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PASSWORD: EXPLORER
E X P L O R E R
TEACHER’S GUIDE
JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2015
Frozen: Overview
Summary
Next Generation Science Standards
• From the outside, icebergs look like huge chunks
of ice floating in the ocean. In fact, these frozen
environments are teeming with life.
• Many icebergs support a vast food web that spreads
on, under, around, and even inside their icy surfaces.
Marine biologist Gregory S. Stone braved the frigid
waters to learn more about how these food webs work.
Curriculum in This Article
Common Core State Standards
• Analyze how a particular sentence, paragraph,
chapter, or section fits into the overall structure of
a text and contributes to the development of the
ideas. (RI.6.5)
• Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a
text, including how the major sections contribute
to the whole and to the development of the ideas.
(RI.7.5)
• Analyze in detail the structure of a specific
paragraph in a text, including the role of particular
sentences in developing and refining a key concept.
(RI.8.5)
• Draw evidence from literary or informational
texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
(W.6/7/8.9.b)
• S cience and Engineering Practice: Developing and
Using Models
• Disciplinary Core Idea: Cycles of Matter and Energy
Transfer in Ecosystems—Food webs are models that
demonstrate how matter and energy are transferred
between producers, consumers, and decomposers
as the three groups interact within an ecosystem.
Transfers of matter into and out of the physical
environment occur at every level. Decomposers
recycle nutrients from dead plant or animal matter
back to the soil in terrestrial environments or to
the water in aquatic environments. The atoms that
make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled
repeatedly between the living and nonliving parts of
the ecosystem.
• Crosscutting Concept: Energy and Matter
Materials Needed
•p
lain white paper, index cards, sentence strips, plastic
bags, a dictionary, a thesaurus, and slips of paper
• Vary sentence patterns for meaning, reader/listener
interest, and style. (L.6.3.a)
• C hoose language that expresses ideas precisely and
concisely, recognizing and eliminating wordiness
and redundancy. (L.7.3.a)
• Use verbs in the active and passive voice and in
the conditional and subjunctive mood to achieve
particular effects. (L.8.3.a)
• Performance Expectation: Develop a model to
describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy
among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
(MS-LS2-3)
• t he Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute's Antarctic
environment interactives at: http://polardiscovery.whoi.
edu/antarctica/ecosystem.html
Additional Resources
• Learn more about Antarctic iceberg ecosystems:
▶http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/
data/2001/12/01/html/ft_20011201.2.html
▶http://archive.audubonmagazine.org/features0901/
To access the projectable edition of this
article, go to the Teacher tab for this
magazine at ngexplorer.cengage.com.
truenature.html
• Build an Antarctic Marine Food Web:
▶http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/asset/lsps07_int_
oceanfoodweb/
National Geographic Extreme Explorer Page T1
January–February 2015
Frozen: Background
Fast Facts
• An iceberg is a huge chunk of freshwater ice that floats
in the ocean. It forms when a large piece of ice breaks
off from an ice shelf or glacier.
• T
o officially be classified as an iceberg, ice must rise
more than five meters above the ocean and cover an
area of 500 square meters.
• Although icebergs appear barren, they actually support
vast food webs. As in all other food webs, those found
on icebergs begin with energy from the sun. That
energy then transfers through a widening web of
organisms.
• I cebergs are much larger than they appear. Only 10
to 20 percent of an iceberg is visible above the water's
surface.
• Marine biologist Gregory S. Stone studied the nonliving
factors and organisms that make up an iceberg food
web, including:
▶diatoms: single-celled aquatic phytoplankton.
that use photosynthesis to make their own food
and get nutrients from dirt on the iceberg.
• I n the Northern Hemisphere, most icebergs break off
of glaciers in Greenland. Almost all icebergs in the
Southern Hemisphere come from Antarctica.
• Th
e average iceberg exists for three to six years before
it melts.
▶k rill: tiny shrimp-like crustaceans that eat
diatoms and are the primary food source for
many marine mammals and fish.
▶comb jellies: invertebrates that eat krill, small
fish, and even other comb jellies.
▶crabeater seals: the most numerous type of seal
in the world that ironically eat krill—not crabs.
These seals can grow up to 2.5 m long and weigh
up to 400 kg.
▶Adélie penguins: a type of penguin that eats tiny
aquatic animals including krill, fish, and squid.
▶p etrels: seabirds that live near icebergs, the
ice pack, and cold ocean waters surrounding
Antarctica and whose diets include krill, other
small crustaceans, mollusks, squid, and fish.
▶l eopard seals: seals with slender bodies, long
fore-flippers, large heads, and sharp teeth that
are a major predator of young crabeater seals and
penguins.
▶orcas (killer whales): toothed whales that are
apex predators in Antarctic waters, eating fish,
squid, penguins, seals, and other whales. They
are the only natural predator of leopard seals.
National Geographic Extreme Explorer Page T2
January–February 2015
Frozen: Prepare to Read
Activate Prior Knowledge
Vocabulary
1. P
rior to conducting this activity, draw a picture of
1. Prior to conducting this activity, write each Wordwise
Sharing Ideas about Icebergs
Mix and Match to Master Definitions
an iceberg on a piece of plain white paper. Add these
words to your drawing: food, provide, alive, energy,
and ecosystem.
2. G
ive each student a piece of plain white paper.
Instruct students to quickly sketch a picture of an
iceberg. Then challenge them to each think of five key
words related to icebergs. Instruct students to add
those words to their drawings.
3. I nvite students to post their drawings on the board.
As a class, examine and compare the selected words.
How many students wrote words that tell what an
iceberg is (ice), what it's like (frozen), or what it does
(floats)? Point out papers where students chose to take
a different approach. Invite those students to explain
why they chose each word.
4. Th
en display the image you drew. Did students have
any of these words on their drawings? If not, why do
they think you chose these words? Encourage students
to share their thoughts with the class.
word on a separate index card.
2. Display page 6 of the projectable edition. Invite
volunteers to read the words and their definitions
aloud. Lead a class discussion to examine each
definition in as much detail as possible.
3. Divide the class into small groups. Show students
the cards. Explain that you will pick two cards and
read them aloud. Give groups two minutes to write
a sentence that uses both words in a way that tells
what each word means. Use the cards consumer and
producer to provide an example. (A producer makes its
own food, but becomes food when a consumer eats it.)
4. Choose two new cards, and begin the challenge.
After each combination, instruct groups to share
their sentences. Encourage the class to evaluate
each. When you're finished, invite students to share
what they learned about each word.
