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Lesson: Saving Mapinguari
Lesson Topic: Saving Mapinguari
Saving MapinguariWritten by Roger Smith
Illustrated by Syanne Djaenel
Chapter 1: Forest in Danger
Mapinguari glared at the giant snake. He flipped his short front legs at the huge black flies buzzing and
whining around him. His spindly hind legs were crossed in front of him, and warm Amazon rain dripped from
the trees onto his head and shoulders. He looked – and felt – like a giant, slimy, green hairball.
“It won’t make any difference to me,” the snake told him. “I’ll just swim upstream to escape. There’ll
always be forest somewhere.”
Mapinguari shook his head. "There won't, Anaconda," he snapped. "The trees, animals, you, me,
everything will be gone.” He carefully picked a fly from the rotting algae on his stomach, his backward-facing
claws making the rescue difficult.
“Farmers, miners, loggers...they’re destroying the forest,” he told her. “And we’ll all disappear with it.”
Anaconda raised her head slowly and turned to face him. Her wide, almond-shaped eyes drifted open
and her eyelids drooped. “You call yourself Guardian of the Forest," she hissed, "and you say you've got
magic powers, but I doubt it. And anyway, any magic you might have will make no difference, no difference
at all. You’re really just a weird, old giant sloth," she told him, and turned away.
Mapinguari managed a smile, his wide, thin mouth curling at the edges.
He went back to flipping flies away. “I may be a thousand-year-old relic," he admitted, "but I’m determined I
won’t become extinct. And I won’t let anything else in the Amazon become extinct."
Anaconda scratched her neck on the rough bark of a branch. Then she coiled herself more comfortably
among the rotting roots of a tree in the riverbank.
Mapinguari flipped a disrespectful fly off the end of his nose. It landed on his stomach, and he searched
frantically for it, hoping he hadn’t hurt it. He finally found it in the algae, stunned, and let it climb groggily
onto his claw. It shook its wings and spread them slowly. Relieved, Mapinguari bent forward and gently blew
the fly into the bushes.
He was lonely—the only one of his kind. Somehow he'd survived extinction for a thousand years, but he
knew he might not survive much longer. When the forest disappeared, he would, too.
Anaconda began twitching impatiently. “So just what do you think you can do?” she asked him.
“Anything?”
Mapinguari nodded. “I’ll get help,” he told her. “You’ll see. I’ll find children who will help, and I know
there’ll be others as well. The world will soon know what’s happening to us. My magic won’t let us down, I
promise you.”
He hesitated and then asked, “You’ll come back when it’s over and tell me what you think?”
Anaconda nodded once, a little dip of her snout. Then, without making even the slightest ripple, she slid
silently back into the black water, sank, and disappeared.
Mapinguari shuffled slowly into deeper shade. After all, a thousand-year-old giant sloth doesn't have too
much energy.
Kaleidoscopes of lizards and frogs slithered through the forest’s understory. Above them, spider
monkeys chattered and screamed, and noisy toucans rattled in the forest canopy. Mapinguari looked for a
comfortable cradle of roots in which he could sleep. He had some magic to make.
Chapter 2: Learning How to Help
Ben and Angela couldn’t believe it! No math this morning? When Ms. Allison's students were finally quiet
she told them, “We’re going to do something special this morning.”
The twins glanced at each other and shrugged. Anything was better than math!
"I have a movie to show you,” Ms. Allison told them. “It’s about how animals and plants become extinct.”
She paused, and then asked, “Who knows what ‘extinct’ means?”
Angela immediately raised her hand.
“Angela?” said Ms. Allison.
“Extinct means gone forever,” Angela replied. Her eyes flicked to the dinosaur posters on the classroom
wall. “Like dinosaurs,” she added. “They became extinct millions of years ago.”
Ben moaned silently. Not dinosaurs again! He couldn’t hide a bored yawn. Unfortunately, Ms. Allison had
seen him. He felt his cheeks begin to glow as they turned red. He was too embarrassed to dare look at
Angela.
“Ben, do you know why animals and plants become extinct?” Ms. Allison demanded. “Do you know why
animals like dinosaurs disappear?”
Ben blinked behind his glasses. “Everything needs a special place to live,” he told Ms. Allison. “If that
place changes, they can’t live there any longer.”
Ms. Allison nodded slowly. “That’s right,” she murmured. “But how can places change?”
Ben remembered some of the science programs he’d seen on TV. “Sometimes the climate changes,” he
said. “It gets too hot or too cold. It got too cold for dinosaurs.”
Ms. Allison pretended to be puzzled. “Why would climates change and get too cold for dinosaurs?” she
asked.
“A huge meteor, or a comet, hit the Earth,” Ben told her. “It sent a whole pile of dirt and dust into the air
that shaded the Earth and made it dark. It cooled so much, dinosaurs couldn’t survive.”
Ms. Allison nodded slowly. “But there hasn’t been a collision with a meteor or a comet for a long time,”
she said, still pretending to be puzzled. “So why might some animals and plants become extinct today?”
Ben shrugged. “Sometimes people change places so animals can’t live there anymore. I guess that
happens a lot now,” he added.
Ms. Allison nodded again and then suddenly smiled at everyone. “Ben’s right,” she told her students.
“Many places are changing. Some are changing so quickly that the animals can’t change with them. Do any
of you know of a place that has changed so much that animals can’t live there anymore?” she asked.
Angela’s hand shot into the air again. “I do,” she said. “The oak trees beside our house were cut down a
few weeks ago to make room for a new house.”
“Cutting down the oaks made a difference to some animals?” Ms. Allison asked. “How?”
“The birds that lived in the trees are gone,” Angela explained quietly. “They sang all the time. I think they
must have been very happy.”
Ben didn’t wait for Ms. Allison to ask him to speak. The birds weren’t the only ones who’d been affected.
He knew his and Angela’s lives had changed too.
“We used to climb those old oaks just about every day,” he said wistfully. “In the fall we’d kick around
piles of leaves.” He paused, and then added, “We can’t do any of that anymore.”
The other students were now listening carefully. Climbing trees and kicking leaves around sounded
really interesting.
“But everyone needs a place to live, Angela,” Ms. Allison said. “Sometimes we have to change a place to
help people. After all, everyone needs a house to live in, don’t they?”
Angela shrugged. “I guess so. I suppose someone had to cut down trees to build our house,” she
admitted. “But I wonder where the birds went when their oaks were cut down,” she said quietly. She looked
directly at Ms. Allison. “If everyone needs a place to live, don’t birds need homes too? Those birds’ homes
were in the oak trees. What happened to them? Are they extinct?”
“Oh, I’m sure you don’t need to worry, Angela,” Ms. Allison told her. “Surely those birds found other homes.
There’s lots of trees left.”
Angela shook her head sadly. ”No,” she insisted. “That’s not what happened. I know they couldn’t find
another home. There was nowhere else they could go."
She glanced at Ben again before turning back to Ms. Allison. “I just know it,” she insisted quietly.
Ms. Allison smiled. For a moment Angela thought she was going to run over and hug her. Instead she
said, “I think the movie we’ll see might make you feel better, Angela. It’s about endangered species, animals
in danger of becoming extinct. It also shows how we can help them."
"Listen carefully to what people say in the movie,” she told them. “When we’ve seen the movie, I’ll ask
you why animals become endangered and why that should concern us. Then we’ll talk about how we can
help those animals.
“And finally,” she added, her eyes twinkling, “I’ll share some really exciting news with you!”
Just before class ended, a smiling Ms. Allison stood up in front of them.
“Alpha TV made the movie we just watched. They’re holding a competition for schools,” she announced.
“It’s for schools all over the country, but I think one of you could win! You’ll have to write an essay explaining
why you’re concerned about endangered species. Then you have to name an endangered animal, explain
why it’s endangered, and say how it could be saved from extinction.”
Ben and Angela were excited. A chance to help endangered creatures? A chance to help the birds that
had lived in the oaks?
They stared at Ms. Allison, their mouths and eyes wide open. They wondered what the prize would be.
“Now, the best part of all,” Ms. Allison said quietly, holding her hands together in front of her face, “The
contest winners – you’ll enter as teams – will visit the home of the animal they named! Just think, you could
go to places most people can only dream about: the deserts in Africa, the Arctic, or the tropical rainforests
of the Amazon.
“But that’s not all,” she told them, her eyes betraying her excitement. “The winners will help Alpha TV
produce a movie about the animal. The movie will be shown on TV around the world to encourage people
to help save endangered species. It’s the chance of a lifetime!”
Chapter 3: Saving Mapinguari
Ben slammed the book about endangered species down on his desk. He slipped his glasses off and
rubbed his eyes with his knuckles.
