QUESTION GUIDE
Grade 6
A Silent Extinction Reading Level: Z2 Text Type: Nonfiction/Persuasive
Have students read the passage three times, each with a different
purpose. After each read, ask the questions below and discuss the
answers in small groups or as a class.
Word Count: 519
Text Structure: Problem and Solution
Optional Question Bank
Read
1
1. What significant event happened in 2017?
Read
1
What Does the Text Say?
1. How has the wild giraffe population changed over the past thirty years?
2. Why is the population of wild giraffes decreasing?
3. How can the Endangered Species Act (ESA) help protect giraffes?
Read
2 How Does the Text Say What It Says?
4. What was the author’s purpose for writing this passage?
5. Why did the author include the map on page 1?
6. What does the word poaching mean? Why are giraffes poached?
Read
3 What Is the Meaning and Value of the Text?
7. What can we learn from other animals that have been protected by the ESA?
8. Is it important to advocate for the giraffe population and other endangered animals?
Why or why not?
Extension Activity
How do humans and giraffes interact?
2. What happens when an animal is listed under
the ESA?
3. How did the ESA help the white rhinoceros
population?
Read
2
4. Why did the author title the passage “A Silent
Extinction”?
5. How does the author describe the difference
between animals that are endangered versus
animals that are threatened?
6. How does the sidebar on page 4 add to the
passage?
Read
3
7. Are there ways in which you can help maintain the
giraffe population? Explain.
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Activity
Connection
Write a newspaper article supporting or arguing against the protection of the wild
giraffe population.
This Close Read Passage has a text connection listed under
“Additional Resources” on this passage’s webpage.
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ANSWER GUIDE
Read
1 What Does the Text Say?
1. Giraffe numbers have decreased by 40 percent over the past thirty years. In
1985, there were more than 150,000 giraffes in the wild. By 2015, there were
just over 97,000.
2. The giraffe population is decreasing because of human activity. Giraffes are
losing their habitats to farming, mining, and forestry. Likewise, people illegally
kill giraffes for their meat and other body parts.
3. The ESA can help protect giraffes by limiting imports of giraffe products into
the United States, providing financial assistance to countries where these
animals live, and bringing international attention to their declining numbers.
Read
2 How Does the Text Say What It Says?
4. The author wrote this passage to inform readers about the declining giraffe
population, the threats that wild giraffes face, and ways in which people can
protect the population of wild giraffes.
5. The map on page 1 shows how the range of giraffes has changed from the
1700s to 2019.
6. Poaching refers to killing a wild animal illegally. People poach giraffes for
their meat and other body parts.
Read
Grade 6
A Silent Extinction Reading Level: Z2 Text Type: Nonfiction/Persuasive
3 What Is the Meaning and Value of the Text?
7. Answers will vary but may include that people can learn strategies that work
to increase the population of endangered animals and improve international
conservation efforts.
8. Answers will vary.
Extension Activity
Student responses will vary based on students’ discussion and research.
Word Count: 519
Text Structure: Problem and Solution
Optional Question Bank
Read
1
1. In 2017, five environmental groups petitioned the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service to list giraffes as endangered
or threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
2. Once an animal is listed under the ESA, the U.S. government
protects that species and its habitat and prepares a recovery
plan. The goal is to restore the population of the animal to a
healthy level.
3. Once the white rhinoceros was added to the ESA, funding for
conservation activities increased. As a result, the population of
white rhinoceroses grew from about one hundred to more than
twenty thousand.
Read
2
4. When people see giraffes at zoos, they assume that the
animal is doing fine. However, the population of wild giraffes
has declined dramatically in the past thirty years, and in
some countries, giraffes have vanished completely. “A Silent
Extinction” refers to the decline in the giraffe population.
5. An animal that is endangered is at risk of becoming extinct over
all or most of its range. An animal that is threatened is likely to
become endangered within the foreseeable future.
6. The sidebar provides an example of an animal, the white
rhinoceros, that benefited from being placed on the ESA.
Readers might infer that giraffes could benefit in the same
way if placed on the ESA.
Read
3
7. Answers will vary.
8. Answers will vary but may include that all people are
responsible for preventing the extinction of giraffes.
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www.readinga-z.com
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