strategies of determining text importance and visualizing to help them identify the main ideas in the chapter. • Read with a teacher. Meet with small groups of students to focus on content-comprehension strategies as you read the text together. Students can read silently, or you can do a shared read-aloud of the text. Use BLM 2 to focus on key concepts. • Read with a partner. Have students read the text with a partner and complete the Q Notes Guide (BLM 2) together for the chapter. • Read independently. Assign students the chapter to read on their own before the next class period. Students should complete the Q Notes Guide (BLM 2) together for the chapter.
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After Reading
Choose from the activities below to extend students’ science and content-literacy skills.
Discuss Key Concepts Ask students to reflect on what they read in the chapter and add any new ways to help preserve Earth’s land biomes to the lists they created in their journals prior to reading. Then ask students to share their ideas and create a class list.
Review and Discuss Comprehension Strategies: Compare and Contrast •A sk: How does comparing and contrasting concepts and information help you understand? (Allow responses.) Help students understand that comparing to determine how things are alike and contrasting to discover how things are different is a critical thinking strategy for understanding science. • Say: It is very important to focus on likenesses and differences when you read about science. Many science books and articles are organized around how things are the same and how they are different. Recognizing information that is presented that way is very important to understanding the concepts.
Vocabulary/Word Study: Analogies •E xplain: An analogy is a comparison between two things that may not seem comparable. Analogies help readers compare new information or ideas to what they already know. Analogies are fun and they can improve readers’ understanding. • Write the following analogies on chart paper. Heat is to a desert as cold is to a ____________. ____________ is to saving Earth as pollution is to destroying Earth. • Ask students if they can supply the logical words to fill the blanks based on what they have learned from the book. • Think/pair/share. Challenge teams of students to create additional analogies based on the scientific vocabulary in Chapters 1–3. • Provide time for teams to share with the class.
Language Forms and Functions: Imperatives • Read the following sentence from Chapter 3, page 40. • On Level and Bridges: Choose a location on the globe. • Explain: This sentence is called an imperative because it gives the reader a command or direction. In this sentence, the word Choose signals that a direction is being given. Another thing to remember about imperative sentences is that they usually do not have a stated subject. The subject is understood.
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Conclusion •D emonstrate: If I wanted to give a command about getting ready for your next class, I might say, “Stop. Put away your things.” (Write the imperatives on chart paper or on the whiteboard.) Say: These are two imperative sentences because they both give a command. (Circle “Stop” and “Put away.”) These words give the commands and signal an imperative statement. • Practice: Have students think about imperatives they might use. Invite students to share as you record their examples on chart paper or on the whiteboard. Discuss the words that signal the imperatives and circle them on the chart. Suggested Academic Sentence Frame • _____ your dinner before it gets too cold.
Hands-On Science Inquiry Ask students to work in small groups to conduct the experiment on page 40 (Create a Climograph).
Differentiated Collaborative Learning
Summarize and Synthesize
Use the suggestions below to synthesize the information from the text and to evaluate and extend students’ content knowledge, comprehension, and vocabulary knowledge.
Read Aloud and Discuss the Conclusion Read aloud the conclusion on pages 42–43 and invite students to summarize the key concepts and conclusions they can draw from the text. Encourage students to use the key vocabulary terms they have learned.
Assess Science and Content-Literacy Skills Text-Dependent Comprehension Assessment Review students’ answers to the text-dependent questions on BLM 4. If necessary, support their text-dependent comprehension strategies by answering additional questions from the Comprehension Question Card as a group.
Performance-Based Assessment
Invite partners or small groups to complete one of the “Putting It All Together” activities on page 41 to demonstrate their understanding of the essential information.
Invite students to complete the “Prime Investigations” activity shown on the inside back cover of the book. This activity provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate their understanding of the key elements of land biomes developed in the text.
Write a Lab Report: Create Final Draft and Illustrations
Vocabulary Challenge
•A sk students to rewrite or type a final draft of their reports. • Students may refine illustrations, diagrams, charts, or tables to be used in the reports. • Conference with students regarding publishing plans and deadlines.
Home Connections: Constructed-Response Journal Writing In their science journals, have students answer the textdependent comprehension questions for Chapter 3 on BLM 4.
• Invite students to play Name That Category (Marzano and Pickering, 2005). This game is a modified version of the game $100,000 Pyramid. Students are encouraged to focus on concepts or associated terms as they try to discover the common thread among them. • Make a game board with boxes arranged in a graduated shape. A triangle works well. Write a concept or category in each box with sticky notes hiding each term. • Only one player on the team, the clue-giver, should be able to see the board. The guessers must keep their backs turned. Reveal one category at a time to the clue-giver, who orally lists words that can help the guessers determine the category name. For example, if the category is “Types of Measurements,” the cluegiver might say, “inch, meter, mile, liter, pint . . .” The clue-giver would keep listing terms until the guessers are able to name the category. • As soon as the guessers respond correctly, reveal the next category. As soon as the first team finishes the board, all teams stop. Award all teams the appropriate number of points earned and continue with the next round!
Write a Lab Report: Publish and Share Explain. Planned, controlled data collection is an essential research technique used often by scientists. It provides a way to study a wide range of phenomena and issues. The lab report is an essential tool for documenting and reporting many kinds of research. It is critical to the scientific method. • Use one or more of the ideas below for sharing students’ work. • Make a class display of completed lab reports. • Assemble a binder of lab reports and accompanying documents (tables, graphs, charts, lab notes, etc.) to be shared with other classes. • Invite students to share and discuss their lab reports.
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Assessment Closed-Book Science Content Assessment
Have students complete the formal content assessment on BLMs 5 and 6. This assessment helps you evaluate students’ understanding of the standards-based concepts developed in this text. There are three test items for each “chunk” of the text as divided in this Teacher’s Guide. For each chapter, there are three types of questions, representing the different kinds of questions students will encounter on standardized content assessments. Question Types and Explanations • Recall. Students answer questions based on content concepts learned from the text. Students are not allowed to look in the book for answers. • Application. Students must transfer their understanding of concepts learned in the book to new, real-life situations. • Think about it. Students must read and interpret this question carefully. They must consider information provided in the question and information from the book to formulate an answer. • Complete a concept circle. Students to use the graphic organizer to demonstrate their concept knowledge. Then they draw conclusions about the information they have presented. This assessment can be differentiated in the following ways. Gifted students. Ask students to provide all information in the concept circle from memory. On-level students. Provide six possible categories for students to use in the four quadrants of the concept circle. Struggling students. Provide students with the four concepts you would like them to write about in the concept circle.