“There are so many endangered species websites and books,” he sighed. “There are so many animals
to worry about...rhinos, polar bears, pandas, whales and a whole lot more. Why don’t people do something
to help them?”
“Why does Alpha TV think children can find the answers if adults can’t?” Angela asked. “Or won’t?” she
added quickly.
“We have to show how we’re all affected when animals disappear,” Ben told his twin. “So we have to
write about the birds and the oaks. Now I know why adults say we don’t know what we’ve lost until it’s
gone.”
Angela beamed. “Remember when you took that old clock apart?” she asked. “And when you put it back
together there was something left over? At first the clock seemed to work, didn’t it? So you threw the part
away. You thought it wasn’t needed.”
Ben had heard enough. “Yeah, yeah, OK,” he interrupted. “And when the clock stopped a few days later,
I couldn’t wind it up. I know, I know. I blew it,” he admitted. “But at least it taught me everything matters,
even if we don’t know how or why.”
Angela arched her eyebrows invitingly. “So we’ll say that we should keep all the parts, all the plants and
animals? Just in case?”
Ben nodded sheepishly. “We should say that,” he told Angela. “And that we’re preserving things for our
own children and their children.
“But now we have to name one animal,” he said, looking puzzled. “There are so many we could choose.”
Angela scanned her list, counting off each name with a brief nod of her head. Then she laughed. “You’ll
love this one,” she told Ben. “Mapinguari!”
Ben frowned. “Mapin who?” he asked. “Never heard of it.”
“Maaaapiiinguaaaaaari.” Angela spoke slowly, emphasizing each syllable. “It’s a giant sloth in the
Amazon. Scientists say it’s extinct, but people in the Amazon say it’s still alive.”
“Shouldn’t we choose an animal everyone knows is real?” he asked. “And cuddly, like the giant panda?
Not an animal most people will say isn’t real. And even if it is real, isn’t it really ugly? And frightening?”
Angela was furious. “Mapinguari’s an excellent choice,” she insisted. “Okay, we lose things we don’t
know the value of. But we also lose things we don’t even know exist. And the Amazon is disappearing.
Trees are being cut down and rivers are being polluted. Animals and plants, as well as people there, will be
extinct. And then there’ll be no need to argue about whether or not Mapinguari’s extinct!"
Ben looked doubtful. “The Amazon?” he asked. “Where there’s piranhas, tarantulas, poison frogs, and I
almost forgot – giant snakes, anacondas? 20, even 30 feet long?”
Angela shivered. “Yes,” she muttered. “I was trying not to think of them!”
Angela’s discomfort delighted Ben. “Then that’s our animal,” he exclaimed.
“Mapin...what’s his name?”
“Mapinguari.” Angela sounded tired. Again, she emphasized each syllable very quietly. “Mapinguari,
Guardian of the Forest. And he needs our help at least as much as all the others.”
Chapter 4: Winning
“It’s a TV truck!” Billy Conroy gasped. He stared out the classroom window, his eyes huge and round.
“It's got a big satellite dish on top. And there’s other trucks. Alpha TV signs everywhere!”
Ben and Angela looked at each other, mouths open. Alpha TV! The Endangered Species Competition!
They’d forgotten all about it! Someone from their school had won? Could they have won?
Everyone, including Ms. Allison, turned at once when the classroom door burst open and a herd of
people spilled into the room.
The principal was in the lead. She grabbed Ms. Allison’s hands and squeezed them as if they were wet
sponges she was wringing dry.
“They’ve won!” she gasped. “They’ve won! They really have!”
Then she pointed, her hand trembling. “Angela and Ben! They’ve won! Alpha TV’s Endangered Species
Contest! They’re going to the Amazon! To make a TV program!”
Far away, an ugly, smelly creature walked slowly through the Amazon’s tropical rainforest. He was
pleased his magic had worked, and the rainforest and its inhabitants seemed to be celebrating already.
Bats were busy pollinating, monkeys were swinging through the highest branches and a million, ten million,
a hundred million, birds of every size and color sang as many different songs.
Mapinguari wondered if perhaps the birds around him were talking to the birds from the oak trees next to
Ben and Angela’s house. Were they promising that things might yet be put right?
Perhaps they were...why not? It made him feel better to think so. Then he saw the head of a giant snake
surface. A dark eye winked slowly at him, and the head disappeared, leaving not even the slightest ripple on
the dark water.
The ugly creature smiled, turned back into the rainforest, and immediately vanished in the myriad trees,
lush green plants, and dazzling flowers of the Amazon.
Question 1:
Why is Ben hesitant to pick the Mapinguari as the subject of their essay?
Check all that are true.
Mapinguari are ugly animals.
He wanted to pick the birds that had lived in the oak trees next door.
He can't pronounce the name "Mapinguari."
Angela is scared of the animals of the Amazon.
Not everyone thinks the Mapinguari is real.
Question 2:
What best describes the theme of this story?
love of family
the importance of education
the power of magic
environmental protection
Question 3:
What are the main events of this story?
Check all that are true.
Angela and Ben win the essay competition.
Ben and Angela argue over which animal to choose.
Mapinguari fears he has hurt the fly that landed on him.
Mapinguari uses his magic to conjure help for the Amazon.
Angela and Ben find out about the essay competition.
Question 4:
Read the passage below.
"You’re really just a weird, old giant sloth," she told him, and turned away.
Mapinguari managed a smile, his wide, thin mouth curling at the edges. He went back to flipping
flies away. “I may be a thousand-year-old relic," he admitted, "but I’m determined I won’t become
extinct. And I won’t let anything else in the Amazon become extinct."
What is a relic?
something that doesn't exist
an animal that is endangered
a sign of the future
a leftover from the past
Question 5:
Why does the narrator tell the story from both the Mapinguari's and the twins' point of view?
to show that anacondas are temperamental
to show that the characters are directly connected
to show that Mapinguari's laziness will cause his extinction
to show that animals in the Amazon can talk
Question 6:
What is the climax of this story?
Mapinguari uses magic to find help for the Amazon.
Mapinguari talks to Anaconda about the Amazon's problems.
Angela and Ben win the essay contest.
Angela and Ben find out about the essay contest.
Question 7:
What is it about this story that makes it almost like a play?
There is more than one setting.
The story has several main characters.
Some of the characters are not human.
Most of the plot is built through dialogue.
Lesson Topic: The Far-Reaching Impact of Extinction
The Far-Reaching Impact of ExtinctionWritten by Alison Zeller
In recent history, hundreds of animals have ceased to exist. Thousands of other species are currently
endangered. Humans are responsible for a large majority of this mass extinction. Deforestation, pollution,
and over-hunting are damaging and destroying our natural resources at an alarming rate.
An adult blue whale swims the easternPacific Ocean. These whales have beenconsidered endangered since 2008.Only about 2,500 are left in the wild.
Madagascar’s rosy periwinkle plant hasbeen used to treat leukemia andHodgkin's disease.
Decreasing diversity is harmful for plants and animals as well
as humans. Experts estimate that nature generates up to $33
trillion in revenue every year. This includes plants and animals
acting as a food source, helping to recycle waste, and acting as a
key component in important medications. Many scientists believe
that if humans continue on this path, half of the Earth’s species will
die off by 2100.
Without a diverse network of plants and animals, we may lose
hope for future medicines. Today, more than half of the most
popular prescription medications, worth $80 billion annually, are
derived from natural elements. For example, a tree native to the northwestern United States was on the
brink of extinction in the late 1960s. In 1967, scientists identified a cancer-fighting compound in its bark.
More promising medical treatments and cures may exist in nature. Only a very small portion of all
existing species have been thoroughly studied for their medicinal possibilities. The cures for some of our
worst diseases may still be waiting to be discovered in nature.
Pushing nature to the brink of extinction also has a direct financial impact. In the United States,
thousands of individuals enjoy wildlife entertainment. Activities like fishing, hunting, and hiking account for
$108 billion in annual revenues. Those activities also provide 2.6 million jobs.
In addition, plants and animals provide a big boost to the tourism industry in many parts of the world.
Alaska is famous for its bears and bald eagles. Nature tours and cruises run all year long in that state. Many
people also dream of traveling on an African safari. These tourists play a major role in the African economy.
One study reported that each tourist in Zambia brings $1,100 to the economy.
It is critical to note that extinction has a domino effect. All living things depend on each other in the circle
of life. The extinction of one species can lead to the extinction of hundreds more. This relationship has been
observed among small insects, but the full impact of extinction may not be known for many more years.
Chimpanzees live in Africa, but thespecies is endangered due to huntingand habitat destruction.
Question 1:
What is the central idea of the article?
Humans are destroying nature at an alarming rate through deforestation, pollution,and over-hunting.
Nature generates trillions of dollars in revenue every year.
