Grade 5 Module 2A Unit 2
Most Beautiful Roof in the World page 2
1. Which of the following does the description on paragraph 2 suggest about
Meg Lowman?
a. She is hard-working and curious.
b. She is energetic and adventurous.
c. She is strong and physically fit.
d. She is smart and skillful.
2. Which phrase helps the reader understand the meaning of the word
“herbivory?”
a. “her specialty is the very top of the rainforest”
b. “the relationships between plants and insects in the canopy”
c. “leaf and plant eating by insects and other animals”
d. “overall growth of the rainforest”
3. Is Meg Lowman dedicated to her job as a rainforest scientist? Use evidence
from the text to support your answer.
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Grade 5 Module 2A Unit 2
Most Beautiful Roof in the World page 4
1. Which information helps the reader understand the meaning of the word
“conductor” in paragraph 2?
a. “threading through the countryside and deep woods”
b. “guided countless African Americans out of slavery to freedom.”
c. “She had to know which berries and nuts could be eaten.”
d. “She was a pioneer field naturalist.”
2. Which of the following best explains why Meg Lowman considered Harriet
Tubman a “pioneer field naturalist.”
a. “She was intrigued by two women.”
b. “Harriet Tubman guided countless African Americans out of slavery.”
c. “She had to know which berries and nuts could be eaten.”
d. “One of the first women field naturalists in this country.”
3. Why was Meg Lowman intrigued by Harriet Tubman? Use details from the
text to support your answer.
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Grade 5 Module 2A Unit 2
Most Beautiful Roof in the World pages 7-8
1. Which paragraph does the picture on page 7 help the reader understand?
a. page 7, paragraph 1
b. page 8, paragraph 1
c. page 8, paragraph 2
2. “Meg has tried most methods of ascent in her exploration.” Which phrase
helps the reader determine the meaning of the word ascent on page 8,
paragraph 2.
a. “sailed aloft in hot-air balloons”
b. “it has been exciting”
c. “swung with the spider monkeys”
d. “peered into magical little frog ponds”
3. Which main idea is expressed in paragraph 2 on page 8?
a. Meg Lowman must carefully preserve plants by pickling or pressing.
b. Meg Lowman gathers specimens of plants and insects.
c. Meg Lowman has swung on trapezes through the foliage.
d. Meg Lowman has tried many methods of ascent to find insects in the
canopy.
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Grade 5 Module 2A Unit 2
Most Beautiful Roof in the World page 9 and 10
1. Which phrases best help the reader understand the meaning of the word
“powerhouse” on page 9?
a. “ascending to the canopy is not easy” and “there is so much to conquer”
b. “scientists stood in the deep shadows” and “they could only wonder”
c. “where most photosynthesis occurs” and “95 percent of the biomass”
d. “where rainforest life begins” and “it remained out of reach.”
2. Which of the following best explains why the author compares the canopy to
an undiscovered continent?
a. The canopy is where rainforest life begins.
b. Until recently, the canopy was one of few places that scientists were not
able to study up close.
c. Scientists must overcome the natural obstacles of gravity, ants, and
thorns.
d. Scientists are similar to mountaineers, ascending cliffs made of leaves
and branches.
3. How does the author express how difficult the rainforest is to study? Use
specific language or details from the text to explain your answer.
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Grade 5 Module 2A Unit 2
Most Beautiful Roof in the World page 12
1. What is the main idea of paragraph 1?
a. Blue Creek is located in Belize, Central America.
b. Blue Creek receives nearly 40 inches of rainfall every month.
c. Blue Creek is one of the most humid places on the planet.
d. Blue Creek is has more varieties of living things than perhaps any other
place.
2. In paragraph 3, why does the author compare new species to
“undiscovered islands?”
a. Blue Creek is located in Central America.
b. Blue Creek is one of the most humid places.
c. New species appear unexpectedly.
d. New species have ceaseless energy.
3. Use evidence from the text on page 12 to support the idea that Blue Creek
is biodiverse.
