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Daily warm ups nonfiction reading grade 6
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Author
Robert W. Smith
ISBN: 978-1-4206-5036-5
TCR 5036
#5036 Daily Warm-Ups: Nonfiction Reading 2 ©Teacher Created Resources
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Standards and Benchmarks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Interesting Places and Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Wait Until 2061. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Around the World in Seventy-Two Days. . . . 10
Antarctica. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
The Taj Mahal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Dinosaur Provincial Park. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Deer Cave, Malaysia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Niagara Falls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Krakatoa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Mysterious Explosion in Russia. . . . . . . . . . . 17
July 4, 1826. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
The Coastal Redwoods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Ice Ages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
The Grand Canyon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. . . . . . . . . . 22
The Lincoln Memorial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
The Washington Monument. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
The Appalachian Mountains. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
The Statue of Liberty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Angkor Wat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
The Eiffel Tower. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
The World Cup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Mount Rushmore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
The Wall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
The Himalayas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Ellis Island—Gateway to America. . . . . . . . . 33
The Iditarod Sled Dog Race. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
The World Series. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
The Golden Gate Bridge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Daytona International Speedway. . . . . . . . . . 37
Hoover Dam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Scientifically Speaking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Vermin of the Skies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
The Lost Planet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Rain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Decibel Levels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Natural Chimneys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Threats to Earth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
The First Professional Woman Astronomer. . 47
Dangerous African Mammals. . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
You Wouldn’t Want to Live on Venus. . . . . . . 49
The Heaviest Flying Bird. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Bioluminescence at Sea. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Lightning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
The Largest Volcano on Earth. . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Jupiter—The Planetary Giant. . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Tide Pools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
The Extinct Quagga. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
The KT Event. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Animal Vision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Mercury. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Animal Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
The Human Brain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Snow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Tornadoes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
The Laws of Motion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Clouds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Lions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Water. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
The Human Eye. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Goblin Sharks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
A Plant Larger Than a Whale. . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
From the Past. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
She Was Dressed to Meet an Iceberg. . . . . . . 73
The Female Paul Revere. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
He Loved His Mother. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
The Rosetta Stone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. . . . . . . . . . 77
The Invention of Basketball. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Laura Ingalls Wilder: Pioneer Author. . . . . . . 79
Food on the Mayflower. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
The Library at Alexandria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
John Adams Defends British Soldiers. . . . . . . 82
The Travels of Marco Polo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
An Unusual Pharaoh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
A Number Challenge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
The History of the Book. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Female Pirates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Kites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Table of Contents
©Teacher Created Resources 3 #5036 Daily Warm-Ups: Nonfiction Reading
Presidential Pets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
The Iceman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Attempted Presidential Assassinations. . . . . . 91
America’s Forgotten Warriors. . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
The First Great Emperor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Lincoln’s Man. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
The First Ferris Wheel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Hatshepsut: The Lost Egyptian Queen. . . . . . 96
The Ford Model T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
The Gibson Homer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Homer Plessy Refuses to Give Up His Seat. . 99
Old-Time Country Schools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. . . . . . 101
Making Maple Syrup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Did You Know?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Your Meniscus Is Leaking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
The Compass in Your Nose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Snail Training. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Earthworm Pets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
The Invention of Silly Putty®. . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Your Hair Is Dead. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
How Big Is a Googol?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Sharks Are Survivors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
LEGO® Bricks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
QWERTY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Grizzly Bears. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Slinkity Slinkys®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Keeping Toads and Frogs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Save That Pencil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
The Safety Pin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Count to One Billion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Tsunamis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Skunks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
The Latin in Your English. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Heartbeats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Cricket-Jumping Contests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
The Liberty Bell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
“Big Mama” Oviraptor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Birthday Odds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Be a Better Speller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Frozen Food. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Checkers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Author Roald Dahl. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Making Crayons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
American Idioms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Fascinating People. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Beverly Cleary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
He Mailed Himself to Freedom. . . . . . . . . . 138
Hypatia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
The Secret Soldier. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
The Most Important Woman in America. . . 141
Buffalo Bill Cody. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
“Eureka! I’ve Found It!”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
First Emperor of the United States. . . . . . . . 144
Steven Spielberg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Galileo Galilei. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
One-Eyed Charley. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
The Librarian Who Measured Earth. . . . . . . 148
Sir Walter Raleigh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
The One-Armed Explorer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Isaac Newton: Genius at Work. . . . . . . . . . . 151
Alexander the Great. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Sir Francis Drake. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Claude Monet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Steve Jobs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Oprah Winfrey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Dizzy Dean. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Michael Jordan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Eliza Harris. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Nelson Mandela. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Louis Braille. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Julius Caesar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Bill Gates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Leonardo Da Vinci. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Mae Jemison. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Willie Mays. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Answer Key. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Self-Monitoring Reading Strategies. . . . . . . . . 174
Leveling Chart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Tracking Sheet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Table of Contents (cont.)
