Reading Success Series B Anthology 1 Passageways Series 15 Nonfiction Selections CURRICULUM ASSOCIATES, Inc.
FOR THE STUDENT Passageways is a reading book that has 15 interesting nonfiction selections. These are the kinds of selections that you might read in school books, in library books, in magazines, and in other books. Each selection is followed by 18 multiple-choice questions. These questions give you practice with key reading strategies. Each selection also has 3 Explorations in Writing questions. These questions ask you to write about what you have read. Passageways will help you understand and enjoy what you read. You will become a better reader. And you will get the most from your reading! PHOTO CREDITS: Pages 29, 110 Royalty Free/Corbis Pages 30 32, 70, 112 2001 ArtToday.com Page 52 Courtesy of Susan Hawk Page 68 H. G. Wilshire, U.S. Geological Society Page 71 C. E. Meyer, U.S. Geological Society Page 72 Courtesy of Lisa Greenleaf Gollihue Pages 85 88 NASA Page 92 Digital Imagery 2001 PhotoDisc, Inc. Pages 93 96 NOAA Photo Library/Central Library Page 96 American Red Cross, NOAA Photo Library/Central Library Pages 109, 111 Earth from Space, NASA ILLUSTRATION CREDITS: Pages 4 8, 28, 60, 76 80, 84, 100, 108, 112 Lisa Greenleaf Gollihue Pages 12 16, 20 24, 36 40, 44 48, 53 56, 60 64, 100 104, 116 120 Leslie Alfred McGrath Page 69 Susan Hawk ISBN 0-7609-1917-8 2002 Curriculum Associates, Inc. North Billerica, MA 01862 No part of this book may be reproduced by any means without written permission from the publisher. All Rights Reserved. Printed in USA. 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS The Apple: From Seed to Fruit.................. 4 Young Abraham Lincoln..................... 12 Let s Vote on It!........................... 20 Poison Frogs.............................. 28 Balto, Hero of Alaska....................... 36 Hello... It s for You!....................... 44 Water................................... 52 The Many Uses of Corn...................... 60 Shake, Rattle, & Roll: Earthquakes.............. 68 Let s Make Music.......................... 76 Sally Ride................................ 84 Extreme Weather........................... 92 Pizza, Pizza, Pizza!......................... 100 The Big River............................ 108 A Different Kind of Home................... 116 Explorations in Writing..................... 124 128
P O I S O N FROGS FROGS Getting Started You ve probably seen lots of frogs. They live in ponds and maybe even in your yard. But have you ever seen a poison frog? Probably not. Poison frogs live in the rain forests of Central and South America. How are poison frogs different from other frogs? Read the following selection to find out. 28 POISON FROGS
A rain forest makes a good home for poison frogs. P oison frogs live in rain forests. These forests are warm and wet. The trees grow very tall. Their leaves spread out and make a roof over the forest. This roof is called a canopy. It keeps most of the bright sunlight away from the ground. It also keeps the rain forest warm and damp. A poison frog needs a warm, damp place to live. If the air is not damp enough, the poison frog will dry out and die. POISON FROGS 29
A poison frog is small but deadly! T here are about 170 different kinds of poison frogs. These frogs can be deadly, but they are pretty small. Some are as small as insects. Many are less than one inch long. Most are no more than two inches long. Some poison frogs live in trees. Certain kinds of plants are important to them. These plants have clusters of long leaves. Water often forms small puddles where the groups of leaves join together. The frogs lay their eggs in the puddles. The eggs hatch into baby frogs called tadpoles. The frogs take good care of their tadpoles. In about three weeks, the tadpoles turn into frogs. Some poison frogs live on the ground. These frogs cannot climb into trees. They lay their eggs in small ponds or under damp leaves or rocks. 30 POISON FROGS
M any rain forest animals hunt only at night. During the day, they hide among plants. They don t want their enemies to see them and eat them. But poison frogs hop around openly during the day. They don t have to hide. Poison seeps out through small holes in their skin. So poison frogs don t taste very good. Animals that catch them spit them right out. Rain forest animals that hide in plants are often the same color as the plants. But poison frogs are brightly colored. They might be red, blue, orange, or yellow. Some have dots or patterns on their skin. Their bright colors seem to warn hungry animals: Keep away. I am poisonous. One bite and you re dead! What do poison frogs eat? They eat small insects, such as ants, beetles, flies, and spiders. Lots of insects live in the rain forest. They like the warmth and dampness there. Poison frogs have plenty of food. POISON FROGS 31
P oison frogs don t get sick very often. Scientists think that the frogs poison destroys germs that would make them sick. Their poison is strong enough to kill germs. Some poison frogs live as long as nine years. That s a long time for a frog! Some Indians who live in the rain forest use darts for hunting. They rub the dart tips against a poison frog s skin. The frog s poison gets on the darts. The poison on the darts kills the animals. A frog s poison can also kill a person if it gets through the person s skin. So, what if you re in a rain forest and see a tiny, brightly colored frog? Don t touch it! It could be a poison frog. 32 POISON FROGS