ELL Connection
Piecing Together Definitions
1. Prior to conducting this activity, write each Wordwise
word and its definition on a sentence strip. Cut the
strips apart so there is one word on each piece. Place
the pieces for each definition in separate plastic bags.
2. Display the Wordwise words on page 6 of the
projectable edition. Review each term with the class.
Then remove the words from one bag. As a class,
rearrange the words in the proper order. Which
definition did students unscramble?
3. Guide students as they unscramble the other three
definitions. Then divide the class into four groups.
Give each group a bag. Have them unscramble the
definition. Then rotate the bags so groups have a
chance to unscramble each definition.
National Geographic Extreme Explorer Page T3
January–February 2015
Frozen: Language Arts
Explore Reading
Explore Writing
1. I nvite volunteers to look up the word structure in a
1. T
ell students to imagine that they're research assistants
Examining Text Structure
Writing About the Ecology of Icebergs
dictionary and a thesaurus. Explore each reference.
Challenge students to explain how the definition and
synonyms relate to a text. Guide them to recognize
that texts are built, just like buildings, organisms, and
systems. And like these other things, texts and their
parts can be built in different ways.
2. D
isplay pages 2-3 of the projectable edition.
Encourage students to guess what the article is
about and some of the main ideas it might address.
Then review the four basic types of text structure:
chronology, comparison, cause/effect, and problem/
solution. Discuss how the writer might use each of
these approaches throughout the article.
2. A
fter the expedition, Dr. Stone plans to write an article
for National Geographic magazine. He wants to be as
thorough as possible, so he's asked his team members
to write a short summary of what they saw and
learned, how the trip changed their ideas about the
ecology of icebergs, and why it changed their ideas.
3. A
ssign each student a partner. Instruct partners to
research the article for content to include in their
summaries. Then tell them to analyze the information
and reflect upon their findings to evaluate how their
views of iceberg ecology changed.
3. G
ive each student an Activity
Master. Assign each student a
reading partner. Based upon
the grade-level priorities below,
challenge pairs to identify,
analyze, and explain parts of
the text. Instruct students to
record this information on
their Activity Masters. Then
rejoin as a class. Invite students
to share and compare their results.
on an expedition with marine biologist Gregory S.
Stone to learn more about the ecology of icebergs.
4. I nvite pairs to share their summaries. Encourage
students to identify key points that caused their
classmates' views to change. Which reasons were
most common? Which made the most sense? Were all
reasons supported with evidence from the text?
Activity Master,
page T6
How and Why to Use Variety in Text
1. I nstruct students to choose a paragraph from the
article and rewrite it as noted below.
Common Core Grade-Level Differentiation
Grade 6:
▶Have students choose one sentence, paragraph,
or section in the article, analyze how it fits into
the overall structure of the text, and explain how
it contributes to the development of the ideas.
Grade 7:
▶Instruct students to identify the overall text
structure, analyze how the major sections
contribute to the whole, and explain how they
contribute to the development of the ideas.
Grade 8:
▶Instruct
students to select one paragraph, analyze
the role of key sentences in that paragraph, and
explain their role in developing and refining a
key concept.
National Geographic Extreme Explorer Explore Language
Common Core Grade-Level Differentiation
Grade 6:
▶Limit students to simple sentences with no more
than eight words each. Examine the results to
show why it's important to vary sentence patterns
for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style.
Grade 7:
▶Encourage students use vague language and wordy
or redundant prose. Examine the results. Point
out that this is why writers choose language that
expresses ideas precisely and concisely.
Grade 8:
▶Instruct students to change the paragraph's
voice (active/passive) or mood (conditional/
subjunctive). Examine how this affects the text.
Page T4
January–February 2015
Frozen: Science
Explore Science
Interpreting A Frozen Food Web
Developing a Larger Antarctic Food Web
1. D
isplay the diagram on page 7 of the projectable
1. P
rior to conducting this activity, write the following
edition. Invite a volunteer to read the introductory text
aloud. Then examine the organisms in the diagram
with the class. Instruct students to identify each as a
plant or animal, and as a producer or consumer.
on slips of paper: orca, petrel, Weddel seal/fur seal,
amphipods, pteropod, crabeater seal, ctenophores,
fish, squid, leopard seals, krill, copepods, penguins,
baleen whales, jellyfish, phytoplankton, salps. You will
also need to: cover a bulletin board with blue paper;
get a stapler, index cards, and markers; and download
the Antarctic summer environment interactive at:
http://polardiscovery.whoi.edu/antarctica/ecosystem.html.
2. R
emind the class that food webs consist of overlapping
food chains. Give students a moment to examine the
food web in the diagram. How many food chains
does it contain? (6) Invite volunteers to trace the
path of each.
2. E
xplain that the food web in the article includes just
a few of the organisms that live in, on, and around
Antarctic icebergs. Display the interactive. Click a few
dots. Introduce students to more Antarctic organisms.
3. C
ompare and contrast the food chains. Guide
students to recognize that they all have the same
beginning. (diatoms, a single-cell plant) Point out
that they are different lengths. (3-5 steps) Explore
how they flow together to create the food web.
3. G
ive each student or pair of students a slip of paper.
Tell them to conduct research to find out what their
organism eats and what eats it. Suggest that they begin
with data on the interactive. Then have students draw
and identify their organisms on the cards.
Understanding Energy Transfer
1. D
isplay page 7 of the projectable edition. Point
out that this type of diagram is called a "food web"
because it shows who eats what in an ecosystem.
What else does it show? (the transfer of energy)
4. I nstruct students to staple their cards to the bulletin
board. Then have them draw lines connecting their
organism to those that it eats and those that eat it.
Once all lines are drawn, examine this area's food web.
2. T
o illustrate what this means, draw a large triangle
shaped like the one below on the board:
Extend Science
Seasonal Changes in a Food Web
1. P
rior to conducting this activity, download the
Antarctic summer and winter environment
interactives at: http://polardiscovery.whoi.edu/antarctica/
ecosystem.html.
3. I nform students that a diagram showing energy
transfer in a food web is shaped like this. Why? (A
food web begins with a set amount of energy. Each
time a new organism uses energy, the total amount
of available energy decreases.)
2. I nvite students to name plants and animals they
see during different times of the year. Make a list.
Then display the summer and winter interactives
for students to compare. (Jellyfish, phytoplankton,
and salps only appear in summer. Juvenile krill only
appear in winter.) Ask: Based on this information,
which season is depicted in the food web diagram on
page 7 of your magazine? (summer) How do you know?
