Table of Contents BIG CATS 3 Hunting for Endings Language Arts Activity 7 Count the Cats! Mathematics Activity 8 African Wonderland Geography Activity 9 Big Cat Continents Geography Activity 10 Big Cat Continents Geography Activity 11 A Rainforest Surprise Reading Activity 12 Big Cat Fun Language Arts Activity 13 Answer Key 14 SPORTS 15 Go, Team! Language Arts Activity 19 Tickets for Sale! Mathematics Activity 20 Team Players Mathematics Activity 21 Telling It Like It Is Reading Activity 22 Fueling Up Science Activity 23 Practice Makes Perfect Social Studies Activity 24 Scrambled Sports Language Arts Activity 25 Answer Key 26 INSECTS 27 A Bug s Body Science Activity 31 Bugging Out Mathematics Activity 32 Staying Alive Science Activity 33 Create-a-Critter Reading Activity 34 Imagine That! Mathematics Activity 35 Pesty Patterns Mathematics Activity 36 Tic-Tac-Toe! Language Arts Activity 37 Answer Key 38 TOP FIVE 39 Fishing for Words Language Arts Activity 43 Hot Stuff! Geography Activity 44 Hot Stuff! Geography Activity 45 Going in Circles Language Arts Activity 46 Dream Weavers Language Arts Activity 47 Sweet Teeth Social Studies Activity 48 Top Five Mathematics Activity 49 Answer Key 50 AFRICA 51 Who am I? Reading Activity 55 Let It Rain! Mathematics Activity 56 I m Hungry! Language Arts Activity 57 Home, Sweet Home Geography Activity 58 Home, Sweet Home Geography Activity 59 Energize Me! Science Activity 60 Did You Know? Language Arts Activity 61 Answer Key 62 HUMAN BODY 63 Beat It! Mathematics Activity 67 What a Busybody! Science Activity 68 Pulse Play Science Activity 69 Take That! Reading Activity 70 Could It Be? Language Arts Activity 71 Some Like It Hot! Social Studies Activity 72 Where To? Social Studies Activity 73 Answer Key 74 THE OCEAN 75 Headed to America Reading Activity 79 Sea Smarts Mathematics Activity 80 Living It Up Science Activity 81 The Name Game Geography Activity 82 The Name Game Geography Activity 83 Something Fishy Mathematics Activity 84 Gone Fishing Language Arts Activity 85 Answer Key 86 WEATHER 87 Brrrrrrrrr!!!! Reading Activity 91 Extra! Extra! Reading Activity 92 Counting in the Cold Mathematics Activity 93 Get Wet! Science Activity 94 You re the Meteorologist Language Arts Activity 95 Answer Key 96
MINI BOOK Wild cats live all over the world. They are incredibly fast. They love to hunt. They can swim. They are heavy. What are some other qualities wild cats have in common? BIG CATS
There are many different kinds of wild cat. Some wild cats have spots. Others have stripes. Some wild cats are quicker or stronger than others. Still, all wild cats have one thing in common: They are excellent hunters. Cheetahs are the world s fastest land animals. Their lean bodies and long legs help the animal run as fast as 72 miles per hour. Some people call the cheetah the greyhound of the cat family. As the cheetah runs, only one foot touches the ground at a time. At its fastest pace, the cheetah averages about three to four strides per second. 2 7
DID YOU KNOW...that black leopards are called panthers? Leopards vary in size depending on where in the world they live. Some live in Asia and some live in Africa. Some live on islands. Leopards are able to live in so many different types of environment because they are very versatile. This means that they can adapt to many different kinds of places. Lions are muscular and powerful. Still, they have trouble running for long distances. That is because lions have difficulty maintaining their speed. The lionesses are the hunters in the group. The males are the first to feed once the prey has been caught and killed. Then the females take their turns. Last are the cubs. 4 5
DID YOU KNOW... that the Ancient Mayans considered the jaguar a god? Jaguars look a lot like leopards, only heavier. Jaguars are excellent swimmers. They are good at fishing and use their paws to flip fish out of the water. Jaguars make their dens in caves or under overhanging rocks. Like many other cats, jaguars do their hunting at night. The jaguar s jaws are the strongest of any land mammal. This makes it easy for the jaguar to eat its prey. Tigers live in forests and grasslands. They like to stay near water whenever they can. They are strong swimmers, and they love to bathe themselves. Tigers prey on large animals. They chase wild boar, monkeys, deer, and buffalo. A tiger will quietly stalk its prey before attacking. It will usually attack its victim s throat. DID YOU KNOW... that most adult tigers weigh around 420 pounds? 6 3
