Student Instruction Book

Transcription

1 Student Instruction Book Sample selections from the Habitats and Communities unit. This sampler includes: Unit Opener A Habitat is a Home Match Game Life in a Rotting Log Informational Report In a Rainforest Informational Report

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3 Science In this unit, you will visualize while you read visualize while you listen identify which details are important to the main idea in your writing identify characteristics of posters identify characteristics of descriptive text pattern learn about habitats and communities

4 LET S TALK A Habitat Is a Home Habitat: wetland bighorn mountain sheep snapping turtle Habitat: grassland prairie rattlesnake 42 Habitats and Communities great blue heron NEL

5 Which of the animals below live in each habitat shown here? Some animals may live in more than one of the habitats. Habitat: evergreen forest/mountain pronghorn antelope Canada jay snowshoe hare gopher wood duck NEL 43

6 Understanding reading strategies Visualizing Making pictures in your mind, or visualizing, while you read can help you understand what you read. Informational writers often give you details to help you make clear pictures in your mind. Add to the picture in your mind when you get more information. Stop to visualize what is happening in this busy sentence! Look for words that help you make pictures in your mind. Visualize the beetles making tunnels. Now visualize water seeping in. Written by Donald M. Silver Illustrated by Allan and Deborah Drew-Brook-Cormack There s a dead tree in the forest. It has been lying on the forest floor for years. And yet it s too alive for any nature detective to ignore. Dead and alive? It s one mystery that s easy to solve! As soon as the tree fell, beetles began to tunnel under the bark. Water seeped in. Funguses and bacteria invaded and started to soften and break down the wood inside. Look at the tree now. It is riddled with tunnels and full of cracks. Ants and termites nest within. Mosses and mushrooms grow from it. The tree is alive with snails and sowbugs, salamanders, spiders, and centipedes making their living feeding, hunting, and hiding. protists springtails roundworms Many creatures live among the fallen leaves. You can see some of them under a magnifying glass. Bacteria and most protists are invisible except under a microscope. bristletails mites bacteria 44 Habitats and Communities NEL

7 Meanwhile, bacteria and funguses are causing the dead tree to slowly rot. But more than the fallen tree will decay and disappear. So will last year s leaves that litter the forest floor. The animal droppings, pods, galls, and dead animals will disappear, too. Bite by bite they will be eaten by insects, worms, and other litter feeders. Bit by bit they will be broken down into minerals and other nutrients by bacteria, protists, and funguses. These recyclers return the minerals and nutrients to the soil, keeping it fertile. Without recyclers, trees and other plants could not keep growing. Yes, there s a dead tree in the forest, and it helps the woods stay alive. Connect to personal experience. Have you ever seen a dead bird or squirrel outside? Use the information here to visualize how an animal decomposes over time. Unlike termites, carpenter ants don t eat wood. Instead, they chew out tunnels from the wood for their nests. NEL 45

8 Written by Sally Morgan Illustrated by Bart Vallecoccia Applying Strategies Visualizing As you read, use visualizing to help you understand what you are reading: Look for words that help you make pictures in your mind. Add to the pictures as you get more information. Find connections to personal experiences. A rainforest gets lots of rain, which helps the trees and plants in it to grow. The forest is like a tall building with many floors. Each floor, or layer, is home to different plants and animals. rainforest in British Columbia 46 Habitats and Communities NEL

9 The tops of the trees make up the roof of the forest, called the canopy. Most of these trees are about 40 metres tall. A few even taller trees, called emergents, poke their heads above the canopy. Beneath the canopy is the understorey. In this shady area, small trees, shrubs, and climbing plants compete for the light. Little sunlight passes through the understorey down to the forest floor. It is damp and warm, so leaves and twigs rot quickly. Funguses are important decomposers that live on the forest floor. Decomposers break down the leaves and release nutrients (chemicals that help other plants grow). Creatures such as termites, earthworms, and spiders search the floor for food. NEL 47

10 temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are found on some cool, wet coasts, such as the coast of British Columbia. The soil in the forest is very rich and full of nutrients. black bear elk Bald eagles, ravens, woodpeckers, and Steller s jays make their homes in the canopy. Flying squirrels are found in the understorey. Most animals live on the forest floor. Carnivores (meat eaters) such as wolves and cougars share the forest floor with herbivores (plant eaters) such as elk, black-tailed deer, and beavers. Omnivores (animals that eat both plants and meat) such as black bears roam the forest floor, too. 48 Habitats and Communities NEL

11 Tropical rainforests are found near the equator. The soil is very poor and does not contain many nutrients. Climbing plants, called lianas, look like ropes as they dangle from the understorey down to the forest floor. The canopy is full of life. Many of the forest animals live here. Monkeys swing from branch to branch. Colourful birds and butterflies fly about. Amphibians (animals that live both in water and on land) such as frogs live in the understorey. Lizards, snakes, and insects move between the different layers of the rainforest. Wild pigs and other animals live on the forest floor. tropical rainforest toucan Reflect on Strategies: What words did writer Sally Morgan use that helped you visualize? capuchin monkeys Your Learning: What did you learn about the rainforest that you did not know before you read this article? NEL 49