(Diatoms (phytoplankton) only appear in summer.)
4. E
xplain that an energy transfer diagram is also
divided into levels. Producers, who use energy
from sunlight to make their own food, are located
at the bottom. They're followed by primary
consumers, secondary consumers, etc. The final
consumer at top gets the least amount of energy.
5. I nvite volunteers to draw energy transfer diagrams
for each food chain in the food web and a
cumulative diagram for the entire food web.
National Geographic Extreme Explorer 3. G
uide students to recognize that seasonal variations
affect food webs—even in Antarctica.
Page T5
January–February 2015
Frozen!
Name:
Activity Master
Examining Text Structure
Explain
Explain
© 2015 National Geographic Learning. All rights reserved. Teachers may copy this page to distribute to their students.
Analyze
Analyze
Identify
Identify
Use this graphic organizer to identify, analyze, and explain key parts
of the text.
National Geographic Extreme Explorer Page T6
January–February 2015
Frozen!
Assessment
Name:
Read each question. Fill in the circle next to the correct answer or write your response on the lines.
Which of these is a producer in an iceberg food web?
krill
diatom
petrel
2. How are the food chains in a food web organized?
They are parallel.
They are perpendicular.
They overlap.
3. Where do icebergs get the nutrients that plants need to grow?
from water
from land
from air
4. Where does the energy in an iceberg food web come from?
the ice
the plants
the sun
5. How are an iceberg food web and a desert food web the same? How are they different?
National Geographic Extreme Explorer Page T7
January–February 2015
© 2015 National Geographic Learning. All rights reserved. Teachers may copy this page to distribute to their students.
1. Frozen!
Name: Answer Key
Activity Master
Examining Text Structure
Use this graphic organizer to identify, analyze, and explain key parts
of the text.
Identify
Identify
Grade 6: Students should choose one sentence, paragraph, or section of the article.
Grade 7: Students should identify the overall text structure.
Grade 8: Students should identify one paragraph.
Grade 7: Students should analyze how the major sections contribute to the whole.
Grade 8: Students should analyze the role of key sentences in that paragraph.
Grade 6: Students should explain how the selected sentence, paragraph, or section contributes
to the development of the ideas.
Grade 7: Students should explain how the major sections contribute to the development of the
ideas.
Grade 8: Students should explain the role of key sentences in developing and refining a key
concept.
National Geographic Extreme Explorer Page T6A
T6
January–February 2015
© 2015 National Geographic Learning. All rights reserved. Teachers may copy this page to distribute to their students.
Explain
Explain
Analyze
Analyze
Grade 6: Students should analyze how the selected sentence, paragraph, or section fits into the
overall structure of the text.
Frozen!
Assessment
Name:
Answer Key
Read each question. Fill in the circle next to the correct answer or write your response on the lines.
Which of these is a producer in an iceberg food web?
krill
diatom
petrel
2. How are the food chains in a food web organized?
They are parallel.
They are perpendicular.
They overlap.
3. Where do icebergs get the nutrients that plants need to grow?
from water
from land
from air
4. Where does the energy in an iceberg food web come from?
the ice
the plants
the sun
5. How are an iceberg food web and a desert food web the same? How are they different?
Possible responses: Both begin with the sun, which provides energy for producers to
make their own food through photosynthesis. Both contain several types and levels of
consumers in overlapping food chains. Energy is transferred from one organism to
another in both. Due to their locations, they contain different organisms.
National Geographic Extreme Explorer Page T7A
January–February 2015
© 2015 National Geographic Learning. All rights reserved. Teachers may copy this page to distribute to their students.
1. Spinosaurus: Overview
Summary
Materials Needed
• Spinosaurus was the biggest carnivore to ever live on
Earth. Inspired by a mysterious fossil, paleontologist Nizar
Ibrahim set out on a quest that ended with a surprising
revelation: Spinosaurus lived mostly in the water.
• a dictionary
• strips
of paper
• paper bags
• "The
Search for Spinosaurus" poster
Curriculum in This Article
• National Geographic's "Building the Beast" interactive
at: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/10/
Common Core State Standards
spinosaurus/beast-graphic
• Trace/delineate and evaluate the argument and
specific claims in a text. (RI.6/7/8.8)
• With some guidance and support from peers and
adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed
by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a
new approach, (focusing on how well purpose and
audience have been addressed). (W.6/7/8.5)
• Use the relationship between particular words to
better understand each of the words. (L.6/7/8.5.b)
• National Geographic's "Pieces of the Puzzle" interactive
at: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/10/
spinosaurus/puzzle-graphic
• National Geographic's "'River Monster'—50Foot Spinosaurus" video at: http://video.
nationalgeographic.com/video/magazine/140911-ngmsuperjaws?source=relatedvideo
• National Geographic's "A Behind-the-Scenes Look
at Assembling Spinosaurus" video at: http://video.
Next Generation Science Standards
nationalgeographic.com/video/proof/a-behind-the-sceneslook-at-assembling-spinosaurus?source=relatedvideo
• Performance Expectation: Construct an explanation
that predicts patterns of interactions among
organisms across multiple ecosystems. (MS-LS2-2)
• National Geographic's "Bigger Than T. rex" video at:
• S cience and Engineering Practice: Constructing
Explanations and Designing Solutions
• National Geographic audio critique at: http://ngm.
• Disciplinary Core Idea: Interdependent
Relationships in an Ecosystem—Similarly, predatory
interactions may reduce the number of organisms or
eliminate whole populations of organisms. Mutually
beneficial interactions, in contrast, may become
so interdependent that each organism requires the
other for survival. Although the species involved
in these competitive, predatory, and mutually
beneficial interactions vary across ecosystems, the
patterns of interactions of organisms with their
environments, both living and nonliving, are shared.
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/140911spinosaurus-discovery-vin?source=relatedvideo
nationalgeographic.com/2007/12/bizarre-dinosaurs/holtzdinosaur-photography
Additional Resource
• Watch
Nizar Ibrahim describe the search for
Spinosaurus:
▶http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/ng-live/
ibrahim-dinosaur-lecture-nglive?source=relatedvideo
• Crosscutting Concept: Patterns
To access the projectable edition of this
article, go to the Teacher tab for this
magazine at ngexplorer.cengage.com.