Hunting for Endings Read the sentences and look at the matching pictures below. Then write each verb with its correct ending. Endings: -s -ed -ing This jaguar in the lake. swim Last week, a tiger a buffalo. attack We watch as the jaguar up the tree. climb The lioness is in the jungle. hunt A tiger always its prey. stalk The cub was in the river. bath 7
Count the Cats! Each of the fractions below has two numbers. The bottom number will tell you how many big cats there are in each group. The top number will tell you many big cats in each group you should count. Read the sentences and look at the pictures below. Then circle the correct fraction to answer each question. There are 5 cheetahs. How many of them are running? 3 /5 1 /5 2 /5 There are 4 tiger cubs. How many of them are swimming? 3 /4 1 /3 1 /4 There are 4 jaguars. How many of them are in the tree? 1 /2 1 /3 1 /4 8
African Wonderland There are many different types of landforms in Africa. Use the map key to help you color in this map of Africa. mountains N deserts rainforests W E grasslands S 1. Find the grasslands. Color them brown. 2. Find the deserts. Color them yellow. 3. Find the mountains. Color them purple. 4. Find the rainforests. Color them green. What type of landform is at the southern tip of Africa? 9
Big Cat Continents This world map shows where different wild cats live. Find each cat on the map. Next to each cat s picture, write the name(s) of the continent(s) where that cat can be found. W N S E World map with continents labeled. Pictures od big cats around the page. Lions should be south of the Sahara in African and in the Gir Forest of India. Cheetahs in eastern and southern Africa. Jaguars in Mexico, Central and South America, and Southern Arizona and New Mexico. Leopards are in Africa as far north as the Sahara and in Asia from Turkey to Korea to Asia Java. Tigers North in southern Asia (especially Indian and Thailand). A Europe small number of tigers in eastern Siberia. America South America Africa Australia Key cheetah jaguar leopard tiger lion 10
cheetah spots of each of the five cats to go above jaguar label spots of each of the five cats to go above label leopard spots of each of the five cats to go above label tiger lion 11
A Rainforest Surprise Read the passage below. Then fill in the story chart. My mom travels a lot. One year she went to Asia. She hired a guide who took her deep into the rainforest. They were walking down a trail when a deer ran into an open space up ahead. Suddenly, a big, striped head looked out from the bushes. It was a tiger! The tiger watched its prey for quite a while, and then jumped out to surprise the deer. It caught the deer with its sharp teeth and stood proudly over it. My mom was nervous that the tiger might come after her, too. The guide told my mother to be quiet. They moved quickly and quietly back to the jeep. They were lucky, because the tiger was distracted by his catch. While it ate its meal, Mom and the guide were able to drive back to safety! characters setting problem solution 12
Big Cat Fun Across 1. Many big cats have strong and teeth. 4. Stripes provide some big cats for the jungle. 6. Tigers have on their coats. 7. Big cats chase after their. Word Bank camouflage claws jaws legs Down 2. When leopards run, their blur. 3. This big cat likes to stay near the water. 4. Big cats have sharp to help them climb. 5. Cheetahs have long that help them run fast. prey spots stripes tiger 1 2 3 4 7 5 6 13
Big Cats Answers Page 7 -s, -ed, -s, -ing, -s, -ing Page 8 1 /5, 3 /4, 1 /4 Page 9 Page 12 Characters: mom, guide, deer, tiger Setting: rainforest in Asia Problem: The tiger might prey on the mom and her guide. Solution: The mom and her guide drove to safety while the tiger was eating and distracted. mountains Page 13 1 jaws; 2 spots; 3 tiger; 4 across camouflage; 4 down claws; 5 legs; 6 stripes; 7 prey 14