Scott Foresman Reading Street

Science in Reading

Examine features of expository nonfiction.
Practice a test-taking strategy.
Compare and contrast across texts.

PREVIEW/USE TEXT FEATURES

Have students preview "Horned Lizards & Harvesting Ants," paying careful attention to the photographs and their captions. Have them read the introductory paragraph, and then ask:

How do the captions in this selection help readers understand the topic? (The captions explain the photographs and give additional information about the topic: horned toads and harvester ants.)
Which descriptive words in the first paragraph help you visualize the Sonoran Desert? (vast area, flat land and canyons, many unique plants and animals)

Link to Science

Students can use both desert animals and camouflage as keywords when searching reference materials and then cross-reference to identify desert animals that use camouflage. Remind students of the value of using keywords when scanning the index or table of contents of print sources or while searching online.

Partner Reading, 111a

Writing

Grammar

Fluency

Compound Sentences, 111f

Review Word List, 111j

Draft and Revise, 111h

Spelling

Fluency and Language Arts

EXPOSITORY NONFICTION

Use the sidebar on p. 108 to guide discussion.

Explain that expository nonfiction informs readers about an object, topic, or theme.
Expository nonfiction often uses maps, diagrams, photos, captions, or other features to present information visually, so readers can find and understand it more easily.
As students read, have them look for ways the photos and captions add new information or help them understand points made in the selection.

AudioText

Possible response: I would read the article slowly and carefully to make sure I understand and remember the information in it.

Access Content Use the photographs to help students identify horned lizards and harvester ants and terms related to the desert setting.

Expository nonfiction
can tell about animals
and where they live.

Genre

Expository
Nonfiction

A few clouds remain after last night’s storm;
the morning air feels cool and clean.

As we are having breakfast, we
notice that last night’s storm
has knocked some of the fruit
off the top of a nearby saguaro.
This windfall has been discovered
by a colony of harvester ants, who

by John Brown

Link to Science

The author uses
     descriptive  language to
     tell about life in the
     Sonoran Desert.

The author uses captions
to explain photographs.

Text Features

Imagine that you are on a journey
to the Sonoran Desert, a vast
area of flat land and canyons in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. By day, you
explore the many unique plants
and animals. At night, you curl up
in the safety of your desert home,
a tent.

This harvester ant is wrestling to
pull a saguaro seed out from the
fruit. Imagine trying to pull a
football out of a giant-sized
sticky gumdrop—with your teeth!

are busy pulling the seeds out of the
sticky fruit and carrying them back
to their hole. They are working
very hard to get all the seeds inside
their nest before it gets too hot for
them to stay out in the sun.

Author’s Purpose If the purpose is to inform, how do you read this article?

Use reference materials
to find out more about
animals that camouflage
themselves in the desert.
Make a chart describing
how these animals camou-
flage themselves and
share it with your class.

The author sometimes
     organizes the text by
     explaining a series of
     events.

armored	protected with a covering, such as a bony shell
camouflage	a disguised appearance that makes a person or animal look much like its surroundings
saguaro	a very tall, branching cactus of southern Arizona and neighboring regions

Ants of the Southwest

The southwestern United States is home for
several ant species. In addition to harvester ants,
honey ants also live in the region. Some of the worker ants in their highly organized society are known as repletes. A replete stores honey in its abdomen. When there is no food to be found, a replete can regurgitate, or throw up, the stored honey and feed the other ants with it. Fire ants are also found in the Southwest. These aggressive ants build large mounds up to two feet high. When a nest is disturbed, the fire ants rush out, biting and stinging whatever is near. Their bites are very painful.