National Geographic Extreme Explorer Page T8
January–February 2015
Spinosaurus: Background
Fast Facts
• Spinosaurus aegyptiacus was first discovered by German
paleontologist Ernst Stromer. Between 1910 and 1914,
Stromer and his team uncovered two partial skeletons
while searching for fossils in the Egyptian Sahara. The
collection, housed in a Munich museum during World
War II, was destroyed during an Allied raid in April
1944.
• In 2008, paleontologist Nizar Ibrahim purchased some
strange fossils from a man in Egypt. The next year, after
viewing partial dinosaur skeletons in Italy, Ibrahim
began to suspect that one of his own strange fossils was
part of the same species, Spinosaurus.
• Spinosaurus
was more than 15.2 meters long, 6 meters
high, and weighed about 5.4 tonnes. It was the largest
carnivore to ever live on Earth.
• Had
they lived at the same time, Spinosaurus would
have dwarfed Tyrannosaurus rex. The largest T. rex
was just 12.3 meters from head to tail.
• Spinosaurus was named for the two-meter sail on its
spine. The name, Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, translates to
"spine lizard of Egypt."
• Ibrahim set out on a search that led him to sandstone
cliffs in the Sahara. There, he found additional remains
of this dinosaur that lived during the middle of the
Cretaceous period, 100 to 94 million years ago.
• To uncover Spinosaurus' secrets, Ibrahim used a CTscanner to digitally reconstruct the dinosaur. His results
yielded several notable characteristics:
▶It had a long neck and an extended trunk.
▶It had several characteristics similar to a
crocodile: a long, narrow head, nostrils halfway
up its skull, and cone-shape teeth.
▶It had dense bones. The sea cow has similar
bones, which it uses control its buoyancy in
water.
▶It had flat back feet that looked like paddles, or
webbed feet.
▶Its tail vertebrae looked a lot like the vertebrae in
a flexible fish's tail.
• After studying the dinosaur's body and comparing it
to animals living today, Ibrahim came to a conclusion:
Spinosaurus was adapted for life in the water. It is the
first known semi-aquatic dinosaur.
National Geographic Extreme Explorer Page T9
January–February 2015
Spinosaurus: Prepare to Read
Activate Prior Knowledge
Vocabulary
1. Instruct students to think about a time they lost
1. Display page 14 of the projectable edition and zoom
2. Now tell them to imagine that they weren't the one
2. Invite a volunteer to highlight ecosystem each time
Setting the Scene for a Difficult Search
Tackling Higher Level Scientific Terms
something really important. How did they search for
it? Where did they search for it? Did they search more
because it was really important?
who lost it. Would this make it harder to find? Why?
3. Finally, present students with this scenario and
invite them to respond: What if the thing you were
searching for was a dinosaur fossil. You knew it was
buried somewhere in the desert, but you had no idea
where. And you only knew of one other person who had
ever found any part of this fossil before. However, you
couldn't ask that person for advice because he found the
bones over a hundred years ago. What would you do?
in on the Wordwise words. Give students a moment
to examine the terms. How are three of the four terms
connected? (They contain the word ecosystem.)
it appears. Point out that in one case it's a Wordwise
word. In the other two, it's part of the definition.
3. Explain to students that as they start to encounter
higher level scientific terms, this practice will become
more common. Definitions may contain words they
don't understand. Ask: What should you do if you ever
run into this problem? (Look up the unknown words.)
4. Invite a volunteer to read aloud the word ecosystem
and its definition. Discuss the definition as a class.
Then invite another volunteer to read aloud the
definition for apex predator. Identify apex as a
potentially confusing word, and have a volunteer
look it up in a dictionary. Discuss how hearing the
definition helped them understand the term apex
predator and its connection to ecosystem.
5. Repeat this process with the remaining terms.
Encourage students to make their own connections
between fossil record and ecosystem. Then challenge
students to explain why each of these terms might be
important in an article about a dinosaur.
ELL Connection
Vocabulary Matching Game
1. Display the Wordwise words on page 14 of the
projectable edition. Invite volunteers to read aloud the
words and their definitions. Discuss each.
2. Then divide the class into small groups. Give each
group eight strips of paper and a paper bag. Instruct
students to write one Wordwise word or one definition
on each strip and to put the papers in their bags.
3. State one word or definition. Instruct groups to each
pull a paper from their bags. If it's the definition for
the word or the word, they keep the strip. If it's not,
the strip goes back in the bag. Continue until one
group has removed all papers from its bag.
National Geographic Extreme Explorer Page T10
January–February 2015
Spinosaurus: Language Arts
Explore Reading
Explore Writing
1. Ask students what they do when they want to prove
1. A
s a class, review the poster "The Search for
Investigating Claims
Crafting a Journal
that something is true. (They find evidence.) Explain
that writers and scientists do the same thing. When
they make a claim, they supply reasons that tell why
something happened and evidence that shows how.
2. Display pages 8-9 of the projectable edition. Invite a
volunteer to read aloud the headline and deck, and
encourage students to comment on what they see.
3. Point out that the writer makes two specific claims
on this page. (Spinosaurus was the world's oddest
dinosaur. It ruled the river of giants.) Tell students
that they will discover the reasons and evidence she
used to support these claims as they read the article.
Discuss why it's important for readers to evaluate this
information. Introduce the grade-level objective below
to explore how this can be done.
4. Give each student a copy of the
Activity Master. Have them read
the article on their own. As they
do, direct students to use the
graphic organizer to trace and
evaluate the reasons and evidence
that the writer uses to support
each claim. Challenge them to
identify one other claim the writer
makes and evaluate it as well.
Spinosaurus." Discuss the chain of events that led to
Ibrahim's discovery.
2. I nstruct students to imagine that they are Nizar
Ibrahim, the paleontologist who tracked down
Spinosaurus. Challenge them to create a journal,
written from Ibrahim's perspective. Tell students to
include an entry corresponding to each event on the
poster as well as four other important moments during
his journey. Suggest that they review the article before
writing to ensure that they cover events in the proper
order and include relevant and interesting facts.
3. G
ive students time to write a first draft. Then have
them switch with a partner. Instruct students to review
the entries and make helpful suggestions regarding
content, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and style.
Instruct students to revise their work. Then invite
them to share their journals—and their insights on
Ibrahim's work—in small groups.
Explore Language
Examining Relationships Between Words
Activity Master,
page T13
5. When students are finished, instruct them to share
and compare their results with a partner.
illustrating various types of word relationships:
Grade 6:
▶Instruct students to distinguish claims that are
supported by reasons and evidence from claims
that are not.