#5036 Daily Warm-Ups: Nonfiction Reading 4 ©Teacher Created Resources
Introduction
The primary goal of any reading task is comprehension. Daily Warm-Ups: Nonfiction Reading uses
high-interest, grade-level appropriate nonfiction passages followed by assessment practice to help
develop confident readers who can demonstrate their skills on standardized tests. Each passage is
a high-interest nonfiction text that fits one of the five topic areas: Interesting Places and Events,
Scientifically Speaking, From the Past, Did You Know?, and Fascinating People. Each of these five
topic areas has 30 passages, for a total of 150 passages. Each passage, as well as its corresponding
multiple-choice assessment questions, is provided on one page.
Comprehension Questions
The questions in Daily Warm-Ups: Nonfiction Reading assess all levels of comprehension, from basic
recall to critical thinking. The questions are based on fundamental reading skills found in scope-andsequence charts across the nation:
• recall information • sequence in chronological order
• use prior knowledge • identify synonyms and antonyms
• visualize • know grade-level vocabulary
• recognize the main idea • use context clues to understand new words
• identify supporting details • make inferences
• understand cause and effect • draw conclusions
Readability
The texts have a 6.0–7.0 grade level based on the Flesch-Kincaid Readability
Formula. This formula, built into Microsoft Word®, determines readability by
calculating the number of words, syllables, and sentences. Multisyllabic words
tend to skew the grade level, making it appear higher than it actually is. Refer
to the Leveling Chart on page 175 for the approximate grade level of each
passage.
In some cases, there are words necessary to a passage that increase its grade
level. In those cases, the passage’s grade level is followed by an asterisk in
the chart. This means that in determining the grade level, the difficult words
were factored in, resulting in the increased level shown before the asterisk.
Upon the removal of these words, the passage received a grade level within
the appropriate range. For example, in the passage, “The Liberty Bell,” the grade level is 7.3.
This is because the word Pennsylvania is repeated several times. Once the word is removed, the grade
level is within range.
Including Standards and Benchmarks
The passages and comprehension questions throughout this book correlate with McREL (Mid-Continent
Research for Education and Learning) Standards. Known as a “Compendium of Standards and
Benchmarks,” this resource is well researched. It includes standards and benchmarks that represent a
consolidation of national and state standards in several content areas for grades K–12. (See page 6 for
the specific McREL Standards and Benchmarks that correspond with this book.) These standards can be
aligned to the Common Core Standards. To do so, please visit www.mcrel.org.