Losing plant and animal species will have a devastating impact on human life.
Thousands of species are currently endangered.
Question 2:
Read the passage below.
It is critical to note that extinction has a domino effect. All living things depend on each other in the
circle of life. The extinction of one species can lead to the extinction of hundreds more.
What does the author mean by a domino effect?
work to stop the extinction of species is seen as serious
work to stop the extinction of species is seen as a game
one event is not enough to impact other events
one event can cause a whole chain of events
Question 3:
Read the paragraph below.
In addition, plants and animals provide a big boost to the tourism industry in many parts of the
world. Alaska is famous for its bears and bald eagles. Nature tours and cruises run all year long in
that state. Many people also dream of traveling on an African safari. These tourists play a major role
in the African economy. For example, one study reported that each tourist in Zambia brings $1,100
to the economy.
How does this contribute to the development of the author’s key ideas?
by showing how much the loss of plants and animals would hurt the worldfinancially
by showing how much extinction would hurt the animals of Alaska and Africa
by showing how much the loss of plants and animals would destroy the hopesand dreams of travelers
by showing that studies usually overestimate the impact of one traveler on acountry
Question 4:
How does the author communicate his view on the impact of extinction?
by presenting facts and examples showing the negative and positive impacts ofextinction
by presenting only his opinions about extinction with few facts or examples
by presenting only facts and examples showing the negative impact of extinction
by presenting only facts and examples showing the positive impact of extinction
Question 5:
Using the information in the article and the graph, what is the impact of population growth on the
environment?
As the human population grows, their actions that harm animal species dwindle.As a result, animal species grow with them.
As animal populations grow, the resources they can provide grow, too. As aresult, the human population grows, too.
As the human population grows, so do their actions that harm animal species. Asa result, animal species dwindle.
As animal populations grow, the harm they cause to humans grows, too. As aresult, the human population dwindles.
Question 6:
Which of the author’s claims are not supported by reasons or evidence in this article?
Without a diverse network of plants and animals, we may lose hope for futuremedicines.
Plants and animals provide a big boost to the tourism industry in many parts of theworld.
Things like deforestation, pollution, and over-hunting are significantly damagingnature.
Decreasing diversity is harmful for nature and for humans.
Question 7:
How does the article present information about extinction differently from the story "Saving
Mapinguari"?
The article emphasizes what humans lose when species die.
The article points to humans as a big reason for extinction.
The article focuses on the extinction of both plants and animals.
The article talks about the negative impacts of losing species.
Question 8:
What is impacted by the loss of plant and animal species?
access to effective medication
the tourism industry
access to food
the ability to recycle waste
all of the above
Question 9:
Read the passage below.
Without a diverse network of plants and animals, we may lose hope for future medicines.
What detail from the text supports this claim?
In recent history, hundreds of animals have ceased to exist because of extinction.
Scientists found a cancer-fighting compound in the bark of a tree on the brink ofextinction.
Humans are responsible for a large majority of mass extinction.
Many scientists believe that if humans continue on this path, half of the Earth’sspecies will die off by 2100.
Lesson Topic: Three Types of Extinction Caused by Humans
Three Types of Extinction Caused by HumansWritten by Alison Zeller
Extinction has caused the demise ofmany creatures throughout history,including the dinosaurs.
This satellite image shows deforestationin Haiti. The loss of trees is ruining thehabitats of thousands of species.
How many types of animals and plants can you name? It may
be hard to believe, but experts estimate that there could be nearly
30 million species in the world. As humans, we’ve only studied 1.5
million of these and have no experience with the other millions of
species. Our world is truly surprising and wonderfully diverse!
Although millions of species currently reside on Earth, there
was a time when many more plants and animals were present.
Since the beginning of time, extinction has been removing species
from our world. And it’s not just the dinosaurs. Experts commonly
reference five historic mass extinction events. Scientists say that
these extinctions were brought about by natural disasters and earthly processes.
In today’s world, a very small portion of extinction is still caused
by natural events like volcanoes and earthquakes. In truth,
humans are contributing significantly to another widespread
extinction event. Some say that the extinction taking place today is
occurring at a rate more than 100 times faster than it has in the
past. In recent history, more than 800 species have left the Earth
forever. Thousands of creatures are still at great risk of becoming
extinct in our lifetimes.
Humans have been contributing to extinction in a number of ways. One of the biggest problems is the
loss of animal habitats. All over the world, humans are taking over the animals’ land. We want that land for
other purposes like agriculture, logging, and urban development. Clearing the Amazon rainforest is just one
example. When an animal’s habitat is destroyed, it has nowhere to live. Some creatures will adapt to the
new habitat, but many more will die.
Thousands of marine animalsand birds die each yearbecause of plastic waste thatruns into oceans and rivers,such as the pollution in thisNew Jersey waterway.
Animals are also defenseless against hunting and fishing. Hunting has
killed off the Tasmanian tiger, woolly mammoth, black rhino, and countless
other species. In the ocean, overfishing is endangering many water species.
Tuna, Atlantic salmon, sharks, and lobsters are at risk. This extinction is so
quick that experts in one recent study suggested that ocean fish will
disappear by 2048.
Extinction doesn’t have to be deliberate. As humans go about their daily
lives, we carelessly create pollution that acts like slow poison for animals.
Pesticides and other chemical runoff ruin animals’ water supply. Material
waste, like plastic bags and cigarette lighters, kills more than 100,000 sea
mammals every year. Catastrophic events, such as oil spills, can kill
thousands of sea creatures at once. It’s our duty as people to make incidents
like these a thing of the past.
Question 1:
How does the author help the reader understand the special impact humans have on the extinction
of plant and animal species?
by describing the types of animals that have become extinct since the worldbegan
by comparing the rate of extinction in recent history to the rate of extinction in thepast
by highlighting the impact that mass extinction of plants and animals will have onhumans
by explaining how ancient animals such as dinosaurs and wooly mammothsbecame extinct
Question 2:
What sentence from the article best sums up its central idea?
Humans have been contributing to extinction in a number of ways.
Some creatures will adapt to the new habitat, but many more will die.
As humans go about their daily lives, we carelessly create pollution that acts likeslow poison for animals.
Our world is truly surprising and wonderfully diverse.
Question 3:
What mostly contributed to mass extinction in the past?
hunting
pollution
natural events
deforestation
Question 4:
Read the passage below.
Catastrophic events, such as oil spills, can kill thousands of sea creatures at once. It’s our duty as
people to make incidents like these a thing of the past.
What best describes a catastrophic event?
personal tragedy
great moment in time
widespread harm
painful admission
Question 5:
Read the passage below.
Animals are also defenseless against hunting and fishing. Hunting has killed off the Tasmanian
tiger, woolly mammoth, black rhino, and countless other species. In the ocean, overfishing is
endangering many water species. Tuna, Atlantic salmon, sharks, and lobsters are at risk. This
extinction is so quick that experts in one recent study suggested that ocean fish will disappear by
2048.
How does this paragraph contribute to the author's central idea?
It compares the past and present effects of hunting and fishing, and contraststhem with the future impact.
It gives examples to show past and present effects of hunting and fishing, and itcites scientific research that projects the future impact.
It cites scientific research to show past and present effects of hunting and fishing,and it gives examples that project the future impact.
It contrasts the past and present effects of hunting and fishing, and comparesthem with the future impact.
Question 6:
What is the author's viewpoint on humans' contributions to extinction?
Humans are causing the extinction of plants and animals through both carelessand deliberate actions.
Humans are causing the extinction of plants and animals through actions meantto save them.
Humans are causing the extinction of plants and animals through careless,unintentional actions.
Humans are causing the extinction of plants and animals through deliberate,malicious actions.
Question 7:
Using information in this text and in the story "Saving Mapinguari," what are reasons that humans
destroy animal habitats?
Check all that are true.
to clear the way for new resources to grow
to clear land for farming
to get wood for building
to create animal sanctuaries
to build new homes and neighborhoods
Question 8:
The author claims that one of the biggest contributors to extinction today is the loss of animal
habitats. What additional information would strengthen this claim?
the number of animals that live in the Amazon rainforest
the number of animals that live in habitats
an example of an animal that lost its habitat due to natural events
the number of animals that have lost their homes because of humans
Question 9:
How is this article similar to the article, "The Far-Reaching Impact of Extinction"?
They both give detailed steps we can take to stop animal and plant extinction.
They both describe the natural events that caused extinction in the past.
They both detail the impact of plant and animal extinction on humans.
They both mention the impact of human actions on plant and animal populations.
Lesson: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
Lesson Topic: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
Rikki-Tikki-TaviBy Rudyard Kipling
This is an excerpt from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, a book of fables that uses animals to relay
important moral messages.
