Teacher’s Guide May 2008

extremeexplorer.org

Dear Educator:

What makes the stories in Extreme Explorer “exteme”? Vivid images, compelling content, and extreme interest on the part of your students. Each story in this issue lives up to the promise.

We begin with a perilous trek along an extreme monument: the great “Wall of Wonder” that snakes across China. Students will have an opportunity to plan and monitor their reading, making sure that they stay focused on their purpose for reading. They’ll also learn to use verb forms to help track the sequence of events.

Next, we give readers a chance to peer through the eyes of an entomologist in “An Eye for Insects.” Students will learn about the diversity of the insect world and appreciate science as a personal, human endeavor. As they read, they’ll have a chance to select and apply a number of useful reading strategies.

Finally, we enter the underground realm of “Caves,” where students explore some of the most extreme habitats on Earth. Readers will learn how caves are formed. They’ll also have practice visualizing strange “decorations” and unique creatures, called troglobites.

We’ve enjoyed exploring with you and your students this year, and we hope to embark on more journeys together in September. To make sure that happens, why not call 1-800-368-2728 to renew your subscription today?

Warmest wishes for a joyous, restful summer!

Sincerely yours,

Jacalyn MahlerEditor in Chief

e x p l o r e r

WALL OF WONDER PP. 2–9Curriculum Connections • Language Arts • Social StudiesStandards Correlations• Language Arts: Use a strategy to comprehend

nonfiction text; Use knowledge of word structure and meaning to comprehend text

• Social Studies: Culture; Time, continuity, and change

Literacy Skills• Reading Strategy: Plan and Monitor• Vocabulary Focus: Regular and Irregular

Verb Forms• Reading Skill: Build Background• Writing: Persuasive Essay

AN EYE FOR INSECTS PP. 10–17Curriculum Connections • Language Arts • Life ScienceStandards Correlations• Language Arts: Use a strategy to comprehend

and appreciate text; Use text structure to understand text

• Life Science: Characteristics of organisms; Diversity and adaptations of organisms

Literacy Skills• Reading Strategy: Plan and Monitor• Vocabulary Focus: Restatement Clues• Reading Skill: Preview• Writing: Haiku, Personal Essay, Descriptions

CAVES: DEEP INTO DARKNESS PP. 18–23Curriculum Connections • Language Arts • Earth ScienceStandards Correlations• Language Arts: Use a strategy to comprehend

nonfiction text; Use word identification strategies to understand text

• Earth Science: Understand structure of the Earth system

Literacy Skills• Reading Strategy: Visualize• Vocabulary Focus: Academic Vocabulary• Reading Skill: Activate Prior Knowledge• Writing: Research Report, Fantasy

Review • Teacher’s Guide, p. 8. 1. c 2. c 3. d 4. a 5. b 6. c 7. a 8. d 9. c 10. b

This is our last issue for 2007-2008.ExtrEmE ExplorEr will return in September.

To renew your subscription, call 1-800-368-2728 or visit NGSP.com.

In This Issue

Answer Key

Next Issue

Before reading

n Build Background: Guide students in locating China on the map on p. 5. Explain that they are going to learn about a 4,000-kilometer (2,500-mile) wall that was built across China thousands of years ago. Ask them to locate the Great Wall on the map. Then discuss why they think the author would want to walk the whole length of the Wall. Suggest that they keep this question in mind as they read.

reading Strategyn Plan and Monitor: Help students plan their

reading by reminding them of their purpose for reading “Wall of Wonder”: to find out why the author walked the Great Wall. Distribute the work sheet (next page). Have students record their purpose for reading by completing the sentence at the top of the work sheet. Suggest that as they read, they use the write-on lines to take notes about what the author saw as he trekked the length of the Great Wall.

After reading

n Summing Up: Review the story by asking students to read their notes about the things the author saw. Then have students answer the two questions at the bottom of the work sheet. Invite volunteers to share their answers.

n Math: Form small groups. Have groups reread the Brick Upon Brick section (p. 4) and think of how they would have estimated the number of bricks needed to build the fort. Then invite each group to present its ideas to the class.

n Persuasive Writing: A hundred million people recently voted on a new list of the seven wonders of the world. Have students write a persuasive essay about whether they would have voted to include the Great Wall of China in the list. Remind them to include reasons to support their conclusions. They can see the complete list at new7wonders.com.

PAGES 2–9

� NatioNal GeoGraphic extreme explorer

About the Story

n In this story, students will learn firsthand what it is like to walk the Great Wall of China. Nathan Hoturoa Gray recounts his adventures, including encounters with some of China’s diverse cultures. Readers will also learn the history behind the construction of the Wall.

