Theme 6-1 Animal Encounters
The Grizzly Bear Family Book
The Grizzly Bear Family Book is a nonfiction selection about grizzly bears
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in the Alaskan wilderness, especially in Denali National Park. The author and
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photographer, Michio Hoshino, spent a year in Alaska observing grizzly bears.
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The selection begins in winter, during which grizzlies are asleep in their
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dens and mother bears give birth to their cubs. In the spring, the bears wake
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up and leave their dens. Grizzlies are thinner at this time because they haven’t
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eaten in months. As the weather gets warmer, the bears eat roots, grasses,
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ground squirrels, and other animals.
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During the summer, grizzlies fish in rivers and streams. They are skilled
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at catching fish and especially like salmon. Although they usually prefer being
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alone, bears come together when fishing. The stronger, or dominant, bears get
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the best fishing spots. Mothers bring their young cubs food. When the cubs turn
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two, they can fish by themselves. They learn how to catch fish by watching their
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mothers.
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In the fall, the grizzlies start eating enough food to get them through the
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winter. They fill up on berries, which are high in sugar. Sometimes, bears eat
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berries for twenty hours a day! They hardly stop to sleep.
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Then the daylight hours grow short and winter arrives again. The grizzly
bears return to their dens and settle in for another long winter’s sleep.
GRADES 5-6
Expected Progress
Below Expected Progress
Seriously Below Expected
Progress
Pre-Test:
Words Per Minute:
Minus Incorrect Words:
224
EARLY GRADES 5-6
MID-GRADES 5-6
LATE GRADES 5-6
106-132
77-105
0-76
118—143
93-117
0-92
128-151
100-127
0-99
Date:_____________
______________
______________
Total Words Correct Per Minute: ______________
Parent Signature & Date:
Post-Test:
Words Per Minute:
Minus Incorrect Words:
Date: ___________
______________
______________
Total Words Correct Per Minute: ______________
Parent Signature & Date:
211
Theme 6-2 Animal Encounters
The Golden Lion Tamarin Comes Home
The nonfiction selection The Golden Lion Tamarin Comes Home is about
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the work people are doing to bring a kind of monkey called a golden lion tamarin
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back to its natural habitat, the coastal Brazilian rain forest. The rain forest was
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once 1500 miles long, but most of the trees have been cut down or burned to
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clear the land. Only a small part of the rain forest remains. As the forest
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disappeared, so did the tamarins. The Golden Lion Tamarin Conservation Program
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was begun to help bring the tamarins back into the wild.
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Today zoos around the world breed tamarins. But zoo tamarins do not know
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how to hunt for food or how to survive in the wild. One zoo in Washington, D.C.,
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has been trying to prepare tamarins to live in the wild. Then the zoo sends the
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tamarins to the Brazilian rain forest.
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The tamarins are flown to Brazil and taken to a reserve. First, they are
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put into cages in trees to get used to the sights and sounds of the forest. Then,
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when they are ready, they are set free.
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Observers watch the tamarins closely
to see how they are doing. Some of the tamarins wear radio collars so observers
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can keep track of them.
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Tamarins need the most help just after they are released from the cages.
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They can get lost or injured very easily. The observers give them plenty of food
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and water at first. When the tamarins become more independent and know
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their way around, the feedings stop. Unfortunately, only about thirty percent
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of these tamarins survive for more than two years in the wild. The goal of the
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conservation program is to make the number grow.
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GRADES 5-6
Expected Progress
Below Expected Progress
Seriously Below Expected
Progress
Pre-Test:
EARLY GRADES 5-6
MID-GRADES 5-6
LATE GRADES 5-6
106-132
77-105
0-76
118—143
93-117
0-92
128-151
100-127
0-99
Date:_____________
Words Per Minute:
Minus Incorrect Words:
______________
______________
Total Words Correct Per Minute: ______________
Parent Signature & Date:
Post-Test:
Words Per Minute:
Minus Incorrect Words:
Date: ___________
______________
______________
Total Words Correct Per Minute: ______________
Parent Signature & Date:
Theme 6-3 Animal Encounters
My Side of the Mountain
My Side of the Mountain tells the story of Sam Gribley, who has decided
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to live in the woods with only his diary and a few animals for company. These
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include Frightful, the falcon that Sam has raised from a chick; a weasel that he
45
calls the Baron; and Jessie C. James, a raccoon.
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It is September. Sam notices that The Baron Weasel’s fur is turning white.
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He knows that winter will arrive soon. It will be cold and food will be hard to find.
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He makes some fur clothes to keep himself warm. He decides to build a clay
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fireplace to heat the hollowed-out tree he lives in. It takes days to get the
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fireplace to work right.
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By October, Sam begins to look for ripe walnuts and hickory nuts to store
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for the winter. He needs to gather them quickly because the squirrels are also
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after them. Soon he has a store-house filled with nuts. Next, he competes with
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the squirrels, raccoons, and a skunk for apples. The animals are fattening
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themselves up before their winter sleep.
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On Halloween night, Sam throws a party for his animal neighbors. The
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squirrels, foxes, raccoons, and opossums come for their treats of nuts, rabbit
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meat, apples, and crayfish. Sam has always been careful about not leaving food
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out. On this night, however, he forgets to protect the food that he has been
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storing in his house. Sleeping outside, Sam wakes up to noises in his tree. The
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animals have found all his food! Now that he has invited all the animals over, he
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doesn’t know how to make them go away. He finally snarls and makes loud
278
noises to frighten them. His guests leave. Halloween is over.
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GRADES 5-6
Expected Progress
Below Expected Progress
Seriously Below Expected
Progress
Pre-Test:
EARLY GRADES 5-6
MID-GRADES 5-6
LATE GRADES 5-6
106-132
77-105
0-76
118—143
93-117
0-92
128-151
100-127
0-99
Date:_____________
Words Per Minute:
Minus Incorrect Words:
______________
______________
Total Words Correct Per Minute: ______________
Parent Signature & Date:
Post-Test:
Words Per Minute:
Minus Incorrect Words:
Date: ___________
______________
______________
Total Words Correct Per Minute: ______________
Parent Signature & Date: