Skills Worksheet Active Reading

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Skills Worksheet

Active Reading

Section: What Is a Biome?

Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.

Biomes, climate, and vegetation vary with latitude and altitude.

Latitude is the distance north or south of the equator and is

measured in degrees. Altitude is the height of an object above

sea level. Climate varies with latitude and altitude. For example,

climate gets colder as latitude and altitude increase. So, climate

also gets colder as you move farther up a mountain.

As latitude and altitude increase, biomes and vegetation

change. For example, the trees of tropical rain forests usually

grow closer to the equator, while the mosses and lichens of the

tundra usually grow closer to the poles. The land located in the

temperate region of the world, between about 30¡ã and 60¡ã north

latitude and 30¡ã and 60¡ã south latitude, is where most of the food

in the world is grown. This region includes biomes such as temperate forests and grasslands, which usually have moderate temperatures and fertile soil that are ideal for agriculture.

IDENTIFYING MAIN IDEAS

One reading skill is the ability to identify the main idea of a passage. The main

idea is the main focus or key idea. Frequently, a main idea is accompanied by

supporting information that offers detailed facts about main ideas.

Read each question and write the answer in the space provided.

1. Authors often use examples to help explain the main idea. What examples

does this author use to explain how climate varies?

2. What example does the author use to explain how biomes and vegetation

change with climate?

3. What clue does the author provide to make you aware that he or she is providing

an example?

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Biomes

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Active Reading continued

4. Where is the temperate region of the world located?

5. Name two biomes that are located in the temperate region.

VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT

Read each question and write the answer in the space provided.

6. The distance north or south of the equator is called

7. The height of an object above sea level is called

.

.

RECOGNIZING SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES

One reading skill is the ability to recognize similarities and differences between two

phrases, ideas, or things. This is sometimes known as comparing and contrasting.

Read each question and write the answer in the space provided.

8. Compare vegetation near the poles and vegetation near the equator.

9. How are latitude and altitude similar? How are they different?

RECOGNIZING CAUSE AND EFFECT

One reading skill is the ability to recognize cause and effect.

Read each question and write the answer in the space provided.

10. What causes climate to vary?

11. What causes biomes and vegetation to change?

12. Why is the temperate region of the world a good place to grow food?

13. What happens as you move farther up a mountain?

Copyright ? by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

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6. latitude

7. altitude

8. Near the poles, the tundra supports

strategy for tropical rain forests is to

allow agriculture on land already

cleared for that purpose but to discourage the clearing of additional

land. Methods used to sustain agriculture in other regions of the world

could be employed. Money from

tourism could help to support the

local economy.

18. Answers may vary. Sample answer:

Huge fires that burn for long periods

of time over large areas can destroy

thousands of acres of grassland or

trees and kill thousands of animals.

However, fire can also restore nutrients to the soil from burned plant matter. Natural fires destroy trees that

compete with other plants for light

and space, such as in the chaparral.

Thus, chaparral plants, which are welladapted to fire, are able to thrive.

Controlled fires help to clear underbrush and thus prevent rapid spread of

wildfires in the taiga.

19. Answers may vary. Sample answer: In

order to reduce competition for food,

different herbivore species feed at different heights. Small gazelles graze on

grasses, rhinos browse on shrubs, and

giraffes feed on tree leaves. Many animals give birth only during the rainy

season when food is abundant. Other

grazing herbivores, such as elephants,

follow the rains and migrate to areas

of watering holes and newly-sprouted

grass.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

SECTION: FOREST BIOMES

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

100 acres

animals, plants, and humans

50 million

nearby cities

habitat destruction

a place that is suitable for living

4

1

2

3

20 percent; 7 percent

They all lose the habitat they were

dependent upon.

13. for logging operations, agriculture, or

oil exploration

14. Its habitat may be destroyed or altered.

SECTION: GRASSLAND, DESERT, AND

TUNDRA BIOMES

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

c

a

b

less than 50 to 75 percent of its mass

less than 30 percent of their mass

The roots spread out instead of growing down to absorb as much rain as

possible. Because it rains so rarely in

the desert, rainfall rarely penetrates

the soil deeply.

7. thick stems and leaves that store

water, waxy coating on leaves

8. sharp spines

9. When the plant dies, it drops dormant

seeds in the soil. With the next rainfall,

the seeds germinate, grow, and bloom

quickly while the soil is still wet.

Active Reading

SECTION: WHAT IS A BIOME?

1. The author points out that climate

2.

3.

4.

5.

mosses and lichens. Near the equator,

the tropical rain forests support certain trees.

Compare: Both are units of measure;

contrast: latitude is the distance north

or south of the equator that is measured in degrees, while altitude is the

height of an object above sea level.

changes in latitude and altitude

changes in latitude and altitude

It includes biomes with moderate temperatures and fertile soil.

The climate gets colder.

becomes colder as latitude and altitude increase.

The author notes that the trees of

tropical rain forests grow closer to the

equator while mosses and lichens of

the tundra grow closer to the poles.

The introductory phrase ¡°For example¡±

is used.

between 30¡ã and 60¡ã north latitude and

30¡ã and 60¡ã south latitude

temperate forests and temperate

grasslands

Copyright ? by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

Holt Environmental Science

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