Inside the Earth
What do the Earth and a loaf of bread have in common? They both have a
crust. Just as a loaf of bread, the Earth’s crust is the outer layer that is thinner than
the rest. The Earth has four main layers that are different in size and material. The
crust, made of granite and volcanic rock, is about three to five miles thick under the
oceans and about 25 miles thick under the continents.
The Earth’s crust is not one giant piece; it is made of many pieces called
“plates.” The plates float on top of the middle is a softer, movable layer below the
crust.
The deepest parts of the crust are 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit. That is hot!
However, it is not as hot as the rest of the Earth.
The mantle is thicker than the crust and is made of hot rock. It flows like hot
pavement. Its temperature ranges from 1,600 to 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
The core of the Earth is like a very hot ball of metals. It is 4,000 to 9,000
degrees Fahrenheit. The outer core is so hot that all metals flow like syrup.
The inner core is under three million times greater pressure than sea level.
Because of this high pressure, the metals in the inner core are packed tightly
together. It is truly rock solid.
U3W1
Thursday
1.) What best describes what the drawing shows?
A.) plates of the Earth’s crust.
B.) The four parts of the planet Earth.
C.) The kind of rocks the Earth has.
D.) The way the Earth’s metals flow.
2.) The drawing is probably included with the selection to
A.) help you understand what the Earth looks like inside.
B.) show you how a loaf of bread can be like the Earth.
C.) help you learn about the countries on top of the Earth.
D.) show you where your home is located on the Earth.
3.) Based on the drawing, the mantle is
A.) at the center of the Earth.
B.) rounder than the outer core.
C.) the largest part of the Earth.
D.) just above the inner core.
4.) You can tell from the drawing that the oceans are part of the Earth’s
A.) outer core.
B.) mantle.
C.) inner core.
D.) rust.
5.) Write a statement of fact from the selection. Explain how you would check whether the
statement is true or false.
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Monday:
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Tuesday
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Wednesday
Main Idea
Detail
Detail
Detail
Weekly Reading Homework
Monday: Read the passage. Write down answers to
the following: a question you have, and something
you want to learn more about.
Tuesday: Reread the passage. Write down five
interesting facts, in your own words, that you
learned from the text.
Wednesday: Reread the passage, choose one of the
paragraphs and complete the main idea and detail
organizer.
Thursday: Answer the questions about the text.
Provide text evidence when necessary.
Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon is one of the most beautiful parks in the United States. It is in
southern Utah, near Arizona. Everyone knows that the park has about a dozen
horseshoe-shaped canyons. They have many colorful rock formations. The rocks
go from deep red to light pink to white in color. The rocks have odd-looking
shapes. Some look like windows. Others look like arches and slots. Some crazy
rocks even look like people. All these strange-looking rocks are called “hoodoos.”
Hiking at Bryce Canyon makes you feel as if you are in a magic castle. It is
very exciting. The air is great to breathe too. It’s cleaner than any air you’ve
probably breathed before. On clear days, you can see for 200 miles, into three
different states.
Bryce Canyon Weather: Summer Months
Sunshine/ cloud Day
Number of Clear
Number of partly
cloudy days
Number of cloudy days
U3.W2
June
17
6
5
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July
16
10
August
16
10
5
5
1.) Which of these in a statement of opinion from the selection?
A.) On clear days, you can see for 200 miles, into three different states.
B.) They have many colorful rock formations
C.) Bryce Canyon is one of the most beautiful parks in the United
States
D.) The rocks go from deep red to light pink to white in color.
2.) Which one of these is a statement of fact from the selection?
A.) It is very exciting
B.) It is southern Utah, near Arizona
C.) The air is great to breathe too
D.) Some crazy rocks even look like people.
3.) Which sentence is a statement of opinion?
A.) The rocks are shaped like arches and slots
B.) Hiking there makes you feel as if you are in a magic castle
C.) The rock formations are called “hoodoos”
D.) The park has about a dozen horseshoe-shaped canyons.
4.) Which summer month at Bryce canyon would be best for seeing things far
away? Explain your answer with information from the chart and the text.