©Teacher Created Resources 1 #5036 Daily Warm-Ups: Nonfi ction Reading
Leveling Chart Page # Flesch-Kincaid
Grade Level
Interesting Places and Events
9 7.0
10 7.0
11 7.0
12 6.9
13 6.6
14 6.1
15 7.5*
16 6.7
17 6.3
18 7.7*
19 6.8
20 6.6
21 6.4
22 6.4
23 6.9
24 6.6
25 8.1*
26 6.8
27 6.5
28 7.0
29 6.5
30 8.2*
31 7.2*
32 6.9
33 6.8
34 6.2
35 7.0
36 7.0
37 7.0
38 6.9
Scientifi cally Speaking
41 6.7
42 6.9
43 6.9
44 6.7
45 6.7
46 6.7
47 7.0
48 6.5
49 6.5
50 6.0
51 6.8
52 6.3
53 7.0
54 6.6
55 6.0
56 6.6
57 6.7
58 6.8
59 6.9
60 6.7
61 6.8
Scientifi cally Speaking (cont.)
62 6.5
63 6.9
64 6.8
65 6.0
66 6.7
67 6.3
68 6.8
69 6.7
70 7.0
From the Past
73 6.8
74 6.9
75 6.6
76 6.9
77 6.8
78 6.6
79 6.8
80 6.1
81 6.9
82 6.8
83 6.3
84 6.8
85 6.7
86 6.7
87 6.5
88 6.5
89 6.6
90 6.4
91 7.0
92 6.9
93 6.9
94 6.8
95 6.6
96 6.8
97 6.5
98 6.1
99 7.0
100 6.0
101 6.5
102 6.0
Did You Know?
105 7.1*
106 6.6
107 6.1
108 6.0
109 6.3
110 6.7
111 6.9
112 6.4
113 6.4
114 6.4
115 6.9
Did You Know? (cont.)
116 6.8
117 6.0
118 6.7
119 6.6
120 6.9
121 6.9
122 6.7
123 7.5*
124 6.2
125 6.2
126 7.3*
127 8.2*
128 7.0
129 6.0
130 6.6
131 6.5
132 6.7
133 6.8
134 6.8
Fascinating People
137 6.6
138 6.5
139 6.4
140 6.6
141 6.9
142 7.0
143 6.9
144 6.7
145 6.9
146 6.7
147 6.7
148 7.0
149 6.3
150 6.9
151 6.6
152 6.6
153 6.8
154 6.7
155 6.5
156 6.8
157 6.8
158 6.1
159 6.7
160 6.9
161 6.0
162 6.5
163 6.6
164 6.6
165 7.4*
166 6.3
Page # Flesch-Kincaid
Grade Level
Page # Flesch-Kincaid
Grade Level
©Teacher Created Resources 5 #5036 Daily Warm-Ups: Nonfiction Reading
Introduction (cont.)
Practice First to Build Familiarity
Initial group practice is essential. Read aloud the first passage in each of the five topic areas and do its
related questions with the whole class. Depending upon the needs of your class, you may choose to
do the first three passages in each topic area as a whole class. Some teachers like to use five days in a
row to model the reading and question-answering process at the start of the year. Model pre-reading
the questions, reading the text, highlighting information that refers to the comprehension questions, and
eliminating answers that are obviously incorrect. You may also want to model referring back to the text
to ensure the answers selected are the best ones.
Student Practice Ideas
With Daily Warm-Ups: Nonfiction Reading you can choose to do whole-class or independent practice.
For example, you can use the passages and questions for the following:
Whichever method you choose for using the book, it’s a good idea to practice as a class how to read
a passage and respond to the comprehension questions. In this way, you can demonstrate your own
thought processes by “thinking aloud” to figure out an answer. Essentially, this means that you tell your
students your thoughts as they come to you.
Self-Monitoring Reading Strategies
Use the reading strategies on page 174 with your students so they can monitor their own reading
comprehension. Copy and distribute this page to your students, or turn it into a class poster. Have your
students use these steps for this text, as well as future texts.
Record Keeping
In the sun image at the bottom, right-hand corner of each warm-up page, there is a place for you (or
for students) to write the number of questions answered correctly. This will give consistency to scored
pages. Use the Tracking Sheet on page 176 to record which warm-up exercises you have given to your
students. Or distribute copies of the sheet for students to keep their own records.
