Rain Forests (Part 1)
The author describes the forest floor as “dark and eerie.” Use details from the text to explain why this is a good description.
The forest floor is the bottom layer, so sunlight cannot reach it through the layers above — that makes it dark. It is filled with dead leaves, mosses, ferns, and billions of ants, and creatures like the green anaconda and caiman live there, which makes it feel strange or spooky (eerie).
What is the name of the largest temperate rain forest in the United States? What state is it located in?
Tongass National Forest in Alaska
Explain how a glacier is formed, in your own words.
One layer of snow falls on top of another. The snow becomes very thick and turns to ice. This growth takes many years to happen.
Name 3 hooved animals found in the savanna.
Elephants, antelopes, giraffes, buffaloes, and rhinos
Name the compound subject:
Ron and Ben climbed the mountain.
Ron and Ben
Name the four layers of the rain forest in order from top to bottom.
1) Emergent, 2) Canopy, 3) Understory, 4) Forest floor.
What is an epiphyte, and how is it different from most plants?
An epiphyte grows on tree trunks and gets water and food from the air instead of needing roots in soil. Orchids and bromeliads are epiphytes.
Why happens in the Alaskan summer in some villages? Give one example from the text.
In summer the Sun does not set for many days. For example, in one village the Sun doesn’t set for more than 80 days, so you could be in bed and still see the Sun shining.
Describe the acacia tree. Why is it important to giraffes?
Acacia trees grow in the savanna and have huge thorns. Their leaves are a favorite food for giraffes.
Name the compound predicate:
People see animals and play in the snow.
see animals and play in the snow
Why do very few flowers grow in the understory layer?
The understory gets little sunlight because the sun cannot get through the thick canopy above it, so few flowers can grow.
Why does the author call the canopy “a living roof”?
The canopy is formed by treetops that grow close together, so it covers the forest below like a roof — and it is “living” because it is made of trees.
In winter, what happens to the Sun in some places in Alaska, and how do Alaskans feel about it?
In winter the Sun doesn’t rise in some places — they can have more than 60 days of darkness. People might think this is eerie, but Alaskans are used to it and don’t think it is weird.
Name the two seasons of the African savanna and describe each.
The rainy season — it may rain for hours each day, and the rain lasts for months. The dry season — there may be five months with no rain at all.
This sentence has a compound subject AND a compound predicate — name both:
"Polar bears and walruses swim in icy water and rest on the ice."
Compound subject = Polar bears and walruses; Compound predicate = swim in icy water and rest on the ice
About how much rain falls each year in a tropical rain forest?
What about a temperate rain forest?
TROPICAL: Between 80 and 200 inches.
TEMPERATE: 100 inches
Some tree frogs have sticky toe pads. How does this body part help them survive in the rain forest?
The sticky toe pads help them climb slippery leaves and hold on in the trees, so some tree frogs never have to touch the ground.
Give two ways northern Alaska is different from southern Alaska.
Northern Alaska is colder and mostly frozen, and fewer people live there. Southern Alaska is warmer, more people live there, and crops can grow.
What makes the African savanna a special or unique region? Use details from the text.
The savanna has more types of hoofed animals than anywhere else in the world.
It has special trees — the thorny acacia that feeds giraffes and the huge, ancient baobab.
Because it sits near the Equator, it stays warm all year and has only a rainy season and a dry season instead of four seasons.
Does this sentence have a compound subject, compound predicate, or is it a compound sentence?
"They explore the mountains, or they visit the glaciers."
Compound sentence (two complete sentences, each with its own subject, joined by or)
Where do tropical rain forests grow, and where do temperate rain forests grow?
Tropical rain forests grow in hot places near the equator. Temperate rain forests grow in cool places, such as the Pacific Northwest of North America.
Name one way tropical and temperate rain forests are ALIKE and one way they are DIFFERENT.
Alike: both are rain forests that get a lot of rain, have layers, and are full of trees, plants, and animals.
Different: tropical rain forests are hot with the same weather all year (summer all the time), while temperate rain forests have changing seasons (warm summers, cool winters). Tropical grow near the equator; temperate grow in cooler places.
What makes Alaska a unique place? Support your answer with at least two details from the text.
Alaska is unique because of its extreme land features and weather.
It has the tallest mountain in the U.S. (Denali) and the biggest glaciers in the U.S. The far north is frozen Arctic land, and the daylight is unusual — the Sun can stay up for more than 80 days in summer and not rise for more than 60 days in winter.
What is a savanna, and how is it different from a forest?
A savanna is a special grassland region in Africa. Unlike a forest, it does not have groups of trees — instead it has single trees scattered across the grassland.
Write a sentence about Alaska that has BOTH a compound subject and a compound predicate.
EXAMPLE: Tourists and scientists visit Alaska and climb Denali.