Answer Key: Comprehension Questions
1. slowly (page 13) 2. Climate depends on many factors. (Clues/evidence: Climate depends partly on a location’s latitude. Land and water features also influence climate. Altitude has an effect on climate, too.) (pages 10–14) 3. to explain the climograph to readers 4. fewer species than in a tropical rain forest (pages 22–23) 5. You are in a temperate rain forest. (Clues/evidence: “rainy or foggy all year”; “cool winter and mild summer”) (page 26) 6. The pages are structured to compare and contrast (hot deserts/cold deserts, snow versus rain). 7. ecology (page 36) 8. We can change how we affect Earth’s biomes. (Clues/ evidence: One way to prevent the destruction of biomes is to set limits on human behavior. An important part of conservation is setting aside wildlife parks and preserves. Successful conservation efforts help people as well as wildlife.) (pages 36–39) 9 The two main sections are “How People Affect Natural Communities” and “Conservation.”
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Answer Key: Content Assessment
1. climates 2. Sample answer: You would look on or near the equator. These places are warmest year-round because they get more direct sunlight year-round. 3. Answers may include three of the following factors: land features (such as mountains and valleys), water features, nearness to the ocean, altitude, and distance from the equator 4. taiga 5. Sample answers should include at least two differences from those listed below for each biome: desert
tropical rain forest
• very hot or very cold • dry—almost no rain • few plants, insects, and animals
• hot all year • very wet—lots of rain • many plants, animals, and insects
OR grassland • cold in winter, hot in summer • long dry season • a lot of grass all year • no snow
tundra • very cold all year • very dry all year • grass only in short summer • snow much of year
6. T he United States has the largest grassland in North America. 7. humans 8. (Answers may vary.) encourage the government to make new laws; recycle metal cans (page 36) 9. (Answers may vary.) Students’ responses should point out that climate affects all types of life in a biome and that scientists need to track its variations to predict harmful effects on the planet. 10. (Answers may vary.) • use of poisonous chemicals—harms plant and animal life • cutting down forests—destroys habitats and threatens natural communities • removing plants or animals from a natural community—causes species to become extinct • overhunting animals—causes species to become extinct • spreading disease around the world—threatens species of plants or animals with extinction • riding off-road vehicles in restricted areas—harms fragile soils • using carbon-based fuels—causes global warming Sample conclusions: • People’s activities are endangering Earth. • People should act more responsibly to protect our planet. • People need to recognize that their activities are having harmful effects on Earth.
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Name _______________________________________________________
Date _________________________________
Lab Report Planning Guide Directions: Research and record the following data to plan your lab report.
Introduction: (Write the question you are trying to answer and background information that explains why you want to know.)
Hypothesis: (Write your original idea for how to answer the question.)
Materials: (Include a list of all items used in the experiment.)
Safety Precautions: (Include this section only if needed.)
Procedures: (Write a summary of what you did, step by step.)
Results: (Include notes, tables, graphs, charts, or other recordings you made during the lab experiment, which can be attached.)
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BLM 1
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Name _______________________________________________________
Date _________________________________
Q Notes Guide Questions
Answers
Summarize or Reflect
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BLM 2
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Name _______________________________________________________
Date _________________________________
Lab Report Checklist Features of a Lab Report
YES
NO
1.I followed the format for a lab report.
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2. M y introduction explains the problem and asks a question that is testable and clear.
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3. M y hypothesis states a logical solution for the problem/answer to the question.
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4. My procedures are sequenced and complete.
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5. M y results include all notes, charts, graphs, and drawings I made during the lab experiment (some may be attached at the end of the report).
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6. M y conclusion accepts or rejects my hypothesis based on the results and uses appropriate findings from the lab experiment to explain why the results support or refute my hypothesis.
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7. I used the appropriate voice and specific language to help my reader understand my writing.
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8. My references are complete and accurate.
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Read and Revise
YES
NO
❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍
❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍
I looked for and corrected . . . • run-on sentences
• sentence fragments • subject/verb agreement • verb tense • punctuation • capitalization • spelling land biomes
BLM 3
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Name _______________________________________________________
Date ______________________________
Land Biomes: Comprehension Questions Directions: Reread the text to answer each question. Provide clues and evidence from the text to support your answers. Indicate the page(s) where you found your clues and evidence.
Chapter 1 1. The ocean changes temperatures very 2. What can you conclude about climate from the information in Chapter 1?
3. Why did the author include the information on page 9?
Chapter 2 4. L ook at the outline of information from pages 22–23. What information belongs in the blank? Tropical Rain Forest • hot every day • t housands of species of plants and animals
• • • •
Both
rain forests lots of rain very tall trees plants and animals adapt to their environments
Temperate Rain Forest •m ild winters; cool, foggy summers • _______________________ _______________________
5. You are visiting a biome in winter that is rainy and cool (not cold). Where are you?
6. How did the author structure pages 24–25?
Chapter 3 7. Environmental scientists look at the big picture of _________________. 8. What is an important theme in Chapter 3?
9. What are the two main sections of Chapter 3?
land biomes
BLM 4
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Name _______________________________________________________
Date _________________________________
Land Biomes: Content Assessment Directions: Use what you have learned about land biomes to answer the questions below.
Chapter 1 1. Areas with similar ______________ develop similar communities of living beings. 2. I f you wanted to live in a country that is warm most of the year, where would you look on a globe to find such a place? Explain why.
3. Several factors influence the climate of a biome. Name at least three.
Chapter 2 4. Which type of biome covers more of Earth’s surface than any other type of biome?
5. U se the chart below to compare and contrast each pair of biomes. (Include at least two examples for each.)
land biomes
desert
tropical rain forest
grassland
tundra
BLM 5
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Name _______________________________________________________
Date _________________________________
6. T he North American continent has several biomes, including a large area of grasslands. Which country in North America has the largest area of grassland? Chapter 2 7. What is the biggest factor affecting land biomes? 8. I f you wanted to limit the effects that aluminum mining has on land environments, what are two things you might do? 9. A climograph allows scientists to study climate changes over time. Why is that information important?
10. I n each quadrant of the concept circle below, write a type of harmful human activity discussed in Land Biomes and explain how it harms Earth.