This is the story of the great war that Rikki-tikki-tavi fought single-handed, through the bath-rooms of
the big bungalow in Segowlee cantonment. Darzee, the tailor-bird, helped him, and Chuchundra, the musk-
rat, who never comes out into the middle of the floor, but always creeps round by the wall, gave him advice;
but Rikki-tikki did the real fighting.
He was a mongoose, rather like a little cat in his fur and his tail, but quite like a weasel in his head and
his habits. His eyes and the end of his restless nose were pink. He could scratch himself anywhere he
pleased with any leg, front or back, that he chose to use. He could fluff up his tail till it looked like a bottle
brush, and his war cry as he scuttled through the long grass was: “Rikk-tikk-tikki-tikki-tchk!”
One day, a high summer flood washed him out of the burrow where he lived with his father and mother,
and carried him, kicking and clucking, down a roadside ditch. He found a little wisp of grass floating there,
and clung to it till he lost his senses. When he revived, he was lying in the hot sun on the middle of a garden
path, very draggled indeed, and a small boy was saying, “Here’s a dead mongoose. Let’s have a funeral.”
“No,” said his mother, “let’s take him in and dry him. Perhaps he isn’t really dead.”
They took him into the house, and a big man picked him up between his finger and thumb and said he
was not dead but half choked. So they wrapped him in cotton wool, and warmed him over a little fire, and he
opened his eyes and sneezed.
“Now,” said the big man (he was an Englishman* who had just moved into the bungalow), “don’t frighten
him, and we’ll see what he’ll do.”
It is the hardest thing in the world to frighten a mongoose, because he is eaten up from nose to tail with
curiosity. The motto of all the mongoose family is “Run and find out,” and Rikki-tikki was a true mongoose.
He looked at the cotton wool, decided that it was not good to eat, ran all round the table, sat up and put his
fur in order, scratched himself, and jumped on the small boy’s shoulder.
*In the 1800s, many Englishmen and women moved to India after the country was colonized by Great Britain.
“Don’t be frightened, Teddy,” said his father. “That’s his way of making
friends.”
“Ouch! He’s tickling under my chin,” said Teddy.
Rikki-tikki looked down between the boy’s collar and neck, snuffed at his
ear, and climbed down to the floor, where he sat rubbing his nose.
“Good gracious,” said Teddy’s mother, “and that’s a wild creature! I
suppose he’s so tame because we’ve been kind to him.”
“All mongooses are like that,” said her husband. “If Teddy doesn’t pick him up by the tail, or try to put
him in a cage, he’ll run in and out of the house all day long. Let’s give him something to eat.”
They gave him a little piece of raw meat. Rikki-tikki liked it immensely, and when it was finished he went
out into the veranda and sat in the sunshine and fluffed up his fur to make it dry to the roots. Then he felt
better. “There are more things to find out about in this house,” he said to himself, “than all my family could
find out in all their lives. I shall certainly stay and find out.”
He spent all that day roaming over the house. He nearly drowned himself in the bath-tubs, put his nose
into the ink on a writing table, and burned it on the end of the big man’s cigar, for he climbed up in the big
man’s lap to see how writing was done.
At nightfall he ran into Teddy’s nursery to watch how kerosene
lamps were lighted, and when Teddy went to bed, Rikki-tikki
climbed up too. But he was a restless companion, because he had
to get up and attend to every noise all through the night, and find
out what made it.
Teddy’s mother and father came in, the last thing, to look at
their boy, and Rikki-tikki was awake on the pillow. “I don’t like that,”
said Teddy’s mother. "He may bite the child.”
“He’ll do no such thing,” said the father. “Teddy’s safer with that little beast than if he had a bloodhound
to watch him. If a snake came into the nursery now–”
But Teddy’s mother wouldn’t think of anything so awful.
Early in the morning Rikki-tikki came to early breakfast in the veranda riding on Teddy’s shoulder, and
they gave him banana and some boiled egg. He sat on all their laps one after the other, because every
well-brought-up mongoose always hopes to be a house mongoose some day and have rooms to run about
in; and Rikki-tikki’s mother (she used to live in the general’s house at Segowlee) had carefully told Rikki
what to do if ever he came across men.
Then Rikki-tikki went out into the garden to see what was to be seen. It was a large garden, only half
cultivated, with bushes, as big as summer-houses, of Marshal Niel roses, lime and orange trees, clumps of
bamboos, and thickets of high grass.
Rikki-tikki licked his lips. “This is a splendid hunting-ground," he said, and his tail grew bottle-brushy at
the thought of it, and he scuttled up and down the garden, snuffing here and there till he heard very
sorrowful voices in a thorn-bush.
It was Darzee, the Tailorbird, and his wife. They had made a
beautiful nest by pulling two big leaves together and stitching them
up the edges with fibers, and had filled the hollow with cotton and
downy fluff. The nest swayed to and fro, as they sat on the rim and
cried.
“What is the matter?” asked Rikki-tikki.
“We are very miserable,” said Darzee. “One of our babies fell out of the nest yesterday and Nag ate
him.”
“H’m!” said Rikki-tikki, “that is very sad–but I am a stranger here. Who is Nag?”
Darzee and his wife only cowered down in the nest without
answering, for from the thick grass at the foot of the bush there
came a low hiss–a horrid cold sound that made Rikki-tikki jump
back two clear feet. Then inch by inch out of the grass rose up the
head and spread hood of Nag, the big black cobra, and he was
five feet long from tongue to tail. When he had lifted one-third of
himself clear of the ground, he stayed balancing to and fro exactly
as a dandelion tuft balances in the wind, and he looked at Rikki-tikki with the wicked snake’s eyes that never
change their expression, whatever the snake may be thinking of.
“Who is Nag?” said he. “I am Nag. The great god Brahm* put his mark upon all our people, when the first
cobra spread his hood to keep the sun off Brahm as he slept. Look, and be afraid!”
*Brahm is one of the major Hindu deities
He spread out his hood more than ever, and Rikki-tikki saw the spectacle-mark on the back of it that
looks exactly like the eye part of a hook-and-eye fastening. He was afraid for the minute, but it is impossible
for a mongoose to stay frightened for any length of time, and though Rikki-tikki had never met a live cobra
before, his mother had fed him on dead ones, and he knew that all a grown mongoose’s business in life
was to fight and eat snakes. Nag knew that too and, at the bottom of his cold heart, he was afraid.
“Well,” said Rikki-tikki, and his tail began to fluff up again, “marks or no marks, do you think it is right for
you to eat fledglings out of a nest?”
Nag was thinking to himself, and watching the least little movement in the grass behind Rikki-tikki. He
knew that mongooses in the garden meant death sooner or later for him and his family, but he wanted to
get Rikki-tikki off his guard. So he dropped his head a little, and put it on one side.
“Let us talk,” he said. “You eat eggs. Why should not I eat birds?”
“Behind you! Look behind you!” sang Darzee.
Rikki-tikki knew better than to waste time in staring. He jumped up in the air as high as he could go, and
just under him whizzed by the head of Nagaina, Nag’s wicked wife. She had crept up behind him as he was
talking, to make an end of him. He heard her savage hiss as the stroke missed. He came down almost
across her back, and if he had been an old mongoose he would have known that then was the time to
break her back with one bite; but he was afraid of the terrible lashing return stroke of the cobra. He bit,
indeed, but did not bite long enough, and he jumped clear of the whisking tail, leaving Nagaina torn and
angry.
“Wicked, wicked Darzee!” said Nag, lashing up as high as he could reach toward the nest in the thorn-
bush. But Darzee had built it out of reach of snakes, and it only swayed to and fro.
Rikki-tikki felt his eyes growing red and hot (when a mongoose’s eyes grow red, he is angry), and he sat
back on his tail and hind legs like a little kangaroo, and looked all round him, and chattered with rage. But
Nag and Nagaina had disappeared into the grass. When a snake misses its stroke, it never says anything
or gives any sign of what it means to do next. Rikki-tikki did not care to follow them, for he did not feel sure
that he could manage two snakes at once. So he trotted off to the gravel path near the house, and sat down
to think. It was a serious matter for him.
If you read the old books of natural history, you will find they say that when the mongoose fights the
snake and happens to get bitten, he runs off and eats some herb that cures him. That is not true. The
victory is only a matter of quickness of eye and quickness of foot–snake’s blow against mongoose’s jump–
and as no eye can follow the motion of a snake’s head when it strikes, this makes things much more
wonderful than any magic herb. Rikki-tikki knew he was a young mongoose, and it made him all the more
pleased to think that he had managed to escape a blow from behind. It gave him confidence in himself, and
when Teddy came running down the path, Rikki-tikki was ready to be petted.
But just as Teddy was stooping, something wriggled a little in the dust, and a tiny voice said: “Be careful.