Grade 7:
▶Direct students to assess whether the reasoning is
sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to
support the claims.
National Geographic Extreme Explorer the word oddest, insert a note above it, and write
strangest on the note. Ask: How are these words related?
(synonyms) Explain that synonyms are a type of word
relationship. Recognizing these relationships helps
readers understand both words better.
2. U
se words from the article to create analogies
Common Core Grade-Level Differentiation
Grade 8:
▶Challenge students to scan the article to ensure
that no irrelevant evidence is introduced.
1. D
isplay pages 8-9 of the projectable edition. Highlight
▶dig : find :: bury : hide (cause/effect)
▶sand : desert :: water : river (part/whole)
▶Sahara : desert :: rib : bone (item/category)
▶puzzle : riddle :: rock : stone (synonym)
▶ancient : new :: dangerous : safe (antonyms)
3. H
ave students create article-based analogies of their
own. Collect the analogies. Write them on the board,
deleting one word in each relationship. Challenge
students to fill in the missing words. Discuss how the
relationship helped them understand each word.
Page T11
January–February 2015
Spinosaurus!: Science
Explore Science
Coexistence in a Prehistoric Ecosystem
Using Patterns to Decipher Spinosaurus
1. Prior to conducting this activity, download the
1. Instruct students to review the section "Building the
Beast" on page 14 of their magazines. Challenge them
to outline the process Ibrahim used to build and then
interpret the Spinosaurus skeleton.
following National Geographic assets. Create five
Investigation Stations with one item at each station.
▶"Building the Beast" interactive at: http://ngm.
nationalgeographic.com/2014/10/spinosaurus/beastgraphic
▶"Pieces of the Puzzle" interactive at: http://ngm.
nationalgeographic.com/2014/10/spinosaurus/puzzlegraphic
▶"'River Monster'—50-Foot Spinosaurus" video
at: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/
magazine/140911-ngm-superjaws?source=relatedvideo
▶"A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Assembling
Spinosaurus" video at: http://video.
nationalgeographic.com/video/proof/abehind-the-scenes-look-at-assemblingspinosaurus?source=relatedvideo
▶"Bigger Than T. rex" video at: http://video.
nationalgeographic.com/video/news/140911spinosaurus-discovery-vin?source=relatedvideo
2. Invite students to share and compare their lists.
Challenge them to identify the various ways that
Ibrahim relied on patterns to solve the Spinosaurus
puzzle. (He used patterns to make comparisons with
sketches, photos, and bones of related dinosaurs. He
use anatomical patterns to reconstruct the dinosaur.
He used patterns in the anatomy and behavior of
modern-day animals to interpret what the dinosaur
looked like, how it acted, and where it lived.)
Extend Science
Rewriting Dinosaur History
1. Prior to conducting this activity, download the
National Geographic audio critique at: http://ngm.
2. Display page 10 of the projectable edition. Zoom in on
the last paragraph of the introduction and highlight
the last sentence: How could so many predators coexist
in one ecosystem?
3. Explain that the German scientist who discovered
Spinosaurus bones 100 years ago was the first to pose
this question. When Nizar Ibrahim began digging into
Spinosaurus, this was one of the questions he hoped
to answer. As he began investigating the dinosaur, he
formed a hypothesis—Spinosaurus mostly lived in the
water. Ibrahim needed evidence to prove this.
nationalgeographic.com/2007/12/bizarre-dinosaurs/holtzdinosaur-photography.
2. Display two or three samples of the audio critique
for students. Discuss how ideas about dinosaurs have
changed over the years. Then divide the class into
small groups. Challenge groups to use what they've
learned to write their own audio critiques about
Spinosaurus.
4. Remind students that scientific research follows a
process. Scientists identify a question, propose an
answer; conduct research to find evidence supporting
the claim; and use the evidence to show why the
answer is correct.
5. Divide the class into five groups. Instruct groups
to review the article to collect as much evidence
as possible. Then have groups visit each station for
additional evidence that explains how the predators
could coexist. Encourage groups to use their findings
to craft a report that supports Ibrahim's conclusion.
National Geographic Extreme Explorer Page T12
January–February 2015
Spinosaurus!
Name:
Activity Master
Investigating a Writer's Claims
Identify and evaluate two claims the writer makes about Spinosaurus.
Identify and evaluate another claim that you find as you read the text.
Key PSpinosaurus
oint: The bone Ibrahim Claim:
wasled theNizar worldʼs
on an oddest
amazing journey. dinosaur.
Reasons and Evidence: Identify Reasons
Identify Evidence
Claim:
Spinosaurus
ruled the
river
Key Point: He discovered one of the oddest of
dinosaurs giants. that ever lived. Reasons and Evidence: Identify
Reasons
Evaluate Claim
Identify Evidence
Evaluate Claim
Identify Evidence
Evaluate Claim
Claim:
Key Point: Reasons and Evidence: Identify
Reasons
National Geographic Extreme Explorer
Page T13
January–February 2015
© 2015 National Geographic Learning. All rights reserved. Teachers may copy this page to distribute to their students.
Spinosaurus!
Name:
Assessment
Read each question. Fill in the circle next to the correct answer.
Why did the ancient Sahara ecosystem puzzle scientists?
The Sahara was full of rivers and swamps.
There were too many carnivores.
The animals were all extremely large.
2. Why are there typically one or two apex predators in an ecosystem?
There isn't enough food to support more.
Only the biggest animals can be apex predators.
Apex predators always rule the land.
3. At what point did Nizar Ibrahim realize that Spinosaurus lived mostly in the water?
when he found the bones
when he saw the photos and sketches
when he saw the finished skeleton
4. Which of these clues helped Ibrahim reach this conclusion?
similarities between Spinosaurus and animals living today
Spinosaurus' size and the structure of its sail
streaks in the original fossil Ibrahim found
5. © 2015 National Geographic Learning. All rights reserved. Teachers may copy this page to distribute to their students.
1. What did Ibrahim's conclusion prove?
Spinosaurus was a predator.
Spinosaurus had its own niche.
Spinosaurus lived in the Sahara.
National Geographic Extreme Explorer Page T14
January–February 2015
Spinosaurus!
Name: Answer Key
Activity Master
Investigating a Writer's Claims
Identify and evaluate two claims the writer makes about Spinosaurus.
Identify and evaluate another claim that you find as you read the text.
Key PSpinosaurus
oint: The bone Ibrahim Claim:
wasled theNizar worldʼs
on an oddest
amazing journey. dinosaur.