What can you conclude about people’s activities that are affecting Earth? land biomes
BLM 6
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Land Biomes
Science Objectives • Identify the biotic and abiotic factors that affect Earth’s major land biomes • Identify the adaptations that allow different plants and animals to survive in each biome
Hands-On Science Inquiry • Why Is It Hotter at the Equator? page 12 • Why Do Leaves Have Different Shapes? page 20 • Create a Climograph, page 40
Metacognitive Strategies • Determine text importance • Visualize: Use fix-up strategies
Comprehension Strategy • Compare and contrast
Content Vocabulary • Glossary, page 46
Vocabulary Strategy** •U se context clues (direct definitions and descriptions) to define unfamiliar vocabulary
Word Study • Analogies • Suffixes • Classify words
Level W/60
Language Forms and Functions • Imperatives
Writing Connection • How to write a lab report, pages 44–45
Graphic Features Focus • Climate maps and climographs
Related Resources • • • • •
Land Biomes Interactive Whiteboard Edition Comprehension Strategy Assessments Comprehension Question Card Comprehension Power Tool Flip Chart ExC-ELL Vocabulary Strategies Card**
* Essential Questions for each chapter drive the unit of study. These questions encourage students to think critically about the big ideas, or essential understandings, and to formulate further questions for inquiry. Students who have read the text with comprehension should be able to demonstrate their understanding through discussion and through the “Putting It All Together” activities at the end of each chapter.
Level R/40
** If you are using this text with ExC-ELL students, please refer to the ExC-ELL Vocabulary Strategies Card.
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Introduce the Book Make Connections/Build Background Build Science Concepts and Vocabulary •P ose a question. Read the Prime Questions on the inside front cover of Land Biomes. Initiate a discussion about the plants and animals of the students’ community in its past (natural) state. • Think/pair/share. Ask students to work in small groups to discuss and record the characteristics of the natural environment in which they live. Ask: What living things are there? What land features are there (mountains, deserts, forests, etc.)? What is the climate like? • Create a word web anchor chart. Bring the class together to share. Write the words “Our Biome” in the center circle and descriptor categories (plants, animals, land features, climate, and so on) in surrounding circles. As students share, write the characteristics around each category. • Post the anchor chart to support students’ understanding of biomes throughout their reading of the book.
Preview the Book • Invite students to flip through the book and view photos, or project the whiteboard version of the text and preview the pages together. • Have students turn to the Table of Contents and read the chapter heads and Essential Questions for each chapter. • Invite students to read the book description and the “About the Author” blurb on the back cover of the book. Ask: How do these features help you figure out what you’ll learn about in this book? • Think/pair/write/share. Focusing on the Table of Contents, ask students to work in pairs or small groups to generate a list of questions they have about biomes.
Read Aloud the Book Introduction •A sk: Have you ever heard of a redwood tree? Have you ever seen one? • Have students turn to pages 4–5, or display the pages on your whiteboard. Ask students to look at the pictures of redwood trees and talk about how what it might feel like to stand in a redwood forest, looking up. • Read aloud the text on pages 4–5, or listen and follow along with the talking e-book in the whiteboard edition. • Ask students how much water they think it might take to support a forest of huge plants such as redwood trees. Encourage them to think of what the climate is like in other places with many plants or trees. Tell students that they will learn about different types of land biomes on Earth and how the climate affects what plants and animals grow in them.
•C reate an anchor chart similar to the one below. Discuss the types of data collected in each box and give examples as needed. • Generate ideas and conduct research. Allow students to work in groups to discuss possible questions to be researched. Example questions: • How much do changes in temperature affect the growth of a plant? • How has the construction of new buildings in their community affected the number of trees in the area? Students may choose to work individually or in teams to conduct their labs. • Using the anchor chart, review the characteristics of a lab report. • Ask students to use Lab Report Planning Guide (BLM 1) to plan and develop their reports. • Confer with individual students to support their research. Have they chosen an appropriate topic/question for their experiment? Is it “testable”? Have they identified appropriate procedures for gathering data? Are they including all required sections? Is their data specific and complete?
Introduction:
Write the question you are trying to answer and background information that explains why you want to know.
Hypothesis:
Write your original idea for how to answer the question.
Materials:
Include a list of all items used in the experiment.
Safety Precautions:
Include this section only if needed.
Procedures:
Write a summary of what you did, step by step.
Results:
Include notes, tables, graphs, charts, or other recordings you made during the lab experiment, which can be attached.
Analysis/Conclusions:
Accept or reject your hypothesis and use the results to explain your decision.
References:
Include a list all sources used to research the topic—books, articles, Web sites.
Write a Lab Report Introduce and Plan •H ave students turn to pages 44–45. Read the writing feature and model together. • Say: Lab reports are very important tools for scientists. Why do you think that’s true? Where might we find other examples of lab reports to review? (Allow responses.) • Generate a list of places, such as science textbooks and Internet sites, describing research in medicine, biology, geology, ecology, and other sciences.
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land biomes ©2010 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. ISBN: 978-1-61672-219-7
Chapter 1: Climate and Biomes Before Reading Make It Comprehensible for ELs Use the following strategies to help ELs understand concepts and acquire academic language. • As you introduce concepts and vocabulary, use images from the book or from the image bank on the interactive whiteboard edition to illustrate concepts and terms. • Pair ELs with fluent English speakers during small-group or partner discussions and activities. • Model the use of academic sentence frames to support ELs’ vocabulary and language development. (See Suggested Academic Sentence Frames for each chapter.)
Discuss the Essential Question: How does climate influence the development of biomes? •A sk students to turn to page 6. Read the Essential Question together. • Ensure that students understand the difference between climate and weather. Explain that some important characteristics of an area’s weather are its temperatures and its precipitation (amount of rainfall or snowfall). Define climate as the average weather of an area over a long period of time. • Explain that a location’s climate is affected by its latitude (its distance from the equator) as well as its altitude (its distance above sea level). Say that nearby land and water features, such as mountains and lakes, also affect a location’s climate. • Invite students to think about how climate affects their everyday lives. Ask: How would your life change if you lived someplace where the climate is very different? How do you think climate affects the lives of other living things? (Allow responses.) • Tell students that they will learn why climate is important to the different types of biomes found on Earth. • Ask the class to discuss these questions: How does climate affect the types of plants and animals in our area? Can you name examples of how the body types and behaviors of animals are well adapted for the climate? • Record students’ responses and save them to refer to after reading.
Discuss the Essential Vocabulary: Use Direct Definitions to Determine Word Meanings •P oint out the Essential Vocabulary on page 6. Note that you have introduced many of these words while discussing the Essential Question (above). • Ask: What do you already know about each of these words? Take a moment to jot down what you know in your science journal. Have students draw a graphic organizer like the one below in their journals to evaluate their knowledge of the Essential Vocabulary words. • Invite students to share and discuss their graphic organizers with a partner or the whole group.