I am Death!” It was Karait, the dusty brown snakeling that lies for choice on the dusty earth; and his bite is
as dangerous as the cobra’s. But he is so small that nobody thinks of him, and so he does the more harm to
people.
Rikki-tikki’s eyes grew red again, and he danced up to Karait with the peculiar rocking, swaying motion
that he had inherited from his family. It looks very funny, but it is so perfectly balanced a gait that you can fly
off from it at any angle you please, and in dealing with snakes this is an advantage. If Rikki-tikki had only
known, he was doing a much more dangerous thing than fighting Nag, for Karait is so small, and can turn
so quickly, that unless Rikki bit him close to the back of the head, he would get the return stroke in his eye
or his lip. But Rikki did not know. His eyes were all red, and he rocked back and forth, looking for a good
place to hold. Karait struck out. Rikki jumped sideways and tried to run in, but the wicked little dusty gray
head lashed within a fraction of his shoulder, and he had to jump over the body, and the head followed his
heels close.
Teddy shouted to the house: “Oh, look here! Our mongoose is killing a snake.”
And Rikki-tikki heard a scream from Teddy’s mother. His father ran out with a stick, but by the time he
came up, Karait had lunged out once too far, and Rikki-tikki had sprung, jumped on the snake’s back,
dropped his head far between his forelegs, bitten as high up the back as he could get hold, and rolled away.
That bite paralyzed Karait, and Rikki-tikki was just going to eat him up from the tail, after the custom of his
family at dinner, when he remembered that a full meal makes a slow mongoose, and if he wanted all his
strength and quickness ready, he must keep himself thin.
He went away for a dust bath under the castor-oil bushes, while Teddy’s father beat the dead Karait.
“What is the use of that?” thought Rikki-tikki. “I have settled it all;” and then Teddy’s mother picked him up
from the dust and hugged him, crying that he had saved Teddy from death, and Teddy’s father said that he
was a providence,* and Teddy looked on with big, scared eyes.
*divine intervention; act of God
Rikki-tikki was rather amused at all the fuss, which, of course, he did not understand. Teddy’s mother
might just as well have petted Teddy for playing in the dust. Rikki was thoroughly enjoying himself.
That night at dinner, walking to and fro among the wine-glasses on the table, he might have stuffed
himself three times over with nice things. But he remembered Nag and Nagaina, and though it was very
pleasant to be patted and petted by Teddy’s mother, and to sit on Teddy’s shoulder, his eyes would get red
from time to time, and he would go off into his long war cry of "Rikk-tikk-tikki-tikki-tchk!”
Teddy carried him off to bed, and insisted on Rikki-tikki
sleeping under his chin. Rikki-tikki was too well bred to bite or
scratch, but as soon as Teddy was asleep he went off for his
nightly walk round the house, and in the dark he ran up against
Chuchundra, the musk-rat, creeping around by the wall.
Chuchundra is a broken-hearted little beast. He whimpers and
cheeps all the night, trying to make up his mind to run into the
middle of the room. But he never gets there.
“Don’t kill me,” said Chuchundra, almost weeping. "Rikki-tikki, don’t kill me!”
“Do you think a snake-killer kills muskrats?” said Rikki-tikki scornfully.
“Those who kill snakes get killed by snakes,” said Chuchundra, more sorrowfully than ever. “And how am
I to be sure that Nag won’t mistake me for you some dark night?”
“There’s not the least danger,” said Rikki-tikki. “But Nag is in the garden, and I know you don’t go there.”
“My cousin Chua, the rat, told me–” said Chuchundra, and then he stopped.
“Told you what?”
“H’sh! Nag is everywhere, Rikki-tikki. You should have talked to Chua in the garden.”
“I didn’t–so you must tell me. Quick, Chuchundra, or I’ll bite you!”
Chuchundra sat down and cried till the tears rolled off his whiskers. “I am a very poor man,” he sobbed.
“I never had spirit enough to run out into the middle of the room. H’sh! I mustn’t tell you anything. Can’t you
hear, Rikki-tikki?”
Rikki-tikki listened. The house was as still as still, but he thought he could just catch the faintest scratch-
scratch in the world–a noise as faint as that of a wasp walking on a window-pane–the dry scratch of a
snake’s scales on brick-work. “That’s Nag or Nagaina,” he said to himself, “and he is crawling into the bath-
room sluice. You’re right, Chuchundra; I should have talked to Chua.”
He stole off to Teddy’s bath-room, but there was nothing there, and then to Teddy’s mother’s bathroom.
At the bottom of the smooth plaster wall there was a brick pulled out to make a sluice for the bath water,
and as Rikki-tikki stole in by the masonry curb where the bath is put, he heard Nag and Nagaina whispering
together outside in the moonlight.
“When the house is emptied of people,” said Nagaina to her husband, “he will have to go away, and then
the garden will be our own again. Go in quietly, and remember that the big man who killed Karait is the first
one to bite. Then come out and tell me, and we will hunt for Rikki-tikki together.”
“But are you sure that there is anything to be gained by killing the people?” said Nag.
“Everything. When there were no people in the bungalow, did we have any mongoose in the garden? So
long as the bungalow is empty, we are king and queen of the garden; and remember that as soon as our
eggs in the melon bed hatch (as they may tomorrow), our children will need room and quiet.”
“I had not thought of that,” said Nag. “I will go, but there is no need that we should hunt for Rikki-tikki
afterward. I will kill the big man and his wife, and the child if I can, and come away quietly. Then the
bungalow will be empty, and Rikki-tikki will go.”
Rikki-tikki tingled all over with rage and hatred at this, and then Nag’s head came through the sluice, and
his five feet of cold body followed it. Angry as he was, Rikki-tikki was very frightened as he saw the size of
the big cobra. Nag coiled himself up, raised his head, and looked into the bathroom in the dark, and Rikki
could see his eyes glitter. “Now, if I kill him here, Nagaina will know; and if I fight him on the open floor, the
odds are in his favor. What am I to do?” said Rikki-tikki-tavi.
Nag waved to and fro, and then Rikki-tikki heard him drinking from the biggest water-jar that was used to
fill the bath. “That is good,” said the snake. “Now, when Karait was killed, the big man had a stick. He may
have that stick still, but when he comes in to bathe in the morning he will not have a stick. I shall wait here
till he comes. Nagaina–do you hear me?–I shall wait here in the cool till daytime.”
There was no answer from outside, so Rikki-tikki knew Nagaina had gone away. Nag coiled himself
down, coil by coil, round the bulge at the bottom of the water jar, and Rikki-tikki stayed still as death. After
an hour he began to move, muscle by muscle, toward the jar. Nag was asleep, and Rikki-tikki looked at his
big back, wondering which would be the best place for a good hold. "If I don’t break his back at the first
jump,” said Rikki, “he can still fight. And if he fights–O Rikki!” He looked at the thickness of the neck below
the hood, but that was too much for him; and a bite near the tail would only make Nag savage.
“It must be the head," he said at last; “the head above the
hood. And, when I am once there, I must not let go.”
Then he jumped. The head was lying a little clear of the water
jar, under the curve of it; and, as his teeth met, Rikki braced his
back against the bulge of the red earthenware to hold down the
head. This gave him just one second’s purchase, and he made the
most of it. Then he was battered to and fro as a rat is shaken by a
dog–to and fro on the floor, up and down, and around in great
circles, but his eyes were red and he held on as the body cart-whipped over the floor, upsetting the tin
dipper and the soap dish and the flesh brush, and banged against the tin side of the bath. As he held he
closed his jaws tighter and tighter, for he made sure he would be banged to death, and, for the honor of his
family, he preferred to be found with his teeth locked.
He was dizzy, aching, and felt shaken to pieces when something went off like a thunderclap just behind
him. A hot wind knocked him senseless and red fire singed his fur. The big man had been wakened by the
noise, and had fired both barrels of a shotgun into Nag just behind the hood.
Rikki-tikki held on with his eyes shut, for now he was quite sure he was dead. But the head did not move,
and the big man picked him up and said, “It’s the mongoose again, Alice. The little chap has saved our lives
now.”
Then Teddy’s mother came in with a very white face, and saw what was left of Nag, and Rikki-tikki
dragged himself to Teddy’s bedroom and spent half the rest of the night shaking himself tenderly to find out
whether he really was broken into forty pieces, as he fancied.
Rikki-tikki had a right to be proud of himself; but he did not grow too proud, and he kept that garden as a
mongoose should keep it, with tooth and jump and spring and bit, till never a cobra dared show its head
inside the walls.
Question 1:
Why did Rikki act so tame when he first met the human family that rescued him?
He wanted them to let him stay so that he could eat the snakes in their garden.
