What Do You Know About Sharks?
By: Sharon Guynup
Pages 872-882
GENRE: ______
NAME ______
PERIOD ______
Before Reading- Can appearances deceive?
Cute doesn’t always mean cuddly, and frightening doesn’t always mean vicious. Appearances can deceive, as you will find out when you read “What Do You Know About Sharks?”
Write an example of a saying that suggests that appearances can deceive.
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What do you know about sharks? Write at least three sentences.______
______
______
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Write whether the statement is true or false.
______1. The great white is the largest shark.
______2. Most sharks are dangerous to humans.
______3. Sharks lived at the time of dinosaurs.
Building Background
An Ocean of Knowledge
How do we know so much about sharks? People who study fish and how they live and grow in their environment are called ichthyologists. Their work in laboratories, in museums, at universities, and on research ships provides information about over 300 species of sharks. “What Do You Know About Sharks?” gives information about sharks in general, as well as facts about specific species.
Before Reading
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
A. Directions: Write the definition for each word.
1. aquatic- ______
2. carcass- ______
3. diffuse- ______
4. buoyancy- ______
5. decimate- ______
6. ecosystem- ______
B. Directions: Write the word from the box that correctly completes each sentence.
1. An earthquake can ______and entire city, killing people and destroying property.
2. While hiking through the forest, the boys found the ______of an animal.
3. The ______of the Everglades supports many different plants and animals.
4. Salt water gives you a lot more ______so you can float more easily.
5. The ______life in that lake includes algae, fish, and frogs.
6. If you drop some food coloring in a bucket of water, you will see the color ______through all the water, spreading out slowly.
C. Directions: Answer the questions to show your understanding of the vocabulary words.
1. Which is an example of an ecosystem, a desert or a gymnasium? ______
2. Which would be more likely to decimate a species, overhunting or a rain? ______
3. If you wanted to diffuse air in a room, would you use a vacuum or a fan? ______
4. Which has buoyancy, a boulder or a raft? ______
5. If something is a carcass, is it alive or dead? ______
VOCABULARY STRATEGY: CONTENT-SPECIFIC WORDS
Content words apply to specific areas of study, such as biology, physics, or foreign language. These are know as content- specific words. For example, the words aquatic and ramjet ventilation are used in “What Do You Know About Sharks?” They pertain to oceanography, the scientific study and exploration of the ocean.
Whenever you study a specific subject or explore an area of interest, you are likely to encounter new words that are directly related to that subject. For example, in this article about sharks, you learned that the word aquatic refers to things that grow or live in water. By learning content-specific words, you’ll be able to understand, discuss, and write about the subject yourself.
Directions: Define each of the following wordsrelated to the subject of oceanography. Use a dictionary if necessary.
1. ebb ______
2. current ______
3. reef ______
4. tide ______
5. upwelling ______
6. brine ______
7. oceanic ______
8. shoal ______
9. swell ______
10. sludge ______
Directions: Match the word in the first column with its definition in the second column. Refer to a dictionary if you need help.
1. tsunami / A. having to do with the sea or the things in it2. current / B. animals with soft bodies and often hard shells
3. mollusks / C. large brown seaweed
4. marine / D. ocean stream that moves continuously in one direction
5. kelp / E. hand-shelled animals with jointed body and legs
6. crustaceans / F. destructive wave caused by an underwater earthquake
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SHARKS?
Elements of Nonfiction
TEXT FEATURES
Text Features are design elements that writers use to organize text and point out key ideas and important information. Common text features include titles, subheadings, sidebars, captions, graphic aids, and bulleted lists.
Directions: Fill in the chart with examples of text features from “What Do You Know About Sharks?” Then answer the question that follows.
Titles / Subheadings / Captions / Sidebars / Graphic AidsWhich text features did you find the most helpful? Why? ______
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During Reading
After Reading
Comprehension
1. Recall What does the author think is the scariest thing about sharks? ______
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2. Clarify What place do sharks hold in the aquatic food chain? ______
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3. Represent Draw a simple illustration of a shark. Label its tail, dorsal fin, pectoral fins, and gill slits.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
4. Identify Text Features Locate the photograph of the shark’s eye on page 880 and the text features that are used with it. What do you learn from the photograph alone? What does the text add to your understanding of the photograph? ______
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5. Analyze Author’s Purpose What do you think is the author’s main purpose for writing “What Do You Know About Sharks?” Explain how the text features help Guynup achieve this purpose.
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6. Draw Conclusions Do appearances deceive when it comes to sharks? Use a chart to list facts supporting both of the opinions given. Use information from your outline, or return to the article if necessary.
Opinion 1: Sharks Are Very Dangerous / Opinion 2: Sharks Are Mostly Harmless7. Draw Conclusions Circle a word or phrase in parentheses, and then complete the sentence.
Sharks are (very/ not very) dangerous because ______
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