Words I Know
Words I Think I Know
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•M odel using direct definitions. Say: Often, an author provides definitions of words right in the text. These are called direct definitions. For example, I find the word climate in the second paragraph of page 7. The boldfaced type signals that it’s an important word. I’m going to look for a direct definition in the text. The author gives it in the same sentence. She says that climate is . . . • On Level: the average weather pattern of an area over a long period of time • Bridges: the average weather of a place • Say: Paying attention to direct definitions helps me understand words that the author thinks are really important. • Think/pair/share. Have students work in pairs. Assign an essential word to each group. Tell them to find the direct definition in the chapter and add it to their vocabulary notebooks. • Provide time for students to share. Reinforce the importance of using direct definitions to become more independent readers.
Share English/Spanish Cognates for Essential Vocabulary If you have ELs whose first language is Spanish, share the cognates below to support academic vocabulary. Be aware, however, that students may not understand the meaning of all of these science words in their first language, either. adaptation/la adaptacíon (page 8), altitude/la altitud (page 14), climate/el clima (page 7), polar/polar (page 10), precipitation/las precipitaciones (page 8), temperate/templado (page 10), tropical/tropical (page 10)
Preview Text and Graphic Features: Climograph •A sk students to turn to page 9. Point out the climograph at the bottom of the page. • Ask: What do you think this feature is? (Allow responses.) • If necessary, say: This is called a climograph. It’s a graph used by scientists to show the average temperature and precipitation for an area over a set period of time. • Ask: Why do you think this graphic feature is included here? How can it help you as a reader? (Allow responses.) • Say: A graph highlights changes much better than a list of dates and numbers does. A climograph helps us see how temperatures rise and fall over time.
Activate Metacognitive Strategies: Visualize •T ell students that good readers use many strategies to help them understand what they are reading. • Say: One very helpful strategy is visualizing. Good readers make pictures in their minds as they read. They pay close attention to the descriptions in the text. They try to see what they are reading so they will understand better and remember more. Let me show you how visualizing helps me when I read.
Words I Don’t Know
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Chapter 1 (continued) •M odel. Read aloud the first paragraph of page 8. Say: When I read about the places and animals this mentions, I see them in my mind. I can see the huge, fur-covered polar bear panting in the hot desert sun. That picture in my mind helps me understand how animals are better suited to some climates than others. As you read this chapter, try to visualize what you are reading. Use the descriptions and the illustrations to help you make images in your mind. Visualizing helps you understand and remember important concepts.
Set a Purpose for Reading •S ay: As we read this book, you’re going to take notes using a strategy called Q notes. • Distribute the Q Notes Guide (BLM 2). • Explain: Q notes help you organize important information when you read. Use the left side of the page to write questions about what you’re reading. You can turn the headings, subheadings, and topic sentences into questions. That’s a good way to focus on the most important information. After you write each question, use the right side of the form to write the answers.
Read the Chapter
Model Comprehension Strategies: Compare and Contrast •E xplain: As you read, you are trying to understand some key concepts. Many times, that requires you to compare and contrast information. When you compare, you focus on likenesses. When you contrast, you focus on differences. Let me show you how to use compare and contrast when I read. • Model compare and contrast. Read aloud the last paragraph on page 8. Say: The author is explaining wet and dry biomes. She tells us that they are alike because both have plants that have adapted to the amount of precipitation their biome gets. She also tells how the two biomes are different. One is very dry because it gets very little precipitation. The other is very wet because it gets a lot of rain or snow. She also tells how the plants are different. The plants in wet places release water. In the dry places, the plants store water. • Say: As you read, pay attention to how the author uses compare and contrast to explain important information. This book uses compare and contrast a lot to help you understand about the various types of land biomes.
Vocabulary/Word Study: Suffixes
Choose from the activities below to extend students’ science and content-literacy skills.
•T ell students that suffixes are endings added to words to make new words. • Write the suffix -tude on chart paper or on the whiteboard. Explain that it is used to form two key terms used in Chapter 1, altitude and latitude. Write both words and circle the -tude suffix. Tell student that the suffix means “state of,” “condition of,” or “degree of.” • Say: Both altitude and latitude are words formed by adding -tude to a Latin word. • Write altus on chart paper or on the whiteboard. Say: This word means “high” in Latin, so the word altitude means “degree of height.” • Write latus on the whiteboard or chart. Say: This is the Latin word for “wide.” Latitude means “degree of width.” In this book it means specifically about how far a certain place would be north or south of the equator. • Ask students to work in pairs to think of and record other words they know that use the -tude suffix. (Some examples are magnitude, longitude, gratitude, solitude.) Challenge students to share the meanings based on the suffixes and roots.
Discuss Key Concepts
Language Forms and Functions: Imperatives
Ask students to share the questions and answers recorded on their Q notes. Discuss how the Q notes helped them identify key points and how it will help them as they study.
• •
Choose the option below that meets the needs of your students. Prompt students to use the metacognitive strategy of visualizing to help them identify the main ideas in the chapter. • Read with a teacher. Meet with small groups of students to focus on content-comprehension strategies as you read the text together. Students can read silently, or you can do a shared read-aloud of the text. Have the students use the Q notes strategy to focus on key concepts. • Read with a partner. Have students read the chapter with a partner and complete the Q Notes Guide (BLM 2) together for the chapter. • Read independently. Assign students the chapter to read on their own before the next class period. Students should complete the Q Notes Guide (BLM 2) together for the chapter.
After Reading
Suggested Academic Sentence Frames • A question answered in the chapter is _____. • The answer to the question is _____.
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ead the following sentence from Chapter 1, page 7. R • On Level: Think of a place that is very hot and dry. • Bridges: Think of a place that is hot and dry. Explain. Tell students that the sentence is called an imperative sentence because it instructs readers to do something. Ask: In the sentence I just read, which word is used to tell the reader what to do? (Allow responses.) Write the word “Think” on chart paper or on the whiteboard. Say: Imperative sentences give commands or instructions, and they almost always have no subject because they address the reader directly. Tell students that the book they are reading about land biomes uses many imperative sentences.
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Chapter 2: Earth’s Land Biomes •P ractice. Have students work in pairs to find other imperatives in Chapter 1. Allow time for students to share as you record their examples on chart paper and circle the word(s) that give the command or instruction.