Finding Main Idea and Details Finding Word Meaning in Context The main idea is the most important idea. The details are the pieces of information that tell more about the main idea. 1. What is the article mostly about? rain forests rain forest plants poison frogs what poison frogs eat 2. Which of these details was not mentioned in the article? Poison frogs are brightly colored. Poison frogs might lay their eggs under rocks. Poison frogs carry tadpoles on their backs. Poison frogs eat many kinds of insects. 3. About how many kinds of poison frogs are there? 170 100 17 1,700 Use context clues to find the meaning of a new word. Context clues are words in a sentence that help you figure out the meaning of the new word. 4. On page 30, what does the word clusters mean? bunches stems berries thousands 5. Look at page 31. The word seeps means floods. sprays. flows. boils. 6. On page 32, the word germs tells about food. sickness. plants. enemies. POISON FROGS 33
Recognizing Cause and Effect Comparing and Contrasting When one thing causes another thing to happen, it is called cause and effect. The cause is the reason why something happens. The effect is what happens. 7. Poison frogs live in the rain forest because they need a dry place to live. a cold place to live. a dark place to live. a warm, damp place to live. 8. Other animals don t eat poison frogs because poison frogs taste bad. feel slippery. look ugly. smell bad. 9. You should not touch a brightly colored frog because it might be poisonous. you might hurt it. you might rub the color off. it might have germs. Comparing is finding how two or more things are alike. Contrasting is finding how two or more things are different. 10. Some poison frogs are the same size as monkeys. insects. dogs. horses. 11. Unlike many other rain forest animals, a poison frog eats insects. lives in trees. doesn t have to hide during the day. always has to hide during the day. 12. The rain forest canopy is most like a roof. a doorway. a window. a chimney. 34 POISON FROGS
Understanding Sequence Drawing Conclusions Sequence is the order in which things are done or events happen. 13. Which does the selection tell about first? how poison frogs lay eggs what poison frogs eat what poison frogs look like where poison frogs live 14. Which event happens first? The frogs lay eggs. The frogs take good care of the tadpoles. The tadpoles turn into frogs. The eggs hatch into tadpoles. 15. Which of these does the author tell about last in the selection? what poison frogs do during the day where poison frogs find food why poison frogs don t often get sick why poison frogs live in rain forests Drawing conclusions can help you figure out things that are not written in a selection. To draw a conclusion, think about the facts. Then think about what you know in your own life. 16. From the selection, you can tell that poison frogs probably make a good meal. make excellent pets. don t have many animal enemies. have many animal enemies. 17. Which of these is the most dangerous for a poison frog? wetness dryness small puddles tall trees 18. Which of these would you probably not find in a rain forest? poison frogs tall trees insects cactuses Explorations in Writing POISON FROGS Go to page 125. 35
Explorations in Writing Write your answers on a separate piece of paper. POISON FROGS (pages 28 32) 1. The author explains why poison frogs live in the rain forest. Write a few sentences that tell why the rain forest is a good place for poison frogs to live. 2. A fact can be proved. An opinion is what someone thinks or feels. Here is a fact from the selection: Poison frogs live in the rain forest. Here is an opinion based on the selection: Poison frogs are pretty. Write another fact from the selection. Write another opinion based on the selection. Give at least one reason for the opinion. 3. Write a few sentences telling what you have learned about poison frogs. Balto, Hero of Alaska (pages 36 40) 1. In this selection, the author tells the true story of Balto. What was your favorite part of the story? Why? Write about it. 2. A fact can be proved. An opinion is what someone thinks or feels. Here is a fact from the story: Nenana is 650 miles from Nome. Here is an opinion based on the story: Balto was the best sled dog ever. Write another fact from the story. Write another opinion based on the story. Give at least one reason for the opinion. 3. Think about the story. Use your own words to retell the story. Hello... It s for You! (pages 44 48) 1. The author tells about being a telephone operator in the late 1800s. Write a few sentences telling what that job was probably like. 2. A fact can be proved. Here is a fact from the story: In 1876, there was a big fair in Philadelphia. Write two more facts from the story. 3. Read again the section called Changes! on page 48. Write a few sentences telling what this section is about. Explorations in Writing 125