Close Reading Informational Text: “The Sixth Extinction”
Model Answers for Self-Assessment/Corrective Instruction
Directions: Read the text closely and annotate as you read. Then use the text to answer the following
questions.
Author’s Purpose/Text Structure
1.
Why does the author begin the article by discussing a wave of amphibian extinctions in
Central America that was first noticed in the early 1990s? (paragraphs 1-6)
The author begins the article by discussing amphibian extinctions in Central
America to show the reader that these frogs are a part of a larger extinction
known as the Sixth Extinction. The amphibian extinctions help prove the
author’s point that humans are the cause of the Sixth Extinction. She says,
“By inhabiting every corner of the planet, razing forests, and burning fossil
fuels, people are changing the world so fast that any other species can’t
cope.” (p. 13)
2. What is the author’s point of view on extinctions? Cite two pieces of evidence from the text
to support what she believes about them.
(Possible answers: Extinctions are bad/concerning. Humans are causing them. We need to
stop extinctions.) The author believes that humans are causing extinctions. She
uses several facts to show how humans are causing them, as well as many
facts to show what animal species have gone extinct or are currently
endangered. For example, the texts says “Today most scientists believe
we’re witnessing a new mass extinction.” Also, “Across all sorts of different
groups, extinction rates are now up to 10,000 times higher than they were
before humans appeared, according to a recent report in Science magazine.”
(p. 14) “What matters the most is that people are changing the world and
with it the biodiversity that we depend on.” (p. 15) Only certain species will
survive and “it’s not taken for granted that we will be among them.” (p. 15)
Citing Text Evidence
3. Identify the two main causes of the “new mass extinction” according to the text.
The two main causes of the “new mass extinction” are moving species
around and cutting down forests and burning fossil fuels. In the text is says,
“Moving species around can have devastating consequences: New species
can become invasive and, in the long run, they can drive native species into
extinction.” Also, it says, “Another way people are changing the planet is by
cutting down forests and burning fossil fuels like oil and coal.” (p. 14)
4. Cite two pieces of evidence from the text that supports the claim that scientists are trying to
reverse the trend toward extinctions.
Scientists are trying to reverse the trend toward extinctions because many
conservation groups are protecting endangered species. For example, “In
Panama, a conservation center is filled with tanks containing endangered
frogs—including Panamanian golden frogs. They are equipped with running
water so the animals can breed near a facsimile of the streams that were
once their home.” Also, “To save the whooping crane, whose population in
the wild is down to 200, volunteers fly ultralight aircraft each year to teach
chicks raised in captivity how to migrate…” (p. 15)
Also, “The US Congress passes the Endangered Species Act in 1973 and since
then the length to which people have gone to protect vulnerable creatures is
incredible.” (p. 15)
5. Study the timeline (pp. 14-15) that accompanies the article. What information does it add to
the text?
The timeline shows the chronology of the first five mass extinctions and
how they affected the diversity of species on Earth. All of these extinctions
were caused by natural disasters or changes on Earth that were not able to
be prevented. The Sixth Extinction that the article talks about is being
caused by humans. This shows the huge impact that humans have had on
the Earth’s species, and how this new extinction is different from those in
the past.