Hands-On Science Inquiry Ask students to work in pairs to conduct the experiment on page 12 (Why Is It Hotter at the Equator?).
Differentiated Collaborative Learning Invite partners or small groups to complete one of the “Putting It All Together” activities on page 15 to demonstrate their understanding of the essential information. Note that the activity choices accommodate learners with a range of learning styles.
Before Reading Make It Comprehensible for ELs Use the following strategies to help ELs understand concepts and acquire academic language. • As you introduce concepts and vocabulary, use images from the book or from the image bank on the interactive whiteboard edition to illustrate concepts and terms. • Pair ELs with fluent English speakers during small-group or partner discussions and activities. • Model the use of academic sentence frames to support ELs’ vocabulary and language development. (See Suggested Academic Sentence Frames for each chapter.)
Write a Lab Report: Draft •T ell students that they will be using their Lab Report Planning Guide (BLM 1) to begin drafting their lab reports. • Discuss organization. Remind students that lab reports follow a set format. Discuss the importance of beginning with the anchor chart they developed for a lab report. Say: The goal for your lab report is to clearly and precisely communicate your results so that readers will understand what you did, why you did it, how you did it, and what you found out. From your report, readers should also be able to duplicate your experiment. • Conference with students as they complete their drafts. Use items 1–8 on the Lab Report Checklist (BLM 3) to draw students’ attention to characteristics they need to include. Focus on how students have organized their ideas and the voice of the writer. Do they have all of the features given in items 1–8? Are their question and hypothesis sections clear and easy to understand? Are the procedures and results complete and accurate? Are their conclusions logical and based on the results? • Pair students for peer conferencing.
Home Connections: Constructed-Response Journal Writing In their science journals, have students answer the textdependent comprehension questions for Chapter 1 on Comprehension Questions (BLM 4). These questions, at four text-dependent comprehension levels, help prepare students for the questions they will encounter on standardized content-area reading assessments. To model strategies for answering text-dependent comprehension questions, use the information and prompts provided on the Comprehension Power Tool Flip Chart. Answers for each question on BLM 4, along with additional questions, can be found on the Comprehension Question Card.
Discuss the Essential Question: What are the characteristics of each land biome? •A sk students to turn to page 16. Read the Essential Question together. • Open discussion. Ask the class to think about places around the world that are similar to or different from where they live. Ask: What is it like to live in a place that is always hot and steamy? How does a hot place feel, look, sound, and smell? Repeat the question by asking students about a place that is always cold and icy. • Begin a concept map to record the sensory experiences they share. Save the concept map to refer to after reading.
Discuss the Essential Vocabulary: Use Descriptions to Determine Word Meanings • Point out the Essential Vocabulary on page 16. • Say: The vocabulary words in this chapter are mostly the names of the different land biomes on Earth. To help us understand, the author uses descriptions to explain what each biome is like. Words that describe often help us understand meanings. Let me show you. • Model. Point to the boldfaced word tundra on page 17. Read the sentence that contains it aloud. Say: I see words in this sentence that help me understand what tundra is. Words such as dry and cold and phrases about low growths of plants really describe what tundra looks like. Those descriptions help me understand what tundra is like. • Think/pair/share. Pair students and assign each pair two of the Essential Vocabulary words. Challenge the pairs to locate the words in the chapter and list the descriptive words used to explain their meanings. Allow students to share. Record their findings on a word web.
Share English/Spanish Cognates for Essential Vocabulary If you have ELs whose first language is Spanish, share the cognates below to support academic vocabulary. Be aware, however, that students may not understand the meaning of all of these science words in their first language, either. desert/el desierto (page 24), taiga (also known as a boreal forest and boreal is a Spanish word) (page 18), temperate/templado (page 19), tropical/tropical (page 22), tundra/la tundra (page 17)
©2010 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
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Chapter 2 (continued) Preview Text and Graphic Features: Tables • Ask students to turn to page 26. Point out the table. • Ask: What do we call this graphic feature, and why do you think the author included it? (Allow responses.)
Activate Metacognitive Strategies: Visualize and Determine Text Importance •R eview. Remind students that when they read Chapter 1, they practiced the strategy of visualizing as they read. Say: Good readers visualize as they read. How did visualizing help you understand the characteristics of each biome? (Allow responses.) • Explain. Tell students that another important strategy is determining important information. Say: Good readers know that some information is more important than other information. Your job as you read this book is to find the information that is the most helpful for understanding about each type of biome. Let me show you how to do that. • Model. Read aloud page 18. Say: As I read this page, I noticed some clues that tell me what information is most important. First, the heading “Taiga” lets me know that I will be reading about taiga biomes. I need to focus on information that is specifically about taiga. I also noticed that the word taiga is printed in boldfaced type. The boldfaced type signals that it’s a glossary word. It’s important to the concepts in the text. • Practice. Challenge students to practice the strategy as they read. Say: As you read this chapter, pay close attention to information that explains the characteristics of each type of biome. Focusing on the most important information helps you understand.
Set a Purpose for Reading •H ave students continue to use BLM 2 to take Q notes as they read Chapter 2.
Read the Chapter
Choose the option below that meets the needs of your students. Prompt students to use the metacognitive strategies of visualizing and determining text importance to help them identify the main ideas in the chapter. • Read with a teacher. Meet with small groups of students to focus on content-comprehension strategies as you read the text together. Students can read silently, or you can do a shared read-aloud of the text. Have students use the Q notes strategy to focus on key concepts. • Read with a partner. Have students read the chapter with a partner and complete the Q Notes Guide (BLM 2) together for the chapter. • Read independently. Assign students the chapter to read on their own before the next class period. Students should complete the Q Notes Guide (BLM 2) together for the chapter.
After Reading
Choose from the activities below to extend students’ science and content-literacy skills.
Discuss Key Concepts
Suggested Academic Sentence Frames • Before reading, I thought _____. • After reading, I think _____.
Practice Comprehension Strategies: Compare and Contrast •A sk: What does it mean to compare and contrast? What types of information are you looking for? (Allow responses.) • Guide practice. Say: Let’s reread the paragraphs about hot deserts and cold deserts on pages 24–25. How does the author compare and contrast these two biomes? (Allow responses.) • If necessary, model: The author says that these two biomes are alike because they are both deserts and both get very little precipitation. The differences are in climate (hot versus cold and windy) and in the number of animals found. Cold deserts have fewer animals. • Say: Understanding how things are alike and different is a key strategy for understanding many science concepts.