How to Make the Most of This Book
/ Read each lesson ahead of time before you use it with the class so that you are familiar with it.
This will make it easier to answer students’ questions.
/ Set aside ten to twelve minutes at a specific time daily to incorporate Daily Warm-Ups: Nonfiction
Reading into your routine.
/ Make sure the time you spend working on the materials is positive and constructive. This should
be a time of practicing for success and recognizing it as it is achieved.
The passages and comprehension questions in Daily Warm-Ups: Nonfiction Reading are time-efficient,
allowing your students to practice these skills often. The more your students practice reading and
responding to content-area comprehension questions, the more confident and competent they will become.
warm-ups
for lessons
centers
end-of-class
activities
homework
individual
student work
whole-group
practice
#5036 Daily Warm-Ups: Nonfiction Reading 6 ©Teacher Created Resources
Standards and Benchmarks
Each passage in Daily Warm-Ups: Nonfiction Reading meets at least one of the following standards and
benchmarks, which are used with permission from McREL. Copyright 2010 McREL. Mid-continent
Research for Education and Learning. 4601 DTC Boulevard, Suite 500, Denver, CO 80237. Telephone:
303-337-0990. Web site: www.mcrel.org/standards-benchmarks. To align McREL Standards to the
Common Core Standards, go to www.mcrel.org.
Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process
• Establishes and adjusts purposes for reading
• Uses word origins and derivations to understand word meaning
• Uses a variety of strategies to extend reading vocabulary
• Uses specific strategies to clear up confusing parts of a text
• Understands specific devices an author uses to accomplish his or her purpose
• Reflects on what has been learned after reading and formulates ideas, opinions, and personal
responses to texts
• Knows parts of speech and their functions
Uses skills and strategies to read a variety of informational texts
• Reads a variety of informational texts
• Summarizes and paraphrases information in texts
• Uses new information to adjust and extend personal knowledge base
• Draws conclusions and makes inferences based on explicit and implicit information in texts
• Understands the evidence used to support an assertion in informational texts
©Teacher Created Resources 95 #5036 Daily Warm-Ups: Nonfiction Reading
Warm-Up
Check Your Understanding
/4
Name ______________________________________________
1. Which word refers to the “greatest number of people allowed”?
a. doubtful
c. cemented
b. maximum
d. million
2. Which event occurred third?
a. convincing the committee to accept the Ferris wheel
b. riding on the Ferris wheel
c. planning for the Chicago World’s Fair
d. building the Ferris wheel
3. What can you infer about the reasons the committee didn’t immediately accept and support the
idea of the Ferris wheel?
a. They didn’t think it would work.
c. They thought it didn’t cost enough.
b. They thought it would hold too many people. d. both a and c
4. From the context of the passage, which is the best synonym for impressive?
a. towering
c. ugly
b. remarkable
d. both a and c
The directors of the 1893 Chicago World’s
Fair needed something special to mark their
event. The Eiffel Tower had been constructed
for the Paris World’s Fair in 1889. Architects
and engineers made many proposals for
towers, but they really didn’t hold anybody’s
interest. A bridge builder and engineer named
George Ferris had a different idea. He wanted
to create a monster wheel 250 feet tall. It
would be a moving wheel with spokes like a
bicycle. He intended to carry more than 2,000
people on each ride. Altogether, they would
weigh more than two million pounds.
Ferris convinced a very doubtful committee
to let him build the wheel at his own expense.
He built his huge wheel and then set two
giant towers cemented into the earth to hold
the wheel. The axle that would hold the
giant wheel weighed about fifty tons. Two
powerful engines could turn the wheel with a
huge chain near the edge of the wheel. The
spokes of the wheel would hold thirty-six
large wooden boxes. Each box could hold
sixty people. The maximum number of people
on the ride at one time was 2,160 people. The
giant boxes had five glass windows on each
side, and iron grills kept people from falling
out. The entire wheel was 250 feet across.
