Grade 5
Copyright © 2014 by Write Score LLC
Let’s Review:
What is Text Evidence?
• Text evidence is necessary when answering questions
about a text.
• Text evidence includes facts or quotes taken from the text
that support your answer.
• Text evidence should be cited.
• Citing text evidence gives credit to the author or source
that provided the information.
Citing Evidence:
Give Text Evidence:
o In the text, “Black Mambas”,… o
o According to the passage,
“The Coral Snake”,…
o
o One example from the text,
“Black Mambas”,…
o
o The author of “The Coral
Snake” states…
The author, Carli Hayer,
wrote…
The illustration in “The
Coral Snake” shows…
One example on page ___
of “Black Mambas” is…
Citing Evidence: (continued)
Give MORE Text Evidence:
o The text also states…
o Another example from the text is…
o The author also wrote…
Black Mambas
By Carli Hayer
The black mamba is considered by many to be the world’s
deadliest snake. Black mambas are fast, nervous snakes. They
are easily threatened, very aggressive, and their venom is
deadly.
Black mambas live in the grasslands and rocky hills of Africa.
They are one of the fastest snakes in the world. They can
slither across the ground at speeds of up to 12 miles per hour.
Black mambas are the longest venomous snake in Africa and
can grow up to 14 feet in length.
Black Mambas (continued)
By Carli Hayer
The skin of a black mamba is gray-green, but the snake gets its
name from the inside of its mouth. When threatened, the black
mamba will open its mouth and show the dark blue-black color
inside.
Black mambas are shy. These huge snakes will almost always try
to escape when confronted. When the snake is unable to get
away from whatever is threatening it, it will attack. First, the
snake will raise its head high off of the ground. Then it will
spread open its neck flap, open its mouth, and hiss. If
this doesn’t scare off its attacker, the black mamba will
strike.
Black Mambas (continued)
By Carli Hayer
When the black mamba strikes, it strikes over and over again.
With each strike, it injects large amounts of venom into its
attacker.
Today, there is an antivenom that can save
the victim of a black mamba bite. Before
this antivenom, a bite from a black mamba
was 100 percent fatal. The victim usually
died within 20 minutes. Deaths from black
mamba bites are still frequent, as the snake
lives in remote areas where the antivenom
is not readily available.
Question #1: According to the article,
what are the black mambas defining
characteristics?
Black mambas are very large snakes. According to the article,
“Black Mambas”, the black mamba can grow to be 14 feet long.
Black mambas are fast, too. The text states that they can slither
across the ground at about 12 mph. Black mambas are greygreen. They get their name from the blue-black color inside their
mouths. The article also states that the black mamba is one of
the most deadly, venomous snakes in the world.
The Coral Snake
By Lili Pabst
“Red touch yellow, kill a fellow…red touch black, friend of Jack.”
This may sound like a simple rhyme, but it isn’t. It is actually a
warning for people who stumble upon yellow, black, and red
snakes. This rhyme describes the skin patterns of two similar
looking, but very different snakes. If the red band is touching the
black band (and not the yellow band), it is most likely the
nonvenomous scarlet king snake. However, if the red band on
the snake’s skin is touching the yellow band (and not the black
band), the snake is most likely a
deadly coral snake!
The Coral Snake (continued) By Lili Pabst
A bite from the coral snake can be deadly. At first, there may be
little to no pain or swelling. This lack of pain can often cause the
bitten person to assume that all is well. However, symptoms of a
coral snake bite may not start to show until 12 hours after the
bite occurs. Once the venom begins working, it disrupts the
connection between the brain and the muscles. This causes
slurred speech and double vision. The bite victim may also
experience muscular paralysis, the loss of muscle movement.
This muscular paralysis can cause the bite victim to stop
breathing or have a deadly heart attack. In order to avoid
experiencing any of these horrible reactions, bite victims
should seek medical help immediately.
The Coral Snake (continued) By Lili Pabst
Coral snakes live in wooded, sandy, and marshy areas, and spend
most of their lives burrowed underground or in leaf piles. They
only bite humans when handled or stepped on. The coral snake
must chew on their victim to fully inject its venom. Most bite
victims don’t stay still long enough for the snake to chew, so
most bites to humans don't result in death. In fact, no deaths
from coral snake bites have been reported
in the U.S. since an antivenom was
released in 1967.
Answer the Questions. Use Sentence
Starters and Text Evidence to
Support Your Answer.
Question# 1: Why is it important to seek help
immediately if you think you have been bitten by a coral
snake? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
Continue Answering the Questions…
Question# 2: Why don’t the majority of coral snake
bites result in death? Use evidence from the text to
support your answer.
Question# 3: How does the rhyme help identify the
deadly coral snake from other nonvenomous snakes? Use
evidence from the text to support your answer.