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Monday:
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Tuesday
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Wednesday
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Weekly Reading Homework
Monday: Read the passage. Write down answers to
the following: a connection you can make to the
text, a question you have, and a conclusion you can
draw about the information in the passage.
Tuesday: Reread the passage. What is the
connection to the title and the text itself? Write at
least 5 sentences and use evidence from the text to
support your response.
Wednesday: Reread the passage. What do you think
the author’s purpose is and why do you think so? Use
evidence from the text to support your reasoning.
Thursday: Answer the questions about the text.
Provide text evidence when necessary.
U3W2
Potters, Digger, Hornets, and Yellow Jackets
What’s that round, gray clump stuck to the wall outside your window? It
looks like a round ball of dried mud, but it’s buzzing! Wait- Something is crawling
out of it. It’s a wasp, and that clump is its nest.
There are about twenty five thousand different types of wasps. Most experts
divided them into groups: social and solitary wasps. Social wasps build nests out ot
chewed wood, like the one described above. Inside the nest there are tiny pockets
for the wasps and their eggs. Hundreds of insects may live in one nest, and the nest
may be several inches across. Hornets, yellow jackets and paper wasps are all social
wasps.
Solitary wasps like to do things that own way. They don’t share their nests
with hundreds of other wasps. They build smaller nest for their own families. Some,
like the diggers, make their homes in the ground or in rotting wood. Potter wasps
use mud to build tiny “pots” on bushed or trees.
All wasps are alike in certain ways. Adults have a body that is divided into
two parts, with narrow part in the middle. They have six legs and mouths that can
chew or drink.
Most have stingers that are used to protect themselves and their eggs. A wasp sting
hurts because it contains a smack amount of poison. Most wasps also have four
wings, and many are beautiful, with stripes and bright colors.
U3.W3.OL
Thursday
1.) What clue words tells you that the following statement is a generalization?
“All wasps are alike in certain ways.”
A.) All
B.) Are
C.) Alike
D.) Ways
2.) Which statement from the selection is a generalization?
A.) “It’s a wasp and that clump is its nest”
B.) “There are about twenty-five thousand different types of wasps”
C.) “Inside the nest, there are tiny pockets for wasps and their eggs.”
D.) “Most have stingers that are used to protect themselves and their
eggs”
3.) Potter wasps get their name from the
A.) Way that they eat mud.
B.) Kind of nests they make.
C.) Size of their families.
D.) Ground that they live in.
4.) What generalization can readers make about solitary wasps?
A.) Solitary wasps live in small groups
B.) Solitary wasps build nests from mud
C.) Solitary wasps sting each other
D.) Solitary wasps eat wood
5.) Write three generalization about the bodies of wasps.
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Monday:
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Tuesday
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Wednesday
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Weekly Reading Homework
Monday: Read the passage. Put a star beside any
important information, underline any words you
don’t know, and put a ? next to anything that
confuses you.
Tuesday: Reread the passage. Create a heading for
each paragraph that reflects the key ideas of the
paragraph.
Wednesday: Write a summary of the passage.
Reread to make sure you did not miss any
important information.
Thursday: Answer the questions about the text.
Provide text evidence when necessary.
The Shy Octopus
Crawling fast across the ocean floor, an octopus looks for a hiding place. It
finds a crab in the sand and eats it. Then the octopus settles into a small hole
among some rocks. Its skin changes color to match the rocks, helping it hide.
Feeling safe, the octopus looks around for food.
A minute later, an eel frightens the shy octopus. The octopus shoots a cloud
of dark liquid into the water. Under cover of its “ink cloud,” the octopus hurries
away.
The octopus has two large eyes. It can see very well. This helps it hunt for
food and look out for its enemies. It has a soft body with a head, a trunk, and a
“skirt.” Eight arms are connected to the skirt. There are two rows of suckers on
each arm. In the center of the skirt is a mouth like a beak.
The octopus can move in two different ways. It can use its long arm to pull
itself along, or it can use its siphon. The siphon is a sort of tube. The octopus pushes
water out of the tube, and the water shoots out one way, the octopus shoots off in
the other.
