Table of Contents+Letter3
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Table of Contents
3
Hunting for Endings Language Arts Activity ________7
Count the Cats! Mathematics Activity ______________8
African Wonderland Geography Activity __________9
Big Cat Continents Geography Activity ___________10
Big Cat Continents Geography Activity ___________11
A Rainforest Surprise Reading Activity ____________12
Big Cat Fun Language Arts Activity ______________13
Answer Key __________________________________14
BIG CATS
SPORTS
15
Go, Team! Language Arts Activity _______________19
Tickets for Sale! Mathematics Activity_____________20
Team Players Mathematics Activity _______________21
Telling It Like It Is Reading Activity _______________22
Fueling Up Science Activity _____________________23
Practice Makes Perfect Social Studies Activity ______24
Scrambled Sports Language Arts Activity _________25
Answer Key __________________________________26
INSECTS
27
A Bug’s Body Science Activity ___________________31
Bugging Out Mathematics Activity _______________32
Staying Alive Science Activity ___________________33
Create-a-Critter Reading Activity ________________34
Imagine That! Mathematics Activity ______________35
Pesty Patterns Mathematics Activity ______________36
Tic-Tac-Toe! Language Arts Activity ______________37
Answer Key __________________________________38
TOP FIVE
39
Fishing for Words Language Arts Activity _________43
Hot Stuff! Geography Activity __________________44
Hot Stuff! Geography Activity __________________45
Going in Circles Language Arts Activity __________46
Dream Weavers Language Arts Activity __________47
Sweet Teeth Social Studies Activity ______________48
Top Five Mathematics Activity ___________________49
Answer Key __________________________________50
51
Who am I? Reading Activity ____________________55
Let It Rain! Mathematics Activity _________________56
I’m Hungry! Language Arts Activity ______________57
Home, Sweet Home Geography Activity __________58
Home, Sweet Home Geography Activity __________59
Energize Me! Science Activity ___________________60
Did You Know? Language Arts Activity ___________61
Answer Key __________________________________62
AFRICA
63
Beat It! Mathematics Activity ____________________67
What a Busybody! Science Activity ______________68
Pulse Play Science Activity ______________________69
Take That! Reading Activity _____________________70
Could It Be? Language Arts Activity ______________71
Some Like It Hot! Social Studies Activity __________72
Where To? Social Studies Activity ________________73
Answer Key __________________________________74
HUMAN BODY
75
Headed to America Reading Activity _____________79
Sea Smarts Mathematics Activity ________________80
Living It Up Science Activity_____________________81
The Name Game Geography Activity ____________82
The Name Game Geography Activity ____________83
Something Fishy Mathematics Activity ____________84
Gone Fishing Language Arts Activity _____________85
Answer Key __________________________________86
THE OCEAN
87
Brrrrrrrrr!!!! Reading Activity ___________________91
Extra! Extra! Reading Activity ___________________92
Counting in the Cold Mathematics Activity ________93
Get Wet! Science Activity ______________________94
You’re the Meteorologist Language Arts Activity ____95
Answer Key __________________________________96
WEATHER
•••Cats
2/12/05
MINI BOOK
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Wild cats live all over the world. They are
incredibly fast. They love to hunt. They can swim.
They are heavy. What are some other qualities wild
cats have in common?
BIG CATS
There are many different
kinds of wild cat. Some wild
cats have spots. Others have
stripes. Some wild cats are
quicker or stronger than
others. Still, all wild cats have
one thing in common: They
are excellent hunters.
•••Cats
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Cheetahs are the world’s fastest land
animals. Their lean bodies and long legs
help the animal run as fast as 72 miles per
hour. Some people
call the cheetah the
“greyhound” of the
cat family. As the
cheetah runs, only
one foot touches
the ground at a
time. At its fastest
pace, the cheetah
averages about three to
four strides per second.
2
7
DID YOU KNOW... that black
leopards are called panthers?
Leopards vary in size depending on where
in the world they live. Some live in Asia and
some live in Africa. Some live on islands.
Leopards are able to live in so many different
types of environment because they are very
versatile. This means that they can adapt to
many different kinds of places.
•••Cats
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Lions are muscular and powerful.
Still, they have trouble running for long
distances. That is because lions have difficulty
maintaining their speed. The lionesses are the
hunters in the group. The
males are the first to feed
once the prey has been
caught and killed. Then
the females take their
turns. Last are the cubs.
4
5
•••Cats
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DID YOU KNOW... that the Ancient
8:39 PM
Mayans considered the jaguar a god?
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Jaguars look a lot like leopards, only heavier.
Jaguars are excellent swimmers. They are good
at fishing and use their paws to flip fish out of
the water. Jaguars make their dens in caves or
under overhanging rocks. Like many other cats,
jaguars do their hunting at night. The jaguar’s
jaws are the strongest of any land mammal.