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Grade 5 Module 2A Unit 2
Most Beautiful Roof in the World
page 13 and 14
1. Which of the following supports the idea that each species has an
important part to play in the “machinery” of the earth.
a. “Science is the machinery that runs the earth.”
b. “When Meg wants to have a close look at the machinery she goes into
the rainforest.”
c. “She wonders how strong the machine really is.”
d. “How many species can be removed before it will break?”
2. Which paragraph shows that Meg Lowman is concerned about the
environment.
a. Page 13, paragraph 1
b. Page 13, paragraph 2
c. Page 13, paragraph 3
d. Page 14, paragraph 1
3. According to the text on page 14, Meg Lowman is
a. Easy-going and safety-conscious
b. Smart and adventurous
c. Thoughtful and loving
d. Imaginative and honest
4. Which person would best be described as helpful?
a. Meg
b. Ed
c. James
d. Edward
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Grade 5 Module 2A Unit 2
Most Beautiful Roof in the World
page 15 and 16
1. Which of the following shows that Meg Lowman is concerned about the
safety of her boys.
a. “Meg feels they are old enough to go up with her into the canopy.”
b. “She has ordered special child-size harnesses for them.”
c. “It will be many hours before they can join her.”
d. “A climber must clip the safety lines securely to wires strung above and
then step.”
2. In paragraph 2 on page 15, the text says “Metal staples project from the
tree trunk.” What does the word project mean?
a. assign or complete
b. extend or protrude
c. ascend or go up
d. deplete or run out
3. Which of the following explains what the author means by the term
“emerald highway.”
a. “The canopy appears to be a maze of tangled vines.”
b. “Within the canopy there are a variety of distinct regions.”
c. “Spacing influences what lives where in the canopy, providing
pathways for toucans and macaws.”
d. “Vines and lianas that lace the top of trees together into a web for
commuting life.”
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Grade 5 Module 2A Unit 2
Most Beautiful Roof in the World
page 19 and 20
1. What is Meg Lowman trying to prove by collecting data about the leaves?
a. Insects eat through just one layer of a leaf’s surface to create a pattern.
b. Leaf eating occurs on particular trees in certain regions.
c. Different types of insect populations eat during certain periods.
d. The hatching of certain insects occur when certain leaves are new.
2. Which of the following is most important to Meg Lowman’s theory.
a. “Mining occurs when an insect eats through just one layer of the leaf’s
surface.”
b. “There might also be galls on a leaf to be noted.”
c. “Within a matter of two months, 25 percent of the leaf will probably be
eaten.
d. “The rate slows down as the tender young leaves grow older and
tougher.”
3. What aspect or part of Meg Lowman’s job does page 18 focus on?
a. Scientists must be willing to experiment and ask questions.
b. Scientists must be willing to be adventuresome and take risks.
c. Scientists must be willing to be creative and think outside the box.
d. Scientists must be intelligent and willing to study outside their field.
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Grade 5 Module 2A Unit 2
Most Beautiful Roof in the World, page 23 and 24
1. How are Epiphytes different from other plants in the rainforest? Use
evidence from the text to explain your answer.
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2. Which of the following explains how ants benefit from the “interlocking
relationships” with the bull-horn acacia tree?
a.
b.
c.
d.
“ants often play a major role”
“ it cannot tolerate the stranglehold of many epiplytes.”
“the ants charge out of a pinhole on the thorn and attack.”
“In return they feast on the sugar in the tree.”
3. In paragraph 2 on page 24 what does the word hoist mean?
a. Go in reverse
b. Carry down
c. Lift up
d. Peer closely
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Grade 5 Module 2A Unit 2
Most Beautiful Roof in the World page 25 and 26
1. Which of the following helps the reader understand the meaning of the
word bromeliad?
a. “another kind of epiphyte”
b. “At the end of a branch lies a world within a world”
c. “a pond within the canopy, a pool hovering in midair”
d. “the inner leaves are fiery red and erupt like tongues of flame from a
volcano”
2. According to the text on page 25, which species would find the bromeliad
the most useful?
a. Owl butterfly
b. Frog
c. Snake
d. tarantula
3. Why does Meg Lowman refer to the lungless salamander as “one of the
canopy’s most mysterious inhabitants?”