Reasons and Evidence: Identify Reasons
Possible Response: Spinosaurus
looked different from any
dinosaur he'd ever seen.
Identify Evidence
Possible Response: It was
bigger than a T. rex, had a
head like a crocodile, bones
like a sea cow, a tail like that
of a flexible fish, a giant sail,
and back feet that reminded
Ibrahim of paddles.
Claim:
Spinosaurus
ruled the
river
Key Point: He discovered one of the of
giants
oddest dinosaurs that ever lived. Reasons and Evidence: Identify
Reasons
Identify Evidence
Possible Response:
Spinosaurus was a huge,
dangerous predator that lived
mostly in the water.
Possible Response:
Spinosaurus was 15 m long,
bigger than T. rex. With
nostrils halfway up its skull and
long, sharp, cone-shape teeth,
it could easily hide in the
water and catch prey. It was
the apex predator with its own
niche in a river ecosystem.
Evaluate Claim
Answers will vary. Students
should cite grade-level criteria
when evaluating claims.
Evaluate Claim
Answers will vary. Students
should cite grade-level
criteria when evaluating
claims.
Claim:
Answers
will vary.
Key Point: Reasons and Evidence: Identify
Reasons
Answers will vary.
National Geographic Extreme Explorer
Identify Evidence
Answers will vary.
Page T13A
Evaluate Claim
Answers will vary. Students
should cite grade-level
criteria when evaluating
claims.
January–February 2015
© 2015 National Geographic Learning. All rights reserved. Teachers may copy this page to distribute to their students.
Spinosaurus!
Name:
Assessment
Read each question. Fill in the circle next to the correct answer.
Why did the ancient Sahara ecosystem puzzle scientists?
The Sahara was full of rivers and swamps.
There were too many carnivores.
The animals were all extremely large.
2. Why are there typically only one or two apex predators in an ecosystem?
There isn't enough food to support more.
Only the biggest animals can be apex predators.
Apex predators always rule the land.
3. At what point did Nizar Ibrahim realize that Spinosaurus mostly lived in the water?
when he found the bones
when he saw the photos and sketches
when he saw the finished skeleton
4. Which of these clues helped Ibrahim reach this conclusion?
similarities between Spinosaurus and animals living today
Spinosaurus' size and the structure of its sail
streaks in the original fossil Ibrahim found
5. © 2015 National Geographic Learning. All rights reserved. Teachers may copy this page to distribute to their students.
1. What did Ibrahim's conclusion prove?
Spinosaurus was a predator.
Spinosaurus had its own niche.
Spinosaurus lived in the Sahara.
National Geographic Extreme Explorer Page T14A
January–February 2015
Call of the Wildflowers: Overview
Summary
Materials Needed
• For plants to reproduce, pollination must occur. For
some plants, this means attracting a bat. Biologist
Ralph Simon has a theory about how this happens.
He says some flowers use sound to attract bats.
• a dictionary
• index cards
• scissors
• Ralph Simon's video "Bats and Flowers" at: http://www.
Curriculum in This Article
rsimon.de/www.rsimon.de/Movies.html
Common Core State Standards
• Integrate information presented in different media
or formats as well as in words to develop a coherent
understanding of a topic or issue. (RI.6.7)
• the National Geographic "Call of the Bloom" photo
gallery at: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/03/
bat-echo/tuttle-photography#/04-blue-mahoe-pollenladen-bat-670.jpg
• C ompare and contrast a text to an audio, video,
or multimedia version of the text, analyzing each
medium’s portrayal of the subject. (RI.7.7)
• National
Geographic interactive "Form Feeds Function"
at: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/03/bat-echo/
• Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using
different mediums to present a particular topic or
idea. (RI.8.7)
• art supplies including construction paper, markers,
scissors, and pipe cleaners
• Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a
topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information
through the selection, organization, and analysis of
relevant content. (W.6/7/8.2)
• National
Geographic video "Untamed Americas: TubeLipped Nectar Bat" at: http://channel.nationalgeographic.
plant-interactive
• "Flower Power" poster
com/channel/untamed-americas/videos/tube-lipped-nectarbat/?source=searchvideo
• Ensure that pronouns are in the proper case. (L.6.1.a)
• Explain the function of phrases and clauses. (L.7.1.a)
Additional Resources
• E xplain the function of verbals. (L.8.1.a)
•R
ead more about Ralph Simon's theory:
▶http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/03/bat-echo/
mcgrath-text
Next Generation Science Standards
• Performance Expectation: Use argument based
on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning
to support an explanation for how characteristic
animal behaviors and specialized plant structures
affect the probability of successful reproduction of
animals and plants respectively. (MS-LS1-4)
• S cience and Engineering Practice: Engaging in
Argument from Evidence
• Disciplinary Core Idea: Growth and Development
of Organisms—Plants reproduce in a variety of
ways, sometimes depending on animal behavior and
specialized features for reproduction.
• Crosscutting Concept: Cause and Effect
National Geographic Extreme Explorer ▶ www.rsimon.de
• Learn more about Merlin Tuttle's work with bats:
▶http://news.nationalgeographic.com/
news/2014/02/140215-merlin-tuttle-smithsonian-batconservation-international-viruses-science-animals/
▶http://www.merlintuttle.com
To access the projectable edition of this
article, go to the Teacher tab for this
magazine at ngexplorer.cengage.com.
To access the free whiteboard lesson for
this article, go to the Teacher tab for this
magazine at ngexplorer.cengage.com.
Page T15
January–February 2015
Call of the Wildflowers: Background
Fast Facts
• Pollination is the process that leads to the creation of
new seeds. For pollination to occur, pollen must move
from the male parts of a flower to the female parts.
• The stamen is the male part of a flower. Its parts
include:
•F
or seeds to grow, pollen must be transferred between
flowers of the same species.
•M
ore than 80% of flowering plants depend on animals
for pollination.
•B
ats are important pollinators in desert and tropical
climates, particularly in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the
Pacific Islands.
▶anther: the part that produces pollen
▶filament: the long, thin stalk that holds up the
anther
• The entire female reproductive part is called the carpel.
The carpel contains these main parts:
▶stigma: the sticky top of the stigma where pollen
collects
•A
tube-lipped nectar bat has the longest tongue of any
mammal. It's one-and-a-half times the length of its
body. That makes it the only animal that can reach the
nectar of a particular flower in Ecuador.