To make night rides more impressive, Ferris
outlined the wheel with light bulbs, a recent
invention. The first ride was taken on June
21, 1893, and was a huge success. It cost fifty
cents. This was ten times the cost of a ride on
a carousel. About 1.5 million people rode the
Ferris wheel at the fair.
From the Past
23
The First Ferris Wheel
Uses a variety of
strategies to extend
reading vocabulary
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Name
______________________________________________
1. What is the meaning of the term hibernates, when referring to hair?
a. Hair goes through several colors.
b. Hair sleeps every night.
c. Hair grows in cycles lasting three to five years and then enters a resting phase.
d. Hair falls out and leaves you bald.
2. How often are eyelashes replaced?
a. every ten weeks
c. every six months
b. every three to five years
d. every three months
3. What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
a. to encourage you to care for your hair c. to inform the reader
b. to entertain the reader
d. to change your mind
4. What can you infer about your own hair from the passage?
a. Some of the hair follicles are in a resting phase right now.
b. Hair grows at different rates in different parts of the body.
c. Red hair grows faster than black hair.
d. both a and b
The hair on your head, arms, and any other
place on your body is dead protein pushed
through the skin by hair follicles. There are
about five million hair follicles throughout
the human body. You have approximately
120,000 follicles on your head. You have
about 108,000 hairs on your head at any one
time. If your hair averages two inches in
length, you have 18,000 feet of hair on your
head. If the hair on your head averages five
inches long, you have about 45,000 feet of
hair on your head. The average hair on your
head grows about half an inch a month, and it
grows fastest in the morning. You lose about
seventy hairs a day. Your body will produce
about one hundred feet of dead protein in a
day and seven miles of hair in a year.
Hair hibernates. It grows in cycles. On
the scalp, each hair grows continuously for
three to five years and then enters a resting
phase of about three months or so. The hair
is shed but not replaced immediately. After
another resting phase of several months,
the follicle produces a new hair. You don’t
have to worry too much though. About 90
percent of the scalp is in the growing phase at
all times. Eyebrow hairs stay short because
their growing phase only lasts ten weeks.
Eyelashes are replaced about every three
months. You will grow about six hundred
complete eyelashes in a lifetime. So brush
your hair and enjoy it!
Did You Know?
6
Your Hair Is Dead
Draws conclusions and makes
inferences based on explicit and
implicit information in texts
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Check Your Understanding
1. From the context of the passage, what is the meaning of a short-period comet?
a. It returns at regular intervals. c. It is made of solar particles.
b. It is never seen but once. d. It lasts less than a year.
2. Where do comets form?
a. near the sun c. in the Oort Cloud region
b. near Jupiter d. near Earth
3. Which of the following is a topic sentence?
a. Then it slingshots away and races once more toward the outer solar system.
b. A comet begins as a small, icy mass far beyond Pluto in a region called the Oort Cloud.
c. The most ancient record of Halley’s Comet comes from 1057 BCE.
d. Comet Encke goes by every 3.3 years.
4. Which event occurred after Halley’s death and was seen as proof that the comet returned every
seventy-six years?
a. The appearance in 1984.
b. The appearance in 2061.
c. The appearance in 1057 BCE.
d. The return of the comet in 1758.
A visitor is returning. We haven’t seen this
one in ages. In 2061, Halley’s Comet will
streak past Earth. It is named for Edmund
Halley. He deduced that comets seen in 1531,
1607, and 1682 were all one in the same. He
predicted its appearance in 1758. But he did
not live to see it. The most ancient record of
Halley’s Comet comes from 1057 BCE. A
Chinese book mentions it. Astronomers have
noted each appearance since 239 BCE.
A comet begins as a small, icy mass far
beyond Pluto in a region called the Oort
Cloud. There, billions of chunks of ice water,
ice ammonia, ice methane, and dust circle the
solar system. Pluto’s or Neptune’s gravity
causes the comet to start falling toward the
sun. A trail of solar particles creates a visible
tail of glowing gases. The tail can stretch for
thirty-five million miles! The comet goes
around the sun. Then it slingshots away and
races once more toward the outer solar system.