Fast Facts

n The start of construction on the Great Wall is thought to be dated at 221 b.c., when Qin Shi Huang Di, China’s first emperor, ordered that existing walls be joined to form a unified fortification. The back-breaking work took the lives of some 400,000 laborers. According to legend, thousands of them were buried inside the newly built Wall.

n The Wall was originally built of stones, dirt, and wood. Soldiers were the main builders, but common people and prisoners also worked on it.

n The Great Wall took its current shape when Ming emperors had it grandly rebuilt in brick and stone during the 1400s and 1500s. Time has taken its toll on the Wall. Many portions have crumbled, and there are gaps on its long route across China.

Vocabulary

n Verb Forms: Explain that students are going to read a true story written by someone who walked the Great Wall of China. As you read aloud the introduction (p. 4), ask students to listen for clues that the events took place in the past. Record students’ responses. (Clues are the words was, had, wound, dripped, moved, reached, saw). Ask: What do these words have in common? (They are past-tense verbs.)

Remind students that most verbs form the past tense by adding -ed. Help them identify the present-tense forms of the irregular verbs. Encourage students to use what they know about verb forms to follow events in a story.

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PLAN AND MONITOR Name:

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Before you start reading the story, decide what you want to learn.

I want to find out _____________________________________________________.

As you read the story, think about your purpose. Use these lines to write notes about the things the author saw.

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

After you read the story, sum up what you learned.

1. Why did the author walk the Great Wall of China?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

2. What was the most surprising thing you learned from this story?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

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PAGES 10–17

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reading Strategy

n Monitor During Reading: Tell students that a good reader is like a smart traveler. Travelers sometimes get lost and need to check a map or ask for directions. In the same way, readers may have to deal with confusion if they don’t understand what they read. Distribute the work sheet (next page). Read aloud the fix-up strategies listed in the second column. Explain that students may want to try more than one as they’re reading. Tell them to write anything that confuses them in column one and then circle each strategy they use to clear up the confusion.

After reading

n Evaluate the Strategy: Invite students to give examples of any difficult parts and describe which fix-up strategies helped them better understand the story.

n Writing a Haiku: Explain that haiku is a type of Japanese poetry that creates a mental image. Tell them that a haiku has three lines: one with five syllables, one with seven, and another with five. Challenge students to create a haiku about one of the insects described in “An Eye for Insects.”

n Oral Language: Invite students to imagine that Mark Moffett will speak at your school. Have them write and present an introduction for him.

n Personal Essay: Remind students that Moffett’s childhood interest in bugs grew into a career. Invite them to write an essay about how an interest of theirs could be the basis of a career.

n Language Arts: Challenge students to observe insects in the schoolyard or neighborhood and use the lively descriptions in the story as a model for writing about them.

NATIoNAl GEoGRApHIC SoCIETy EDUCATIoN FoUNDATIoN

InternatIonal PaPer FoundatIon

National Geographic Extreme Explorer is a publication of the

NATIoNAl GEoGRApHIC SoCIETy brought to you in cooperation with the

About the Story

n Earth has a million insect species. Entomologist Mark Moffett introduces students to some of the wildest looking ones he has studied and photographed. Readers will learn that all insects have certain things in common: three main body parts and an exoskeleton.

Fast Facts

n Insects have adapted to almost every terrestrial habitat.

n Insects eat more plants than all other creatures on Earth combined.

Vocabulary

n Restatement Clues: Tell students that sometimes writers explain what new words mean right in the text. Read aloud the second paragraph in the Bug Basics section on p. 12. Ask: What does thorax mean? (the middle part of an insect) Direct their attention to the comma and the word or that follow the word thorax. Explain that writers use a comma and or to introduce another way to say a word. Tell students to look for this type of clue to figure out new words when they read text with scientific terms.

Before reading

n Plan Before Reading: With students, page through the story, pointing out the headline, deck, subheads, and photos. Invite students to predict what the story will be about. (possible answer: A scientist will give information about some strange insects he has studied.) Ask students to predict: Why does the author think each insect is interesting? Suggest that they read the story to find the answer to this question.

MONITOR YOUR READING Name:

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While You read

If something confuses you as you read “An Eye for Insects,” note it in column 1. Then try the ideas in column 2. Circle what you did.

After You read

Complete the sentence below.

The most interesting thing I learned from “An Eye for Insects” was _________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________.

What Confused Me What I Did

• I read more slowly.• I reread the text.• I read on to see if it was explained later.• I checked a dictionary.• I asked someone a question.

• I read more slowly.• I reread the text.• I read on to see if it was explained later.• I checked a dictionary.• I asked someone a question.