His mother had taught him how to behave if he encountered man.
His family had died in a flood and he was lonely for company.
He was grateful that they had saved him and wished to repay them.
Question 2:
What best describes the theme of this story?
a mother's undying love
the test of time
man versus nature
courage in the face of danger
Question 3:
Read the ending passage of the story below.
Rikki-tikki had a right to be proud of himself; but he did not grow too proud, and he kept that
garden as a mongoose should keep it, with tooth and jump and spring and bit, till never a cobra
dared show its head inside the walls.
Based on the passage, what can you infer about what happened to Nagaina and her babies?
They continued to harass the creatures of the garden.
They succeeded in hurting Rikki's family.
They left the garden or were killed by Rikki.
They made peace with Rikki and became his friend.
Question 4:
Read the passage below.
Then Rikki-tikki went out into the garden to see what was to be seen. It was a large garden, only
half cultivated, with bushes, as big as summer-houses, of Marshal Niel roses, lime and orange
trees, clumps of bamboos, and thickets of high grass.
What is the most likely meaning of the word cultivated?
prepared for planting
meant for show
colorful and fragrant
used for entertaining
Question 5:
Read the passage below.
"...and then Teddy’s mother picked him up from the dust and hugged him, crying that he had saved
Teddy from death, and Teddy’s father said that he was a providence, and Teddy looked on with big
scared eyes. Rikki-tikki was rather amused at all the fuss, which, of course, he did not understand.
Teddy’s mother might just as well have petted Teddy for playing in the dust. Rikki was thoroughly
enjoying himself."
What is the most important contribution this passage makes to the story?
It shows that Teddy's mother is very emotional.
It shows the difference between nature and man.
It shows British belief systems during that time period.
It shows that Teddy enjoys playing in the dust.
Question 6:
How would this story be different if told from Teddy's father's point of view?
We would know more about why the snakes had chosen the garden as theirhome.
We would not know the real reason why Rikki acted so tame with the family.
We would not know how much danger Teddy had been in with the small snake.
We would know why Nag had come into the house.
Question 7:
How would the narration of this story need to change if it were told in cartoon form?
The animals would need to talk with animal noises rather than words.
We would need to know more about what the humans were thinking.
The characters would need to say more of their thoughts aloud.
The humans would need to be able to understand the animals' speech.
Lesson Topic: Snake Eaters: The Mongoose and the Honey Badger
Snake Eaters: The Mongoose and the Honey BadgerWritten by Heather Henderson
When most people think of fearless animals, the mongoose and honey badger probably aren’t the first
creatures that come to mind. Their small furry bodies make them look more like pets than deadly predators.
However, despite their appearance, the mongoose and honey badger have built a reputation as two of the
most courageous predators in the animal kingdom.
The Indian Gray Mongoose,immortalized in the classic story "RikkiTikki Tavi," is known for killing cobras.
Mongooses
Found mostly in Africa and parts of Asia, mongooses’ slender bodies are usually less than two feet long.
They are usually brown or grey in color and resemble a large ferret or opossum. Mongooses will eat almost
anything they can find or catch, including birds, rodents, frogs, insects, and even the eggs of crocodiles. The
mongoose is a zealous hunter, scurrying along turning over rocks and digging with its sharp claws in search of
food. Once it finds a meal, the mongoose typically kills its prey with a swift bite to the back of the neck or head.
Mongooses get their fearless reputation from enjoying some
particularly perilous treats: poisonous animals. Mongooses are
notorious for gobbling down scorpions and even poisonous
snakes, most notably the much-feared king cobra. Part of the
reason behind the mongooses’ seemingly reckless dietary choices
is its immunity to venom. Like poisonous snakes, mongooses have
receptors in their brains that inhibit the absorption of poisonous
venom. Despite the mongoose’s invulnerability to poison, killing a
snake is no easy feat. Mongooses can still be harmed by snakes’
sharp fangs or strangled by their constricting bodies.
Honey badgers
Battling king cobras and scorpions is hard to beat when it comes to picking the most courageous animal.
However, the Guinness Book of World Records has bestowed the title of most fearless animal in the world to
another crazy critter: the honey badger. At about 10 inches tall and 2 feet long, honey badgers are similar in
size to mongooses, and like mongooses, they’ll eat just about anything.
Unlike mongooses, however, the honey badger is practically indestructible. While the mongoose is
impervious to snake venom, the honey badger’s thick hide makes it impervious to just about everything. In
fact, honey badgers get their name from their love of honey, which they eat straight from the hives of angry
swarming bees! The bee’s stingers aren’t able to penetrate the honey badgers hide and are only a minor
distraction for a hungry honey badger. As it turns out, the honey badger’s skin is thick enough to protect it
from porcupine quills, most animal bites, and even a slow-moving arrow or spear. There is no stopping the
honey badger!
You could almost say that honeybadgers, also called "ratels," are shapedlike tiny tanks. This would be appropriateas their skin operates as built-in armor!
Like the mongoose, honey badgers kill and eat snakes, including poisonous ones. The honey badger
isn’t quite as immune to snake venom as the mongoose, and often loses consciousness after eating or
being bitten by a poisonous snake. However, they usually recover after a short time and begin looking for
their next meal.
Both the mongoose and the honey badger are tougher than meets the eye. Nature has gifted these
animals with some incredible evolutionary adaptions that allow them to continue competing for the title of
most fearless animal!
Question 1:
Which animal does the author seem to think is more fearless?
The author shows that neither of the animals are truly fearless.
The author thinks that the mongoose is more fearless because it battlesvenomous snakes.
The author thinks that the honey badger is more fearless because it also eatshoney from active beehives.
The author thinks that both animals are fearless and does not preference one overthe other.
Question 2:
What information about mongooses in this article is different from how they are described in the
story, "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi"?
The article says that mongooses can be harmed by snakes.
The article says that mongooses are not harmed by snake venom.
The article says that mongooses are known to kill snakes.
The article says that mongooses are difficult to tame.
Question 3:
What is the main idea of this text?
Both mongooses and honey badgers eat snakes.
Both honey badgers and mongooses are fearless creatures that do dangerousthings.
Mongooses and honey badgers are relatively small creatures.
Mongooses are immune to snake venom, but honey badgers are not.
Question 4:
What details about honey badgers and mongooses help show that they are fearless?
Check all that are true.
their eating habits
their location
their coloring
their popularity as pets
their size
Question 5:
Read the passage below.
Mongooses are notorious for gobbling down scorpions and even poisonous snakes...Part of the
reason behind the mongoose's seemingly reckless dietary choices is its immunity to venom...
Despite the mongoose's invulnerability to poison, killing a snake is no easy feat.
What does the word invulnerability mean in this passage?
resistance
disgust
attraction
sensitivity
Question 6:
Read the passages below.
Passage 1
Like the mongoose, honey badgers kill and eat snakes, including poisonous ones. The honey badger isn’t quite as
immune to snake venom as the mongoose, and often loses consciousness after eating or being bitten by a poisonous
snake. However, they usually recover after a short time and begin looking for their next meal.
Passage 2
Every snake bite is different, and there are many different types of venom. Each type of snake venom affects the body
differently, requiring its own specialized treatment. The venom in most snakes is a combination of three main toxins:
cytotoxins, neurotoxins, and hemotoxins.
What topic is addressed by both passages?
treatments for snake venom
animals that kill and eat snakes
cytotoxic venom, the mildest form of snake venom
differing reactions to snake bites
Question 7:
Read the passage below.
When most people think of fearless animals, the mongoose and honey badger probably aren’t
the first creatures that come to mind. Their small, furry bodies make them look more like pets than
deadly predators.
How does this passage contribute to the main idea of the article?
It shows that the personality of the mongoose and honey badger is inconsistentwith their appearance.
It shows that honey badgers and mongooses are not really fearless as some maythink.
It shows that there are other creatures that are more deadly than the mongooseand honey badger.
It shows that mongooses and honey badgers make loveable, cuddly pets.
Question 8:
What statement challenges the author's claim that honey badgers are "fearless" because they eat
honey from active hives?
You should only be considered fearless if you do something even though it willhurt you.
You should be considered reckless, not fearless, if you do something that can hurtyou.
You should only be considered fearless if you do something that most otherswould not do.
none of the above
Question 9:
Based on this article, how would a more factually accurate version of the story "Rikki Tikki Tavi"
most likely be different from the one you read?
Rikki would not be friends with Darzee and his wife.
Rikki would not fight Nag and Nagaina.
Rikki would bite Teddy and his family.