▶style: the tissue that connects the stigma to the
ovary
▶ovary: the bottom of the carpel where seeds grow
into plants
• Some plants are self-pollinating. Pollen from an anther
can pollinate the stigma on the same plant. Other plants
are cross-pollinating. Wind, water, or animals must
transfer pollen from one plant to another. Animals that
do this are called pollinators.
• Animals don't transfer pollen on purpose. Most often,
pollination is a by-product that occurs when animals
go to flowers for food. To get to a flower's nectar, the
animal rubs against the stamen. Pollen on the anther
sticks to the animal's body. When the animal moves
on to the next flower, it transfers that pollen to the new
flower's stigma.
• While food is a great lure, flowers have developed
specific characteristics over time to ensure that they
attract the right pollinators. For example, flowers that
rely on butterflies often have bright red or purple
flowers. Those that need flies often have a putrid smell.
• Bats rely on echolocation to find their way. Biologist
Ralph Simon studies the structures of flowers that
depend on bats for pollination. He's found that these
flowers have parts that affect sound, such as shapes that
reflect sounds, that allow a bat to use echolocation to
find the flowers.
National Geographic Extreme Explorer Page T16
January–February 2015
Call of the Wildflowers: Prepare to Read
Activate Prior Knowledge
Vocabulary
1. Read the combinations below to the class. After each,
1. Display the Wordwise words on page 23 of the article.
What Does It Mean to Communicate?
Organizing Pollination Words
take a class vote to see if students think these two
organisms ever communicate with one another.
▶a person and a dog
▶a skunk and a snake
▶a mother and baby cheetah
2. After the final vote, tell students that communication
takes place in all three combinations. However, how
and why these organisms communicate can be very
different.
3. Provide examples: People pat dogs to show their
affection. Dogs wag their tails in appreciation. Skunks
send a strong smelling message when hissing snakes
attack, and mother cheetahs demonstrate survival
skills for their babies.
4. Guide students to understand that there are many
2. Challenge students to use their cards to illustrate
a meaningful connection between two or more
vocabulary words. For example, they could put the
words in sequence. (pollen + pollinator = pollination)
Or they could show the relationship between words.
(stamen → anther)
3. Invite volunteers to share their combinations.
Encourage them to make as many logical connections
as possible.
ELL Connection
different types of communication, and each type of
communication has a purpose.
5. Then inform the class that the article they are about
Review the definitions with the class. Then give each
student seven index cards. Have them write each
vocabulary word on a separate index card. Instruct
them to cut the remaining card into thirds and write a
plus sign, an equal sign, and an arrow on the pieces.
Examining Connections Among Words
1. Display the Wordwise words on page 23 of the
to read is about a biologist named Ralph Simon. He
says that some flowers use sound to communicate with
bats. Encourage students to share their thoughts on
Simon's theory.
projectable edition. Highlight the words pollen,
pollinate, and pollinator.
2. Challenge students to explain how these words are
alike and different. Guide them to recognize that all
three words have the same root word: pollen. Review
the definition of pollen with the class.
3. Point out that the other two words end with the
suffixes -ate and -or. Invite volunteers to look these
suffixes up in a dictionary. Review the meaning of
each. (The verb suffix -ate means "to act on." The noun
suffix -or means "one who does a thing.") Read the
definitions and review how the suffix determined the
meaning of each.
4. Examine the three remaining words. They share a
different connection. What is it? (They are parts of a
flower.) Explore this connection and the link between
the plant parts and the other vocabulary words.
National Geographic Extreme Explorer Page T17
January–February 2015
Call of the Wildflowers: Language Arts
Explore Reading
Explore Writing
1. P
rior to reading the article, download Ralph Simon's
1. P
oint out to students that this article brings up three
Learning Through a Multi-Media Approach
Write an Explanatory Essay
video "Bats and Flowers" at: http://www.rsimon.de/www.
rsimon.de/Movies.html. Also download the National
Geographic "Call of the Bloom" photo gallery at: http://
ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/03/bat-echo/tuttlephotography#/04-blue-mahoe-pollen-laden-bat-670.jpg.
2. D
isplay pages 17-18 of the projectable edition.
Encourage students to examine the photo and describe
what they see. Then invite a volunteer to read aloud
the headline and deck. Brainstorm ideas with students
about what they expect to learn as they read the article.
3. A
ssign each student a partner. Instruct pairs to read
the article. As they do, tell them to take detailed notes
outlining what they learn and citing the source of this
information, such as the text, an image, a caption, a
diagram, etc.
4. A
fter students finish reading the article, display the
video and photo gallery. Instruct students to record
anything new that they learn from these two sources.
Then challenge them to examine their notes from
the perspective outlined in the grade-level guidelines
below. When all pairs are finished, rejoin as a class.
Encourage students to share what they learned.
Common Core Grade-Level Differentiation
Grade 6:
▶Give each pair an index card. Challenge them to
use the card in a creative way to show what they
learned about the topic. Require them to integrate
information from all three sources.
Grade 7:
▶Instruct students identify three key points they
learned about the topic. Challenge them to analyze
how this information was conveyed in the article,
video, and photos. Compare and contrast the
effectiveness of each approach.
Grade 8:
▶Encourage students to evaluate the advantages and
disadvantages of using text, photos, diagrams, and
videos to present evidence that flowers call bats.
National Geographic Extreme Explorer key questions: How do plants call bats? Why do plants
call bats? and Why do bats come when a plant calls?
Inform students that the best way to answer each of
these questions is through an explanatory text.
2. I nform students that an explanatory text denotes
authority on a topic. Because of that, it commands a
formal writing style. As in other essays, an explanatory
essay begins with a topic sentence that introduces
the main idea. That idea is developed through facts,
details, definitions, quotes, examples, visuals, etc.
Transitional words and phrases connect the ideas and
help the text flow smoothly. A concluding statement
supporting the explanation ties everything together.
3. P
air students. Give each
student a copy of the
Activity Master. Have pairs
select a question to address
and then review the article
to find and record relevant
information. Instruct
Activity Master,
students to use the Activity
page T20
Master as a guide to write a short
explanatory essay addressing their topic. Encourage
each pair to include a visual in their report.
Explore Language
Ensuring Proper Grammar Usage
1. R
eview the proper grade-level objective with students:
▶Grade 6: Pronouns—When do you use the
subjunctive, objective, or possessive case?
▶Grade 7: Phrases and clauses—What's the
function of each in specific sentences?
▶Grade 8: Verbals—What are gerunds, participles,
and infinitives and what do they do?