The octopus lives in all of the oceans except the Artic. Some octopuses are
small only a few inches in length. Others grow to be as long as a car.
U3.W4.OL
Thursday
1.) For what reason does an octopus shoot out an “ink cloud”?
A.) It is lonely and needs company
B.) It is hungry and it needs to eat
C.) It is tired and needs darkness
D.) It is afraid and needs to hide
2.) Where are the octopus’s eyes?
A.) In the center of the skirt
B.) Near the bottom of the trunk
C.) Above the siphon
D.) At the end of an arm
3.) What happens because the octopus has changed its color?
A.) Its body then matches the rocks
B.) It can then find food for itself
C.) Its eyes then look out for enemies
D.) It then swims into a small hole
4.) What happens when the octopus shoots water out its siphon in one
direction?
A.) The octopus then drinks cleaner water
B.) The octopus washes up its food for dinner
C.) The octopus moves the opposite way.
D.) The octopus changes color by rinsing its skin.
5.) Based upon the selection, tell two things an octopus does as a result of
finding out that it is in danger.
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Monday:
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Tuesday
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Wednesday
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Weekly Reading Homework
Monday: Read the passage. Write down answers to
the following: a connection you can make to the
text, a question you have, and an inference you can
make about the main character.
Tuesday: Reread the passage. Write 3 to 5 facts, in
your own words, that you have learned after
reading this passage.
Wednesday: Reread the passage, use the thinking
map of your choosing to help you summarize the
main idea and details of the text.
Thursday: Answer the questions about the text.
Provide text evidence when necessary.
U3.W4.OL
Cities in the Sea
Coral reefs are like great cities in the sea. Millions of creatures live in
them. They always lie in warm, clear ocean water. This is because the corals that
build them need warmth and sunlight to live.
These creatures are cousins of the jellyfish. They eat tiny plants and
animals that float in the water. They are shaped like short tubes and grow one on
top of another. They pile up, like apartment buildings for fish. Over time, some
die and others grow on their bones. Fish and other sea creatures add to the pile.
Sand fills the spaces between them. In this way, over many years, reefs are made.
Some are thousands of years old and cover many miles.
Fish, sea snakes, and other sea animals move in. In fact, the area
becomes crowded with life, just like a city. These city dwellers find holes that offer
safety from their enemies. They eat tiny plants and animals that drift in the water.
Many more eat each other.
People eat the animals that live there too. We also make medicines
from some of them. Many people take vacations near reefs so they can drive
around them. They enjoy seeing the beautiful creatures that live and hunt there.
However, we must take care of these cities in the sea. Pollution, boating, fishing,
and change in climate can all harm the corals.
U3.W5.OL
Thursday
1.) What clue word tells you that the following sentence is a generalization?
“Pollution, boating, fishing, and change in climate can all harm the corals.”
A.)
B.)
C.)
D.)
and
change
can
all
2.) What sentence from the selection is not a generalization?
A.) They always lie in warm, clear ocean water.
B.) Sand fills the spaces between them.
C.) Some are thousands of years old.
D.) Many people take vacations near reefs.
3.) A good way to help the coral reefs would be to
A.) avoid throwing litter in the waters.
B.) drive more boats in around them.
C.) expend the fishing being done nearby.
D.) stop teaching people about them.
4.) What valid generalization can readers make about coral reefs?
A.) Coral reefs are found in all warm water.
B.) People find many uses for coral reefs.
C.) Most of the world’s fish live in coral reefs.
D.) Few coral reefs are left in the world.
5.)
What generalization does the author make about cities?
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Monday:
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Tuesday
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Wednesday
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Weekly Reading Homework
Monday: Read the passage. Write down answers to
the following: a connection you can make to the
text, a question you have, and a conclusion you can
draw about the information in the passage.
Tuesday: Reread the passage. What is the
connection to the title and the text itself? Write at
least 5 sentences and use evidence from the text to
support your response.
Wednesday: Reread the passage. What do you think
the author’s purpose is and why do you think so? Use
evidence from the text to support your reasoning.
Thursday: Answer the questions about the text.
Provide text evidence when necessary.
U3.W5.OL