Rikki would die from Nag's venom.
all of the above
Lesson Topic: Snake Venom
Types of Snake VenomWritten by Kimberly Myers
What’s that slithering in the grass? Watch out! Whether you’re in the jungles of South America, the plains
of Africa, or even your own backyard in Texas, you may share a habitat with venomous snakes. Every year
in the U.S., venomous snakes bite about 8,000 people, but only about 12 people actually die each year
from venomous bites. This is because anti-venoms are widely available in the U.S. In poorer countries with
less developed health care systems, the fatality rate is much higher.
Every snake bite is different, and there are many different types of venom. Each type of snake venom
affects the body differently, requiring its own specialized treatment. The venom in most snakes is a
combination of three main toxins: cytotoxins, neurotoxins and hemotoxins. Experts classify the venom by
which toxin accounts for the largest percentage of the venom. For example, the King Cobra has mostly
neurotoxic venom, while the Eastern diamondback rattlesnake has mostly hemotoxic venom.
Cytotoxic Venom
Cytotoxic venom is considered the mildest form of venom, but it is still extremely dangerous. Cytotoxins
attack and destroy the cells around the bite wound to begin the digestion process before the snake even
swallows its prey! Cytotoxins will destroy muscles, tissue, and any other cells they come into contact with. If a
small animal is bitten by a snake with cytotoxic venom, it will experience muscle breakdown and possibly heart
failure. When humans are bitten by snakes with cytotoxic venom, the toxins will begin to destroy the cells
around the bite wound. If not treated quickly, the venom will continue to eat away at the bitten limb and
amputation may be necessary. American rattlesnakes are a common producer of cytotoxic venom.
Hemotoxic Venom
Venoms with hemotoxins stage a large-scale attack on the tissue and blood of the victim. The molecules in
the venom begin rapidly destroying red blood cells in the victim, preventing clotting and causing the victim’s
blood to become toxic. The body begins to deteriorate from the inside and the outside at the same time!
Though these bites are usually not fatal to humans unless a vein is bitten and the venom enters the blood
stream directly, in extreme cases, bite victims have died from internal bleeding. Pit vipers secrete hemotoxic
venom into their victims. This helps to make their prey, usually rodents, easier to swallow and digest.
Cobras, found in southeast Asia andsome parts of Africa, expand their neckribs when they feel threatened, creatinga recognizable "hood."
Neurotoxic Venom
Neurotoxic venom is the most deadly type of snake venom.
Neurotoxins affect the brain and nervous system by damaging
neurons and preventing the brain from communicating with the
body. In humans, symptoms of neurotoxic bites include dizziness,
drooling, difficulty swallowing, loss of consciousness, and eventually
respiratory failure. A swift and aggressive course of anti-venom
therapy is needed to avoid permanent loss of motor control and
death.
Cobras, mambas, sea snakes, kraits, and coral snakes all carry neurotoxic venom. Neurotoxic venom is
extremely effective. After injecting prey with neurotoxic venom, a snake won’t have to wait long until the animal
collapses as the nerve impulses normally sent between the brain and muscles are blocked. However, some
snakes produce an extremely fast-acting neurotoxic venom that prevents their prey from moving far at all. This
is the case with sea snakes; they need to prevent the fish they’ve bitten from swimming away!
Anti-Venom and Other Uses for Venom
Snakes use venom to immobilize their prey and begin the process of tissue death, but scientists are able to
use components of venom to help people. Anti-venom is actually made using the venom itself! In the process,
horses or sheep are immunized with a small amount of venom from a particular species of snake. As it reacts
to the injected venom, the animal’s body produces a healing serum that can be collected and processed so
that it can be administered to humans.
In addition to their continued importance in anti-venom production, scientists have recently discovered
other potential uses for the deadly toxins in snake venom. Components of snake venom show promise in
treating strokes, blood clots, Alzheimer’s Disease, and even aging. While snake venom is responsible for
the deaths of thousands of people around the world each year, scientists are hoping that it may help save
the lives of many thousands more.
Question 1:
What is the main purpose of this article?
to explain the uses of snake venom
to explain the types of snake venom
to explain how different snake venoms attack the body
all of the above
Question 2:
Where does the author explain humans' primary use of snake venom?
when explaining the different types of snake venom and how they work
when explaining recently discovered uses of snake venom
when explaining how anti-venom is formed
The author does not indicate the primary use of snake venom.
Question 3:
Read the passage below.
Venoms with hemotoxins stage a large-scale attack on the tissue and blood of the victim. The
molecules in the venom begin rapidly destroying red blood cells in the victim, preventing clotting
and causing the victim’s blood to become toxic. The body begins to deteriorate from the
inside and the outside at the same time!
What does deteriorate mean?
repair
expand
break down
change colors
Question 4:
Read the statement below.
In poorer countries with less developed health care systems, the fatality rate from snake venom
is much higher.
What does this statement contribute to the rest of the article?
It shows the prevalence of venomous snakes in other countries compared to theU.S.
It shows the need for and effectiveness of anti-venom.
It shows difference between Americans' and non-Americans' physical reactions tosnake venom.
all of the above
Question 5:
How does the author feel about snake venom?
Its benefits will never outweigh the hurt it has caused.
Its benefits may eventually balance out the hurt it has caused.
The author does not say.
Its benefits may eventually outweigh the hurt it has caused.
Question 6:
Which information from the text provides the most convincing evidence for the claim that neurotoxic
venom is the most powerful type of venom?
After a bite containing neurotoxic venom, a swift and aggressive course of anti-venom therapy is needed to avoid death.
Neurotoxic venom is extremely effective.
Cobras, mambas, sea snakes, kraits, and coral snakes all carry neurotoxicvenom.
Sea snakes need neurotoxic venom to prevent the fish they’ve bitten fromswimming away!
They are all equally convincing.
A poisonous snake is "milked" for his venom.
Question 7:
Which section of the article does this picture best support?
Types of Snake Venom
Cytotoxic Venom
Neurotoxic Venom
Hemotoxic Venom
Anti-Venom and Other Uses for Venom
Question 8:
Read the passage below.
Like poisonous snakes, mongooses have receptors in their brains that inhibit the absorption of
poisonous venom. Despite the mongoose’s invulnerability to poison, killing a snake is no easy feat.
Mongooses can still be harmed by snakes’ sharp fangs or strangled by their constricting bodies.
What topic is addressed by both the article and this passage?
anti-venom
the danger of contact with snakes
how to kill a snake
the harmful effects of snake venom
all of the above
Question 9:
A man in Texas is bitten on his foot by a snake but does not go to the hospital. Three days later, he
must have the bottom half of his leg amputated, as the venom has begun to spread. What type of
venom did the snake most likely produce?
cytotoxic
neurotoxic
hemotoxic
not enough information to determine
Lesson: Fairy Rings
Lesson Topic: Fairy Rings
Fairy RingsWritten by Thom Yates
Illustrated by Dan Rebegea
Chapter One:
Circles in the Dawn
Zach awoke early to the sound of birds singing like a choir outside his window. “The rain must have
finally gone away,” he thought, jumping enthusiastically from his bed. Peering out from his upstairs bedroom
window, he saw that the rain had indeed gone away, and the sun was shining brightly. As he looked out
over his yard from his high perch, he noticed something he’d never seen before. In his yard were three
perfectly round rings. The white circles stood out in the green grass like tiny armadas on a sea of green.
“What could these strange circles be?” he wondered.
He dressed quickly and hurried downstairs, where he found his mother had breakfast ready for him. “Did
you see them?” he asked, nearly out of breath.
“See what?” his mother asked.
“The rings in the backyard?” he was catching his breath. “Come look, there are three of them!” he said,
taking his mother by the hand. He led her to the large kitchen window overlooking the backyard.
Looking out at the circles of mushrooms that the rain had spawned, his mother said, “Oh, you mean the
fairy rings.”
“Fairy rings?” he appeared deep in thought as he pondered the unusual name.
Zach did not say much as he hastily ate his breakfast. His mind was wandering in several directions as
he carefully considered the fairy rings that had magically appeared overnight.
He gobbled his breakfast down and told his mother that he was going out in the backyard to investigate
the latest additions to the landscape.
“Okay,” his mother replied with a laugh, “but don’t step inside the fairy rings. You could fall in.”
Chapter Two:
Investigations
Zach ran out the back door, followed closely by Drac, his trusty companion and best friend. The black
Labrador Retriever hardly ever left his side. The two ran into the yard like they had never before seen the
outdoors. After all, it had been raining for three days straight, which seemed like an eternity to the twelve-
year-old boy.
The pair streaked across the yard. The dog ran much faster and raced around the boy, darting through
his legs and jumping up, trying to tackle him at every opportunity. Oftentimes, the oversized dog would get
tangled in Zachary’s legs and send them both tumbling to the ground like a sack of laundry falling off the
back of a truck.