2. D
ivide the class into small groups. Instruct students
to use information from the article to write a "How To
Connect" guide for a plant or a bat. Challenge them to
include at least three examples of the grammar topic
they just reviewed.
Page T18
January–February 2015
Call of the Wildflowers: Science
Explore Science
Utilizing Evidence and Scientific Reasoning
Calling All Bats!
1. Prior to conducting this activity, download the
1. To complete this activity, gather art supplies including
construction paper, markers, scissors, and pipe
cleaners.
National Geographic interactive "Form Feeds
Function" at: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.
com/2014/03/bat-echo/plant-interactive.
2. Point out to the class that if a flower needs a particular
2. Display pages 16-17 of the article. Read the deck
aloud, and highlight the words "find evidence." Then
display page 18. Zoom in on the second paragraph
of the introduction. Highlight the words "claim" and
"argues." Ask: When you put all of these words together,
what do they tell you?
3. Guide students to recognize that the article explains
a new theory. Biologist Ralph Simon has gathered
evidence through experiments and observations to
prove his theory. He then combined this evidence
with scientific reasoning to support his argument that
plants use sound to attract bats.
4. Challenge students to make their own scientific
arguments using information in the article. Instruct
students to review the article to collect evidence that
supports Simon's theory. Then display the "Form
Feeds Function" interactive. Encourage students to
discuss and interpret the information on each screen
and record further evidence that supports Simon's
theory.
5. Divide the class into small groups. Instruct students
to pool their evidence and review it from a scientific
standpoint. Encourage groups to identify key facts and
details that support Simon's theory. Then rejoin as a
class. Challenge each group to determine whether or
not Simon has enough evidence to prove his theory
that plants call to bats.
kind of pollinator, it must do something to encourage
the animal to visit. Invite volunteers to describe how
they think the flower could do this.
3. Display the poster "Flower Power." Explain to students
that the poster tells about four ways flowers attract
bats. Examine each method in detail to identify the
most important factors of each component. (Sound:
curved leaves; Position: hangs out in the open; Shape:
deep, narrow flower; Smell: smells like garlic or has
musty or slightly rotten smell) Discuss reasons why
Ralph Simon's theory about sound is so important.
4. Instruct students to sit in small groups. Give each
group an assortment of supplies. Then challenge each
group member to create his or her own model of a
flower built to attract a bat. Encourage groups to share
ideas about how they could show each characteristic,
particularly smell. Allow students to study the images
in their magazines for examples.
5. When all models are finished, invite volunteers to
share their flowers with the class. Encourage them to
explain how their flower's design makes it attractive to
bats.
Extend Science
Bat Parts: Answering a Flower's Call
1. Prior to conducting this activity, download the
National Geographic video "Untamed Americas:
Tube-Lipped Nectar Bat" at: http://channel.
nationalgeographic.com/channel/untamed-americas/
videos/tube-lipped-nectar-bat/?source=searchvideo.
2. Display the video for the class. Based on the evidence
in the video, challenge students to construct an
argument that bats and plants have complimentary
parts that help each organism survive.
National Geographic Extreme Explorer Page T19
January–February 2015
Call of the Wildflowers
Activity Master
Name:
Write an Explanatory Essay
Supporting Details
Page T20
Ideas for Visuals
January–February 2015
Words and Their Definitions
Use this graphic organizer to record important information from the article. Then on the back write
an explanatory essay that answers a question about plants, bats, and pollination.
Topic Sentence:
Important Facts
Concluding Statement:
National Geographic Extreme Explorer © 2015 National Geographic Learning. All rights reserved. Teachers may copy this page to distribute to their students.
Call of the Wildflowers
Name:
Assessment
Read each question. Fill in the circle next to the correct answer or write your response on the lines.
How does Ralph Simon say some flowers call to bats?
They reflect sounds.
They make high-pitched sounds.
They follow sounds.
2. Which type of plant is best at calling bats?
one with red leaves
one with fuzzy leaves
one with curved leaves
3. How does calling bats help flowers?
It makes flowers produce pollen.
It turns the flower into a pollinator.
It leads to pollination.
4. Why would a bat want to answer this call?
It will lead the bat to food.
It will help the bat find a home.
It will keep the bat safe from predators.
5. © 2015 National Geographic Learning. All rights reserved. Teachers may copy this page to distribute to their students.
1. Explain in four steps how a plant uses sound to call a bat.
National Geographic Extreme Explorer Page T21
January–February 2015
Call of the Wildflowers
Activity Master
Name:
Write an Explanatory Essay
Answer Key
Use this graphic organizer to record important information from the article. Then on the back write
an explanatory essay that answers a question about plants, bats, and pollination.
Supporting Details
Wordwise words are likely choices,
but words may vary depending on
the question selected.
Words and Their Definitions
Students' responses will vary but should relate to the question they choose to address.
Topic Sentence:
Important Facts
Details will vary depending on the
question selected. However, all
details should come directly from the
article and should support the topic.
January–February 2015
Students may choose to use a photo
or diagram from the article, or they
may elect to use information from the
article to create a diagram of their
own.
Ideas for Visuals
Facts will vary depending on the
question selected. However, all facts
should come directly from the article
and should support the topic.
Concluding Statement:
Page T20
T20A
Concluding statements should reiterate the topic sentence and relate to the question answered in the essay.
National Geographic Extreme Explorer © 2015 National Geographic Learning. All rights reserved. Teachers may copy this page to distribute to their students.
Call of the Wildflowers
Answer Key
Name:
Assessment
Read each question. Fill in the circle next to the correct answer or write your response on the lines.
How does Ralph Simon say some flowers call to bats?
They reflect sounds.
They make high-pitched sounds.
They follow sounds.
2. Which type of plant is best at calling bats?
one with red leaves
one with fuzzy leaves
one with curved leaves
3. How does calling bats help flowers?
It makes flowers produce pollen.
It turns the flower into a pollinator.
It leads to pollination.
4. Why would a bat want to answer this call?
It will lead the bat to food.
It will help the bat find a home.
It will keep the bat safe from predators.
5. Explain in four steps how a plant uses sound to call a bat.
Student responses should relate the information in the diagram "Calling Bats:" 1. A bat
makes high-pitched sounds as it flies. 2. The sounds hit a curved leaf. 3. The sounds echo
off the leaf. 4. The bat follows the echoes to the flower.
National Geographic Extreme Explorer Page T21A
January–February 2015
© 2015 National Geographic Learning. All rights reserved. Teachers may copy this page to distribute to their students.
1.