Most comets never return to the solar system.
However, a few are short-period comets.
They return at regular intervals. Halley’s
Comet appears every seventy-six years.
Comet Encke goes by every 3.3 years.
Interesting Places and Events
1 Wait Until 2061
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1. From the context of the passage, what is the meaning of itinerary?
a. a list of books c. a list of steamships
b. a list of destinations on a trip d. a list of people to meet
2. What do you think Nellie did on the trip so that people knew where she was and how she was
doing?
a. She sent dispatches and articles to her newspaper to be published.
b. She sent letters to the president of the United States.
c. She gave interviews to television reporters.
d. She made telephone calls to her parents.
3. What did Nellie and Jules Verne discuss?
a. how he wrote the book c. people to meet on the way
b. the route around the world d. how to write a novel
4. What can you infer from the passage about the success of Nellie’s competitor?
a. She didn’t finish the race. c. She didn’t win the race.
b. She quit and went home. d. She won the race.
When Jules Verne published his popular
book, Around the World in Eighty Days,
travel was still slow. To travel around the
world in eighty days seemed impossible in the
real world. In 1889, America’s first female
reporter, Nellie Bly, convinced her editor that
she could beat that time and any man who
tried to compete with her. On November
14, 1889, Nellie got on board the steamship
Augusta Victoria, leaving Hoboken, New
Jersey. The race against the clock began at
9:40 a.m.
She traveled to France where she met Jules
Verne. They mapped out Nellie’s itinerary
to match the route in Jules Verne’s book.
Nellie went on to Italy. She then sailed
through the newly dug Suez Canal. She sailed
from Yemen to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to
Singapore. There, she bought a monkey who
traveled the rest of the route with her. She
learned that a young female reporter had been
sent by a magazine and was ahead of her.
This did not stop Nellie. She continued on
to Hong Kong and Japan before crossing the
Pacific Ocean to San Francisco.
Nellie then traveled across the southern part
of the United States by train to New Jersey.
She set foot on the Jersey City train station
seventy-two days, six hours, and eleven
minutes after starting her journey. Her
amazing race made her a national heroine.
Interesting Places and Events
2 Around the World in Seventy-Two Days
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1. Which continent is slightly larger than Antarctica?
a. Australia c. South America
b. Asia d. Greenland
2. Why do you think there are no native settlements or permanent cities on Antarctica?
a. The climate is too cold. c. There are no edible plants.
b. Food would be hard to find. d. all of the above
3. How do you know that Antarctica was not always as cold as it is today?
a. Australia is not covered with ice.
b. Fossil plants and animals found in Antarctica are from warmer climates.
c. People are living on Antarctica today.
d. Antarctica looks like it will warm up.
4. How many degrees below freezing was the lowest recorded temperature on Antarctica?
a. -128°F
b. -160°F
c. -96°F
d. -200°F
Antarctica is an ice-covered continent. It lies
near the South Pole. It is larger than Australia
and just a bit smaller than South America.
Antarctica covers 5.4 million square miles.
That is about 9.7 percent of Earth’s land area.
It is not a nation, and there are no citizens. No
one lives there permanently. However, several
nations have scientific research posts there.
About 98 percent of the continent is covered
with ice. Its ice cap holds about 70 percent
of all of the fresh water on Earth. At its
thickest point, the ice covering Antarctica is
about three miles in depth. The ice sheet is so
thick and heavy that it keeps most of the land
underwater!
Antarctica is the coldest continent on Earth.
Average temperatures rarely climb over
-31°F. That is still 63°F below freezing! The
lowest temperature recorded on Earth was in
Antarctica. It was a bone-chilling -128°F. It
is also one of the driest places on the planet.
There is a great deal of wind but hardly any
rain or snow.