Vocabulary/Word Study: Classify Words •E xplain: Classifying is grouping things together according to what they have in common. Recognizing how words can be classified is a very helpful strategy. It expands our knowledge of words we know and helps us understand the meanings of new terms. • Say: We’ve talked about seven different land biomes. We have words we use as specific names for these biomes. We also have words we use to describe the climate and other characteristics of these biomes. These words can be grouped by the specific biome they describe. These words can also be grouped by the specific characteristic, or factor, they describe such as weather, temperature, land features, etc. • Present the following list of biome names (tundra, taiga/ boreal forest, temperate rain forest, temperate deciduous forest, grassland, tropical rain forest, desert) and work with the class to generate a list of descriptive words they might use to describe these biomes. (Suggested words might include: arid, barren, cloudy, cold, desolate, dry, fertile, foggy, frigid, grassy, green, hot, humid, lush, mild, mountainous, polar, rainy, rocky, sandy, snowy, sunny, temperate, tropical, warm, temperate, wet, etc.) • After the class has generated a rich list of words, display the chart below and ask students to classify words. Allow the class to discuss and work together to complete the chart. Provide clarification and support as needed. Words That Describe Land Features
Words That Describe Weather and Climate Features
barren, desolate, fertile, grassy, green, lush, mountainous, rocky, sandy
arid, cloudy, cold, dry, foggy, frigid, hot, humid, mild, polar, rainy, snowy, sunny, temperate, tropical, warm, temperate, wet
Return to the concept map developed prior to reading the chapter. Invite students to add information using new understandings gained from their reading. Discuss how the new information changed or expanded their images of each type of environment they discussed before reading.
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Chapter 3: Conservation of Land Biomes Language Forms and Functions: Imperatives •E xplain: Remember that an imperative is a sentence that tells the reader to do something. It may be a command or an instruction. • Ask students to look at the first paragraph on page 17 and reread it along with you. Ask: Which sentence from that paragraph tells you do to something? (Allow responses.) Write Bring on the whiteboard and tell students to find the sentence with this word on page 17. Tell students that this word signals the imperative because it gives a command or instruction. • Practice with a partner. Ask students to work in pairs to find other imperatives and identify the signal words. • Allow students to share their examples as you record them on chart paper. Suggested Academic Sentence Frame • _____ before you _____.
Hands-On Science Inquiry Ask students to work in pairs to conduct the experiment on page 20 (Why Do Leaves Have Different Shapes?).
Differentiated Collaborative Learning Invite partners or small groups to complete one of the “Putting It All Together” activities on page 27 to demonstrate their understanding of the essential information.
Share the Cartoonist’s Notebook •H ave students’ read the Cartoonist’s Notebook spread on pages 28–29 independently, with partners, or as a whole group. (You may wish to project the spread on your whiteboard.) • Open discussion. Ask students to think about and discuss the following questions. Can you think of other ways in which people have adapted to different land biomes? Which land biome do you live in? How do you know?
Write a Lab Report: Edit and Revise •B ased on your observations of students’ writing, conduct appropriate mini-lessons to help them improve their reports, For example: • the importance of following the format on the class anchor chart (format for writing a lab report) • using accurate information to describe procedures and results • analyzing data appropriately to make logical conclusions • using language that supports readers’ understanding • Remind students to use the Lab Report Checklist (BLM 3) as they revise and edit independently. • Conference with students, focusing on format, word choice, accuracy, and conventions. • You may want students to continue their revisions and editing at home.
Before Reading Make It Comprehensible for ELs Use the following strategies to help ELs understand concepts and acquire academic language. • As you introduce concepts and vocabulary, use images from the book or from the image bank on the interactive whiteboard edition to illustrate concepts and terms. • Pair ELs with fluent English speakers during small-group or partner discussions and activities. • Model the use of academic sentences frames to support ELs’ vocabulary and language development. (See Suggested Academic Sentence Frames for each chapter.)
Discuss the Essential Question: How can people preserve biomes for the future? •A sk students to turn to page 30. Read the Essential Question together. • Pose a question. Ask students to answer the Essential Question in their science journals. Tell them to develop their answers using what they have learned about biomes and what they already know about efforts to save Earth. • Allow students to share and work together to decide which answers are logical.
Discuss the Essential Vocabulary: Use Direct Definitions and Descriptions to Determine Word Meanings •P oint out the Essential Vocabulary on page 30. In their science journals, have students evaluate their word knowledge using the same graphic organizer they used for the previous chapters. • Invite students to share and discuss their journals with the class. • Model using direct definitions. Say: Remember that authors often include definitions of key words or terms directly in the chapter. Often a direct definition appears in the sentence just before or just after the term. Sometimes, it is even given in the same sentence as the term itself. Look at page 30. The word conservation is near the bottom of the page. A direct definition of the word is given in the same sentence. The text says that conservation is the careful protection of Earth’s natural environment. • Model using description. Say: Another vocabulary strategy we talked about is using description. Turn to page 34 and find the term global warming. (Read the first paragraph to students.) Say: All of the description in this paragraph really helps me understand about global warming. I know what it is and why it is such a big problem for Earth. • Say: As you read Chapter 3, pay close attention to the direct definitions and descriptions in the text. They can help you understand key terms and concepts.
Home Connections: Constructed-Response Journal Writing In their science journals, have students answer the textdependent comprehension questions for Chapter 2 on BLM 4.
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Chapter 3 (continued) Share English/Spanish Cognates for Essential Vocabulary If you have ELs whose first language is Spanish, share the cognate below to support academic vocabulary. Be aware, however, that students may not understand the meaning of all of this science word in their first language, either. • conservation/la conservación (page 30)
Preview Text and Graphic Features: Climographs and Tables •A sk students to scan Chapter 3 and point out examples of climographs (pages 34 and 41) and tables (pages 32 and 41) in this chapter. • Ask: How will you use the climographs and tables to help you understand? (Allow responses.)
Review and Discuss Metacognitive Strategies: Determine Text Importance and Visualize •S ay: As we’ve read this book, we’ve been using two important reading strategies. One of them is determining what is most important in the text. Why is that important? (Allow responses.) What are some ways in which you can decide what information is most important? Engage students in a discussion of how they can look for headings, subheadings, and words in boldfaced type to help them figure out what information they need to focus on as they read. • Say: The other strategy we’ve practiced is visualizing. What does that mean? How has making images in your mind about what you’re reading helped you understand better? (Allow responses.)
Set a Purpose for Reading •A sk students to continue making Q notes as they read Chapter 3.