This makes it easy for the jaguar to eat its prey.
Tigers live in forests and grasslands. They
like to stay near water whenever they can. They
are strong swimmers, and they love to bathe
themselves. Tigers prey on large animals. They
chase wild boar, monkeys, deer, and buffalo. A
tiger will quietly stalk its prey before attacking.
It will usually attack its victim’s throat.
DID YOU KNOW... that most adult
tigers weigh around 420 pounds?
6
3
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Hunting for Endings
Read the sentences and look at the matching pictures below.
Then write each verb with its correct ending.
-s
Endings:
-ed
-ing
This jaguar __________ in the lake.
swim
Last week, a tiger __________ a buffalo.
attack
We watch as the jaguar __________
climb
up the tree.
The lioness is __________ in the jungle.
hunt
A tiger always __________ its prey.
stalk
The cub was __________ in the river.
bath
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Count the Cats!
Each of the fractions below has two numbers.
The bottom number will tell you how many
big cats there are in each group.
The top number will tell you many big cats
in each group you should count.
Read the sentences and look at the pictures below.
Then circle the correct fraction to answer each question.
There are 5 cheetahs. How many of them are running?
3/ 5
1/ 5
2/ 5
There are 4 tiger cubs. How many of them are swimming?
3/ 4
1/ 3
1/ 4
There are 4 jaguars. How many of them are in the tree?
1/ 2
1/ 3
8
1/ 4
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African Wonderland
There are many different types of landforms in Africa.
Use the map key to help you color in this map of Africa.
mountains
N
deserts
W
rainforests
grasslands
E
S
1. Find the grasslands. Color them brown.
2. Find the deserts. Color them yellow.
3. Find the mountains. Color them purple.
4. Find the rainforests. Color them green.
What type of landform is at the southern tip of Africa?
___________________________________________________
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cats activities
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Big Cat Continents
This world map shows where different wild cats live.
N
Find each cat on the map.
Next to each cat’s picture, write the name(s)
of the continent(s) where that cat can be found.
W
E
S
World map with continents labeled. Pictures od big cats around
the page. Lions should be south of the Sahara in African and
in the Gir Forest of India. Cheetahs in eastern and southern
Africa. Jaguars in Mexico, Central and South America, and
Southern Arizona and New Mexico. Leopards are in Africa as far
north as the Sahara and in Asia from Turkey to Korea to
Java.
Asia
Tigers
in
southern
Asia
(especially
Indian
and
Thailand).
A
North
Europe
small number of tigers in eastern Siberia.
America
South
America
Africa
Australia
Key
cheetah
jaguar
leopard
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tiger
lion
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cheetah
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
spots of each
of the five
cats to go
jaguar
above
label
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
spots of each
of the five
cats to go
above label
leopard
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
spots of each
of the five
cats to go
above label
tiger
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
lion
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
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A Rainforest Surprise
Read the passage below. Then fill in the story chart.
My mom travels a lot. One year she went to Asia. She
hired a guide who took her deep into the rainforest. They were
walking down a trail when a deer ran into an open space up
ahead. Suddenly, a big, striped head looked out from the
bushes. It was a tiger! The tiger watched its prey for quite a
while, and then jumped out to surprise the deer. It caught the
deer with its sharp teeth and stood proudly over it.
My mom was nervous that the tiger might come after her,
too. The guide told my mother to be quiet. They moved quickly
and quietly back to the jeep. They were lucky, because the tiger
was distracted by his catch. While it ate its meal, Mom and the
guide were able to drive back to safety!
characters
setting
problem
solution
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Big Cat Fun
Across
1. Many big cats have strong _______ and teeth.
4. Stripes provide some big cats _______ for the jungle.
6. Tigers have _______ on their coats.
7. Big cats chase after their_______.
Word Bank
camouflage
claws
jaws
legs
Down
2. When leopards run, their _______ blur.
3. This big cat likes to stay near the water.
4. Big cats have sharp _______ to help them climb.
5. Cheetahs have long _______ that help them run fast.
1
2
3
4
7
5
6
13
prey
spots
stripes
tiger
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Big Cats Answers
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-s, -ed, -s, -ing, -s, -ing
Characters: mom, guide,
deer, tiger
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1/5, 3/4, 1/4
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Setting: rainforest in Asia
Problem: The tiger might
prey on the mom and her
guide.
Solution: The mom and her
guide drove to safety while
the tiger was eating and
distracted.
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mountains
1
2
3
4
4
5
6
7
14
— jaws;
— spots;
— tiger;
across — camouflage;
down — claws;
— legs;
— stripes;
— prey