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Grade 5 Module 2A Unit 2
Most Beautiful Roof page 28 and 29
1. According to paragraph 1, why does Meg Lowman choose to take her sons
into the canopy in the late afternoon?
a.
b.
c.
d.
So they will have an opportunity to see more types of animals.
So they can swim and rest on the mossy rocks before they go.
So they can help her take equipment across in the canoe.
So they can complete the column study before they go up.
2. Which word does the picture on page 28 best help the reader understand?
a. ferry
b. platform
c. inventory
d. species
3. Why does Meg Lowman want to do a “column study?”
a. to take equipment to the other side of the creek, so she can set up
gear
b. to study the diversity of various living thing found within a
community
c. to make a comparison between the life on the ground and life in the
canopy
d. to try to take inventory, or count, the different species on the ground
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Grade 5 Module 2A Unit 2
Most Beautiful Roof in the Word page 30
1. According to the text on page 30, what does the word “inventory” mean?
a. document
b. Detailed list
c. Illustration
d. Measurement
2. The photo on page 30, best helps the reader understand which of the
following paragraphs?
a. Paragraph 1, page 30
b. Paragraph 2, page 30
c. Paragraph 3, page 30
d. Paragraph 4, page 30
3. According to the text, how is the rainforest different from a temperate
forest?
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Grade 5 Module 2A Unit 2
Most Beautiful Roof in the World
page 31 and 32
1. According to page 31, how is “sweeping” the same as beating trays and
pitfall traps.
a. They are all a way to count saplings.
b. They are all a way to clear foliage.
c. They are all insect sampling techniques.
d. They are all a way to take pictures with a camera.
2. How is the technique of “sweeping” described on page 31 different from
beating trays and pitfall traps?
a. Sweeping allows the scientists to collect insects of the forest floor.
b. Sweeping allows the scientist to collect insects from low shrubs.
c. Sweeping allows the scientist to study more foliage.
d. Sweeping enables the scientist to collect flying insects.
3. How can the boy Meg Lowman’s boys best be described in paragraph 4 on
page 31?
a. helpful, giving and intelligent
b. fearless, skillful and attentive
c. excited, mysterious and mature
d. adventurous, eager and energetic
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Grade 5 Module 2A Unit 2
Most Beautiful Roof in the World
page 35 and 36
1. According to page 35, what is the emergent layer of the rainforest?
a. The very top, above the canopy
b. The same as the canopy
c. Directly below the canopy
d. Near the forest floor
2. According to Meg Lowman, what was the worst challenge of working in
Cameroon?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Using an immense inflatable raft to reach the emergent layer
120 degree temperatures
Africa’s deadliest snake-The Gabon viper
A battalion of army ants with their fierce jaws
3. How does Meg Lowman respond to the challenges of working in the
rainforest? Use details from the text to support your answer.
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Grade 5 Module 2A Unit 2
Most Beautiful Roof in the World page 39 and 40
1. It is important to “balance the collection of data with the conservation of
an unknown species.” Do you think Meg Lowman would agree or disagree
with the statement above? Use details from the text to support your
answer.
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2. Why does the author include the last paragraph on page 39?
a. It shows that Meg Lowman is a caring mom or encourages her boys to
think about adventure.
b. It shows that Meg Lowman is dedicated to her work as a scientist.
c. It shows that Meg Lowman is interested in the naturalist, John Audubon.
d. It shows that Meg Lowman is able to change her voice when telling
stories.
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Grade 5 Module 2A Unit 2
Most Beautiful Roof in the World page 41 and 42
1. According to the text on page 42, how is Meg Lowman similar to Harriet
Tubman?
a. They both spend a lot of time alone.
b. They both navigate toward freedom.
c. They both use their knowledge of the earth to find their way.
d. They both look for patterns in the forest.
2. According to the text how does Meg Lowman feel about spending time
alone in the rainforest? Use detail from the text to support your answer.
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