• I read more slowly.• I reread the text.• I read on to see if it was explained later.• I checked a dictionary.• I asked someone a question.

reading Strategy

n Visualize: Ask students to imagine the scene as you read aloud the first paragraph of the story (p. 20). Invite them to describe the pictures they formed in their minds as you read. Explain that picturing what an author describes can help students better understand what they read. Then distribute and explain the work sheet. In the first column, have students record words and phrases that help them form a strong picture. In the second column, they can write or draw what they pictured.

After reading

n Share and Compare Images: Working in groups, students can share images from the story that made strong impressions on them.

n Creative Writing: Invite students to write a fantasy story about a creature that lives in a cave. The creature can be one of the life-forms described in “Caves,” or it can be a fictitious animal. Tell students to use the sensory language in the story as a model for their own storytelling.

n Research: Revisit the word web and have volunteers add information they learned from the story. Discuss topics that students might enjoy researching in greater depth. For example, they might research a cave in your state or write a report on bats or troglobites. Invite students to think of creative ways to share what they learn, such as a presentation or a poster.

� NatioNal GeoGraphic extreme explorer

NatioNal GeoGraphic extreme explorer is published seven times during the school year—September, October, November–December, January–February, March, April, and May—by the National Geographic Society, 1145 17th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20036.

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PAGES 18–23

About the Story

n Journeying underground with a veteran caver, students will learn how acidic rainwater carves limestone caves and creates eye-popping formations such as stalactites and stalagmites. Readers will also meet troglobites, the often eyeless creatures that live only in caves.

Fast Facts

n It can take more than 100,000 years for rainwater to carve a limestone cave that is wide enough to hold a person.

n Some species of troglobites are limited to a handful of individual animals that live in one particular cave, or even a single room in a cave.

Vocabulary

n Academic Vocabulary: Have students turn to the Wordwise feature (p. 22). Read aloud the words and definitions. To reinforce the words’ meanings, prompt discussion with the following questions: How are troglobites different from most other animals? (They only live in caves.) Where in a cave would you see a stalactite? (hanging from the ceiling) How is a staglamite different from a stalactite? (A stalagmite rises up from the floor, while a stalactite hangs from the ceiling.) Would you want to be a caver? Why or why not? (Answers will vary.) Have you ever seen something dissolve in water? (possible answer: I made cocoa, and the cocoa mix dissolved when I poured hot water on it.)

Before reading

n Activate Prior Knowledge: Begin a word web with caves in the center. Ask students to brainstorm things they know about caves. (possible answers: They are dark and wet. Bats live in caves. Caves are found underground. Caves are scary.) Record students’ responses. Tell them that you will add to the web after they read the story.

VISUALIZE Name:

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Read “Caves” in NatioNal GEoGraphic ExtrEmE ExplorEr. As you read, write down words that help you create a picture in your mind. Then write or draw what you pictured.

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What I picturedAuthor’s Words

What I picturedAuthor’s Words

What I picturedAuthor’s Words

What I picturedAuthor’s Words

REVIEW Name:

CoMpreheNSIoN CheCK Answer each question. Fill in the circle next to the correct answer.

6. What are cave decorations?

ancient paintings on cave walls

lights that cavers carry

rock formations such as stalactites or stalagmites

canyons, waterfalls, or tunnels

7. Many insects use mimicry to survive. What is mimicry?

looking like another animal or plant

using poison to kill prey

running away from predators

digging a hole and hiding from danger

8. How do male stag flies use their antlers?

to stand out from other insects

to look more colorful than other insects

to pick berries off trees

to keep other male stag flies away

9. How did the giraffe weevil get its name?

It is brown with white spots.

It lives in Africa.

It has a very long neck.

It lives in the fur of giraffes.

What does an entomologist study?

rocks

insects

bacteria

rivers

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1. Why did the Great Wall have watchtowers?

The builders wanted to see birds.

people used them as homes in bad weather.

Guards watched out for attackers.

Th e builders had bricks left over, so they added towers.

2. How long is the Great Wall?

4 kilometers

400 kilometers

4,000 kilometers

4,000,000 kilometers

3. Why did the author shout when he reached the end of the Wall?

He fell and hurt himself.

He was trying to get people’s attention.

He saw a friend down below.

He was happy.

4. Which answer best explains how tunnels and passages form in caves?

Rainwater drips through soil and turns into acid. The acid eats away limestone.

people blast away the rock and dig tunnels.

Underground earthquakes move the soil and make passages.

Wind makes cracks in rock and lets sunlight reach underground.

5. What are troglobites?

animals that are active during the day

animals that live only in caves

insects that look like flowers

animals that eat meat

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