Read the Chapter
Choose the option below that meets the needs of your students. Prompt students to use the metacognitive strategies of determining text importance and visualizing to help them identify the main ideas in the chapter. • Read with a teacher. Meet with small groups of students to focus on content-comprehension strategies as you read the text together. Students can read silently, or you can do a shared read-aloud of the text. Use BLM 2 to focus on key concepts. • Read with a partner. Have students read the text with a partner and complete the Q Notes Guide (BLM 2) together for the chapter. • Read independently. Assign students the chapter to read on their own before the next class period. Students should complete the Q Notes Guide (BLM 2) together for the chapter.
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After Reading
Choose from the activities below to extend students’ science and content-literacy skills.
Discuss Key Concepts Ask students to reflect on what they read in the chapter and add any new ways to help preserve Earth’s land biomes to the lists they created in their journals prior to reading. Then ask students to share their ideas and create a class list.
Review and Discuss Comprehension Strategies: Compare and Contrast •A sk: How does comparing and contrasting concepts and information help you understand? (Allow responses.) Help students understand that comparing to determine how things are alike and contrasting to discover how things are different is a critical thinking strategy for understanding science. • Say: It is very important to focus on likenesses and differences when you read about science. Many science books and articles are organized around how things are the same and how they are different. Recognizing information that is presented that way is very important to understanding the concepts.
Vocabulary/Word Study: Analogies •E xplain: An analogy is a comparison between two things that may not seem comparable. Analogies help readers compare new information or ideas to what they already know. Analogies are fun and they can improve readers’ understanding. • Write the following analogies on chart paper. Heat is to a desert as cold is to a ____________. ____________ is to saving Earth as pollution is to destroying Earth. • Ask students if they can supply the logical words to fill the blanks based on what they have learned from the book. • Think/pair/share. Challenge teams of students to create additional analogies based on the scientific vocabulary in Chapters 1–3. • Provide time for teams to share with the class.
Language Forms and Functions: Imperatives • Read the following sentence from Chapter 3, page 40. • On Level and Bridges: Choose a location on the globe. • Explain: This sentence is called an imperative because it gives the reader a command or direction. In this sentence, the word Choose signals that a direction is being given. Another thing to remember about imperative sentences is that they usually do not have a stated subject. The subject is understood.
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Conclusion •D emonstrate: If I wanted to give a command about getting ready for your next class, I might say, “Stop. Put away your things.” (Write the imperatives on chart paper or on the whiteboard.) Say: These are two imperative sentences because they both give a command. (Circle “Stop” and “Put away.”) These words give the commands and signal an imperative statement. • Practice: Have students think about imperatives they might use. Invite students to share as you record their examples on chart paper or on the whiteboard. Discuss the words that signal the imperatives and circle them on the chart. Suggested Academic Sentence Frame • _____ your dinner before it gets too cold.
Hands-On Science Inquiry Ask students to work in small groups to conduct the experiment on page 40 (Create a Climograph).
Differentiated Collaborative Learning
Summarize and Synthesize
Use the suggestions below to synthesize the information from the text and to evaluate and extend students’ content knowledge, comprehension, and vocabulary knowledge.
Read Aloud and Discuss the Conclusion Read aloud the conclusion on pages 42–43 and invite students to summarize the key concepts and conclusions they can draw from the text. Encourage students to use the key vocabulary terms they have learned.
Assess Science and Content-Literacy Skills Text-Dependent Comprehension Assessment Review students’ answers to the text-dependent questions on BLM 4. If necessary, support their text-dependent comprehension strategies by answering additional questions from the Comprehension Question Card as a group.
Performance-Based Assessment
Invite partners or small groups to complete one of the “Putting It All Together” activities on page 41 to demonstrate their understanding of the essential information.
Invite students to complete the “Prime Investigations” activity shown on the inside back cover of the book. This activity provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate their understanding of the key elements of land biomes developed in the text.
Write a Lab Report: Create Final Draft and Illustrations
Vocabulary Challenge
•A sk students to rewrite or type a final draft of their reports. • Students may refine illustrations, diagrams, charts, or tables to be used in the reports. • Conference with students regarding publishing plans and deadlines.
Home Connections: Constructed-Response Journal Writing In their science journals, have students answer the textdependent comprehension questions for Chapter 3 on BLM 4.
• Invite students to play Name That Category (Marzano and Pickering, 2005). This game is a modified version of the game $100,000 Pyramid. Students are encouraged to focus on concepts or associated terms as they try to discover the common thread among them. • Make a game board with boxes arranged in a graduated shape. A triangle works well. Write a concept or category in each box with sticky notes hiding each term. • Only one player on the team, the clue-giver, should be able to see the board. The guessers must keep their backs turned. Reveal one category at a time to the clue-giver, who orally lists words that can help the guessers determine the category name. For example, if the category is “Types of Measurements,” the cluegiver might say, “inch, meter, mile, liter, pint . . .” The clue-giver would keep listing terms until the guessers are able to name the category. • As soon as the guessers respond correctly, reveal the next category. As soon as the first team finishes the board, all teams stop. Award all teams the appropriate number of points earned and continue with the next round!
Write a Lab Report: Publish and Share Explain. Planned, controlled data collection is an essential research technique used often by scientists. It provides a way to study a wide range of phenomena and issues. The lab report is an essential tool for documenting and reporting many kinds of research. It is critical to the scientific method. • Use one or more of the ideas below for sharing students’ work. • Make a class display of completed lab reports. • Assemble a binder of lab reports and accompanying documents (tables, graphs, charts, lab notes, etc.) to be shared with other classes. • Invite students to share and discuss their lab reports.
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Assessment Closed-Book Science Content Assessment
Have students complete the formal content assessment on BLMs 5 and 6. This assessment helps you evaluate students’ understanding of the standards-based concepts developed in this text. There are three test items for each “chunk” of the text as divided in this Teacher’s Guide. For each chapter, there are three types of questions, representing the different kinds of questions students will encounter on standardized content assessments. Question Types and Explanations • Recall. Students answer questions based on content concepts learned from the text. Students are not allowed to look in the book for answers. • Application. Students must transfer their understanding of concepts learned in the book to new, real-life situations. • Think about it. Students must read and interpret this question carefully. They must consider information provided in the question and information from the book to formulate an answer. • Complete a concept circle. Students to use the graphic organizer to demonstrate their concept knowledge. Then they draw conclusions about the information they have presented. This assessment can be differentiated in the following ways. Gifted students. Ask students to provide all information in the concept circle from memory. On-level students. Provide six possible categories for students to use in the four quadrants of the concept circle. Struggling students. Provide students with the four concepts you would like them to write about in the concept circle.
