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Unit 3: Lesson 14

“The Life and Times of the Ant”

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Essential Question for this Story

How do living things each have an important role in the world?

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Fluency: Stress

When good readers read aloud, they stress, or emphasize, the most important words in the text.

Stressing particular words can emphasize the author’s intent.

Watch as I read the story to you and stress important words.

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Target Skill

Text features: include headings and captions

Graphic features: include diagrams, timelines, and other visuals.

Graphic features often add information that is not included in the text.

As you read, think about how each feature adds to your understanding of the text.

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Target Skill

Text features such as headings and captions help organize information

Visuals, such as diagrams, present information

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Target Strategy

Questioning: asking yourself questions before, during, and after reading will help you monitor your understanding of the text.

Generating questions can help readers set a purpose for reading.

Asking questions is a good way to understand facts and details while reading informational texts.

As you read this story, pause to ask yourself questions, such as “Why do ants do this?”

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Genre

Informational text which gives facts and information about a topic.

As you you read, look for:

Headings that begin sections of related information
Graphics to help explain the topic, such as maps, diagrams, or charts
Text structure- the ways the ideas and information are organized

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Turn to page 409 and read the preview of the topic

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Why do you think the author wrote about ants?

Answer

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Answer:

To inform readers about how important ants are and what they do for the earth.

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According to the timeline, which creature has lived on Earth the longest? Why do you think the author includes a timeline?

Answer

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Answer:

Ants have lived on Earth the longest.

To help readers “see” how long ants have existed compared to dinosaurs and humans.

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What makes ants social animals?

Answer

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Answer:

They live and work together and solves their problems.

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What does the author compare ants to?

Answer

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Answer:

An elephant, a dump truck, and people.

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What are the main reasons that ants construct their homes underground?

Answer

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Answer:

for shelter from the weather, to create a safe place for the queen to lay eggs, and to store food.

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How does the transfer of heat make and anthill warmer than the area around it?

Answer

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Answer:

As the sun beats on an anthill, it absorbs the heat and transfers it down to the nest.

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What are some positive effects of building a nest beneath a rock or log?

Answer

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Answer:

The nest is protected and stays warm.

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How are the ants’ lives similar and different from peoples’ lives?

Answer

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Answer:

Similar: Animals perform some of the same jobs people do, both work together to solve problems.

Different: Ants work their entire lives, people do not.

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What main ideas do the details provide in “A Life of Work” support?

Answer

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Answer:

The life of an ant colony is a very busy place; ants work throughout their lives to support the colony.

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If you see an ant by itself outside on the sidewalk, what work is it probably doing and how do you know?

Answer

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Answer:

It is probably foraging for food. Other jobs take place inside or just outside the nest.

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Why do you think younger ants help the queen and dig tunnels?

Answer

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Answer:

These jobs help them bond and they are hard workers.

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What do the ants “highways” tell you about the distances some ants have to travel to get food?

Answer

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Answer:

The distance to their food sources may be very great.

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Why does the author compare ants to construction crews and ant trails to highways?

Answer

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Answer:

He is showing that the ants’ work is as impressive as the work performed by humans.

It is just much smaller in scale.

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How do harvester ants help wildflower plants grow in new places?

Answer

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Answer:

The ants collect wildflower seeds and bring them back to the anthill. The seeds they don’t eat grow into new plants near the anthill.

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What information in the text does the chart help to explain? How?

Answer

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Answer:

The text says that Harlow Shapley tested ants’ speeds at different temperatures, and the chart details his findings.

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Why does the author use the phrase “living bridge” to describe what army ants create?

Answer

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Answer:

When a colony of ants reaches a stream, some ants like themselves end to end, creating a bridge for the rest of the colony to cross.

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How would you summarize the main idea of “A Dangerous World”?

Answer

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Answer:

The world can be a dangerous place for ants because they have so many predators.

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What details explain how a giant anteater is specialized to eat ants?

Answer

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Answer:

Its tongue, mouth and snout help it find and trap ants and termites; its claws help it dig into the nest; its tail helps it sweep up ants; and its hair and stomach help protect it and digest the ants.

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How do leafcutter ants help create leaves?

Answer

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Answer:

The decomposed leaves act as a fertilizer, enriching the soil so that new plants can grow.

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How do the illustrations and captions show what leafcutter ants do?

Answer

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Answer:

They help explain what happens in each step for the ants’ work.

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