Until about eighty million years ago,
Antarctica was connected to Australia. We
know this because of the fossil record. Fossils
of plants, reptiles, and other creatures prove
that the continent was actually a tropical
paradise at that time.
Interesting Places and Events
3 Antarctica
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1. How old was the princess when they were married?
a. thirty-one years old c. twenty-five years old
b. twenty years old d. fourteen years old
2. Which culture does the Taj Mahal represent?
a. American c. Jewish
b. Islamic d. Chinese
3. Which of the following ideas can you infer from the passage?
a. Mahal means “palace.”
b. White marble was valued highly in Indian buildings.
c. The Taj Mahal is both a tomb and a temple.
d. all of the above
4. What does architecture refer to?
a. the design of buildings c. the damming of rivers
b. Indian religions d. all of the above
The Taj Mahal is on the list of the Seven
Wonders of the Modern World. Historians,
tourists, and students of architecture and
design admire it for two reasons. One is for
its beauty. The other is the love story that led
to its creation.
The Taj Mahal stands on the banks of the
Yamuna River in Agra, India. Its construction
began in 1631 and was finished in 1653. It
is an Islamic tomb built of white marble,
which was imported from all over India and
neighboring lands. Its creation required the
use of more than 1,000 elephants to transport
the marble. More than 22,000 builders labored
for twenty-one years to erect it. They used
twenty-eight different kinds of precious and
semi-precious stones to decorate the temple.
This “Crown Palace” is a monument to love.
Shah Jahan was the fifth Mughal emperor
of India. When he was a fourteen-year-old
prince, he fell in love with a fifteen-year-old
Persian princess. Five years later, she became
his third wife. This was in 1612. He called
her “Mumtaz Mahal,” which means “Jewel
of the Palace.” They had a happy marriage.
However, she died giving birth to their
fourteenth child. Heartbroken, her husband
ordered the building of the Taj Mahal. This
tomb is a tribute to her. It still stands as an
enduring symbol of their love.
Interesting Places and Events
4 The Taj Mahal
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1. From the context of the passage, what is the best meaning of treasure-trove?
a. hidden treasure c. worthless junk
b. gold deposits d. a dinosaur skull
2. From your prior knowledge of dinosaurs and the context of the passage, which well-known
dinosaur appears to be a close relative of the Albertosaurus?
a. Brontosaurus c. Iguanodon
b. Tyrannosaurus rex d. Triceratops
3. Which word refers to a mixture of mud, sand, and minerals?
a. dinosaur c. riverbed
b. sediment d. specimen
4. Where is Dinosaur Provincial Park located?
a. Mexico c. Canada
b. the United States d. California
Would you like to visit a park entirely
dedicated to dinosaurs? Then you should go
to Dinosaur Provincial Park. For dinosaur
enthusiasts, it is the park to visit. It is in
Alberta, Canada.
In 1884, a scientist went searching for coal
and oil deposits. This was in the mostly
unexplored lands of western Canada. He
found a huge dinosaur skull along the Red
Deer River. Scientists realized it was a new
dinosaur. They called it the Albertosaurus.
Why? It was found near the city of Alberta.
Explorers and scientists soon discovered that
the area was a treasure-trove of dinosaur
remains. A mixture of mud, sand, and
minerals had perfectly preserved them. More
than 150 complete dinosaur skeletons have
been found there. Thousands of individual
bones have been uncovered, too.
In 1955, the Canadian government created
Dinosaur Provincial Park. This was done to
display many of the skeletons and protect the
remaining bones. In some parts of the park,
scientists still search for bones. Visitors are
not allowed to search for bones and remove
them.
The park has displays of many dinosaurs,
including the Styracosaurus. Its name means
“spiked lizard.” It was an eighteen-foot-long,
six-foot-high horned species. It weighed 600
pounds. The Albertosaurus was thirty feet
long and weighed 4,000 pounds. It walked on
two legs.
Interesting Places and Events
5 Dinosaur Provincial Park