Answer Key: Comprehension Questions
1. slowly (page 13) 2. Climate depends on many factors. (Clues/evidence: Climate depends partly on a location’s latitude. Land and water features also influence climate. Altitude has an effect on climate, too.) (pages 10–14) 3. to explain the climograph to readers 4. fewer species than in a tropical rain forest (pages 22–23) 5. You are in a temperate rain forest. (Clues/evidence: “rainy or foggy all year”; “cool winter and mild summer”) (page 26) 6. The pages are structured to compare and contrast (hot deserts/cold deserts, snow versus rain). 7. ecology (page 36) 8. We can change how we affect Earth’s biomes. (Clues/ evidence: One way to prevent the destruction of biomes is to set limits on human behavior. An important part of conservation is setting aside wildlife parks and preserves. Successful conservation efforts help people as well as wildlife.) (pages 36–39) 9 The two main sections are “How People Affect Natural Communities” and “Conservation.”
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Answer Key: Content Assessment
1. climates 2. Sample answer: You would look on or near the equator. These places are warmest year-round because they get more direct sunlight year-round. 3. Answers may include three of the following factors: land features (such as mountains and valleys), water features, nearness to the ocean, altitude, and distance from the equator 4. taiga 5. Sample answers should include at least two differences from those listed below for each biome: desert
tropical rain forest
• very hot or very cold • dry—almost no rain • few plants, insects, and animals
• hot all year • very wet—lots of rain • many plants, animals, and insects
OR grassland • cold in winter, hot in summer • long dry season • a lot of grass all year • no snow
tundra • very cold all year • very dry all year • grass only in short summer • snow much of year
6. T he United States has the largest grassland in North America. 7. humans 8. (Answers may vary.) encourage the government to make new laws; recycle metal cans (page 36) 9. (Answers may vary.) Students’ responses should point out that climate affects all types of life in a biome and that scientists need to track its variations to predict harmful effects on the planet. 10. (Answers may vary.) • use of poisonous chemicals—harms plant and animal life • cutting down forests—destroys habitats and threatens natural communities • removing plants or animals from a natural community—causes species to become extinct • overhunting animals—causes species to become extinct • spreading disease around the world—threatens species of plants or animals with extinction • riding off-road vehicles in restricted areas—harms fragile soils • using carbon-based fuels—causes global warming Sample conclusions: • People’s activities are endangering Earth. • People should act more responsibly to protect our planet. • People need to recognize that their activities are having harmful effects on Earth.
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Name _______________________________________________________
Date _________________________________
Lab Report Planning Guide Directions: Research and record the following data to plan your lab report.
Introduction: (Write the question you are trying to answer and background information that explains why you want to know.)
Hypothesis: (Write your original idea for how to answer the question.)
Materials: (Include a list of all items used in the experiment.)
Safety Precautions: (Include this section only if needed.)
Procedures: (Write a summary of what you did, step by step.)
Results: (Include notes, tables, graphs, charts, or other recordings you made during the lab experiment, which can be attached.)
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BLM 1
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Name _______________________________________________________
Date _________________________________
Q Notes Guide Questions
Answers
Summarize or Reflect
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BLM 2
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Name _______________________________________________________
Date _________________________________
Lab Report Checklist Features of a Lab Report
YES
NO
1.I followed the format for a lab report.
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2. M y introduction explains the problem and asks a question that is testable and clear.
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3. M y hypothesis states a logical solution for the problem/answer to the question.
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4. My procedures are sequenced and complete.
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5. M y results include all notes, charts, graphs, and drawings I made during the lab experiment (some may be attached at the end of the report).
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6. M y conclusion accepts or rejects my hypothesis based on the results and uses appropriate findings from the lab experiment to explain why the results support or refute my hypothesis.
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7. I used the appropriate voice and specific language to help my reader understand my writing.
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8. My references are complete and accurate.
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Read and Revise
YES
NO
❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍
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I looked for and corrected . . . • run-on sentences
• sentence fragments • subject/verb agreement • verb tense • punctuation • capitalization • spelling land biomes
BLM 3
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Name _______________________________________________________
Date ______________________________
Land Biomes: Comprehension Questions Directions: Reread the text to answer each question. Provide clues and evidence from the text to support your answers. Indicate the page(s) where you found your clues and evidence.
Chapter 1 1. The ocean changes temperatures very 2. What can you conclude about climate from the information in Chapter 1?
3. Why did the author include the information on page 9?
Chapter 2 4. L ook at the outline of information from pages 22–23. What information belongs in the blank? Tropical Rain Forest • hot every day • t housands of species of plants and animals
• • • •
Both
rain forests lots of rain very tall trees plants and animals adapt to their environments
Temperate Rain Forest •m ild winters; cool, foggy summers • _______________________ _______________________
5. You are visiting a biome in winter that is rainy and cool (not cold). Where are you?
6. How did the author structure pages 24–25?
Chapter 3 7. Environmental scientists look at the big picture of _________________. 8. What is an important theme in Chapter 3?
9. What are the two main sections of Chapter 3?
land biomes
BLM 4
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Name _______________________________________________________
Date _________________________________
Land Biomes: Content Assessment Directions: Use what you have learned about land biomes to answer the questions below.
Chapter 1 1. Areas with similar ______________ develop similar communities of living beings. 2. I f you wanted to live in a country that is warm most of the year, where would you look on a globe to find such a place? Explain why.
3. Several factors influence the climate of a biome. Name at least three.
Chapter 2 4. Which type of biome covers more of Earth’s surface than any other type of biome?
5. U se the chart below to compare and contrast each pair of biomes. (Include at least two examples for each.)
land biomes
desert
tropical rain forest
grassland
tundra
BLM 5
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Name _______________________________________________________
Date _________________________________
6. T he North American continent has several biomes, including a large area of grasslands. Which country in North America has the largest area of grassland? Chapter 2 7. What is the biggest factor affecting land biomes? 8. I f you wanted to limit the effects that aluminum mining has on land environments, what are two things you might do? 9. A climograph allows scientists to study climate changes over time. Why is that information important?
10. I n each quadrant of the concept circle below, write a type of harmful human activity discussed in Land Biomes and explain how it harms Earth.
What can you conclude about people’s activities that are affecting Earth? land biomes
BLM 6
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