Zach ran across the yard, stopping at the first of the abnormal rings he came to. Investigating it closely,
he said to no one in particular, “Mushrooms.” After a brief pause he continued, “The edges of the rings are
made up of white mushrooms. But why would they grow in perfect circles like this?”
Zach raced off to examine the next ring. Drac took his cue to begin the game again. They dashed across
the yard, Drac trying to bring the boy to the ground the whole way. Then it happened!
Chapter Three:
Strange Creatures in a Strange Land
The big Labrador ran between the boy’s legs just as he was slowing down for his examination of the next
circle. The collision sent both Drac and Zach sprawling across the land and right into the fairy ring. He
remembered Mother had warned him not to go inside the fairy rings, but it was too late. The two fell right in
the circle, and something very strange began to happen.
As Zach slid into the ring, the ground seemed to disappear. He began falling. He was spiraling
downward in a free-fall that seemed unending. He fell through a tunnel filled with a multitude of colors, the
likes of which Zach had never even imagined.
Suddenly he stopped, but he didn't crash. It was as though he was laid gently in a bed of colorful flowers.
However, these were not like any flowers the boy had ever seen. The odd flowers, although brilliantly
colored, had a harsh, thorny appearance. Despite their appearance, they weren’t rough or sharp. They
were softer than the fur on Drac’s ears.
Drac! Where was Drac? Did he fall into the fairy circle too? Then he heard a low swift “Shhhhh!” He
turned and saw a strange creature with one arm around Drac’s shoulders. Its other hand was gently
stroking the back of the big dog’s head. A strange creature indeed! What he saw with his dog appeared to
be a squirrel that was as big as a boy. It was dressed like Robin Hood, right down to the feathered cap.
“Who are you?” he asked timidly.
“Shhhhh, quiet they’ll hear you!” the strange creature responded in a sharp whisper, “and you don’t want
that!”
Just then the ground began to rumble beneath him. He barely made his way to where the squirrel was
holding the big Labrador behind a nearby tree when they began marching past. Soldiers! Hundreds of
soldiers marching heavily in unison came towards the tree.
There were so many, and they were so large, that the ground shook with each heavy footstep. These
were no ordinary soldiers. These soldiers were much taller and far broader than any man Zach had ever
seen. As they marched past, he could see their faces clearly. These soldiers looked like angry bulldogs with
huge tusks pointing upward from their lower jaws. All of them had numerous scars and deformities. Zach
knew the scars and wounds were undoubtedly the results of many savage battles.
“See what I mean?’ the strange squirrel said, extending a hand to Zach. “My name is Steve.”
Zach’s head spun like crazy, like he was riding inside the blender his mother used to turn fresh fruit into
smoothies. He had so many questions. “Where are we? How did we get here? How do we get home?” he
barraged his strange new companion with queries. “Why am I talking to a squirrel dressed like Robin
Hood?”
“Just slow down a minute,” Steve said holding both hands in front of him with his palms facing forward,
“I’ll try to explain it all to you.”
Zach scrambled to sit in safety beside his trusty canine, pulling the massive dog close to him. That’s
when he noticed. There was something very different about Drac’s fur. It suddenly felt more like feathers
than fur. What was going on? More questions, all he could come up with were more questions.
“Let’s walk,” Steve said with authority, “and I’ll tell you what you need to know as we go.”
“Okay, thanks,” was Zach’s reply. He was still bewildered by the recent events and this strange new
world.
Steve took them down the winding path between strange trees and other foliage, leading the way out of
the peculiar forest. As they walked, he told Zach how he had fallen through the fairy hole into the land of
gnomes and goblins. He explained that the gnomes were good and more than willing to help. The goblins,
on the other hand, were to be avoided at all cost!
Soon they emerged from the forest. Before them, stretching as far as the eye could see, was a flat, open
field of intense color.
As they continued into the field, the squirrel explained to Zach that he would find a citadel beyond the
vast field situated atop a tall mountain. The occupants of the castle would help him and Drac get home.
“Just be certain to avoid the goblins, and especially Nagual’s army.” That was the huge army of
marching soldiers he had seen earlier. “They destroy anyone or anything they come across,” the oversized
squirrel warned.
Just then, he caught sight of something from the corner of his eye. It was Drac running a short distance
to their right. His faithful companion appeared blacker than ever and considerably larger than he
remembered.
The dog seemed to be a little clumsier than usual. As Zach quizzically observed the awkward canine
lumbering through the colorful field, Steve told him in a knowing tone, “Don’t worry about your dog, he’s just
getting used to his new wings.” Just then the oversized hound spread his huge wings, jumping into the air
and tumbling across the colorful carpet of the huge field.
“Wings? Wings!” Zach could not hide his confusion.
“Yes, wings. As soon as he learns how to use them, he will prove himself even more valuable than you
could ever imagine,” his strange guide explained in calm, knowing voice.
For a while, Zach walked along with Steve and the knowledgeable guide explained all about the
outlandish place and things he should avoid within it. Drac was getting better at flying with each leap he
took.
Steve explained, “Flying will take a lot of his energy, so he won’t be able to fly too far or for very long. Be
sure you use it sparingly.” He continued, “Especially if he has you on his back. So don’t ride him unless it is
absolutely necessary.”
“This is as far as I go,” his guide explained, “Just keep heading in that direction,” he said, pointing
straight ahead. “Soon you will see the citadel that will show the way home.”
“But what if I miss it?” Zach’s voice was filled with apprehension.
“You won’t,” the giant squirrel responded. “Just have Drac fly ahead from time to time, so he can steer
you clear of impending dangers ahead.”
The now winged dog landed beside them. “Are you ready to get started Zach?” the dog asked.
“You can talk, too?”
“I always could,” Drac responded, “I just never had reason to until now.”
Chapter Four:
Passage to the Gateway
So off they went. They trudged through the unusual field of vibrant color and strange texture at a steady
pace. Periodically, Drac would take flight for a short time, scouting the area directly in front of the pair.
Occasionally, he would return and advise Zach that they should alter their direction to avoid danger. It
seemed as though they were zigzagging across the field, adding immeasurable distance to their daunting
journey, but Zach trusted his best friend.
After what seemed like all day, the dog returned from one of his many scouting trips and informed Zach,
“The castle atop the mountain is just over the next hill, in that direction. We won’t make it before dark, but
there is a small stand of trees up ahead where we can seek shelter for the night.”
Zach agreed that stopping for the night was a good idea. He was tired and his feet were beginning to
ache. After all, they’d been walking all day.
“Just keep going in that direction. I’ll meet you there,” the winged canine said as he once again took to
the air.
By the time he reached the small forest, Zach noticed the lavender sky had already begun to darken. He
marveled at the sight of the pale blue moon replacing the bright green sun as the sky took on a darker
purple hue. He was greeted by Drac who had gathered odd looking fruits and berries. “Eat up,” the dog
said, offering him something that looked a little like an apple.
“How do you know it’s safe to eat this?” he inquired, obviously concerned.
“I don’t know how I know,” his partner replied in a matter of fact attitude, “I just know they are.” Once
again, Zach had little choice but to trust his best friend. He was awfully hungry.
Chapter Five:
A New Day
The next morning, the pair awoke to the green sun climbing quickly up the sky. On its upward journey it
made the odd new world bright and colorful once again. They started on their way, the mountain and the
castle that crowned it now visible in the distance.
The day went by much as the first. Drac would fly a little searching for any impending dangers and return
to alter the boy’s route. He would walk along beside the boy for a time before taking flight again to scout a
safe route.
Soon they were at the foot of the mountain. They could see the castle perched far above, beyond the
rocky mountain face. The climb appeared as if it would be difficult, but they set out to begin their ascent
without hesitation. One carefully placed footstep after another, the upward hike was proving more difficult
than either had expected. Drac decided he would fly up the face and scout out the easiest route for his
human companion.
Every time Zachary found himself at a place on the craggy face that was large enough to sit, he would
take a brief rest before continuing upward.
The long, difficult climb finally ended and Zachary found himself standing at the edge of a sprawling
green lawn that spread out like a lush carpet. The vast space ended at the huge doors that would gain them
access to the castle and the way home. This lawn was the first thing he had seen that was even close to
anything normal. He noticed right away that the entire area was covered in white fairy rings, but these were
different. The inside of each ring was a different color!
The team of boy and dog made their way across the wide green lawn towards the heavy wooden doors
of the castle. They moved slowly, much slower than they had crossing the field, the entire way taking care
not to step inside any of the white mushroom rings they passed. Finally, they stood in front of the building,
dwarfed by the massive doors.
“This is it boy, we’re going home!” Zach said confidently.
The dog stood beside him in silence, obviously exhausted from the long journey.
Question 1:
Which emotion does Zach most often express?
confusion
anger
frustration
excitement
Question 2:
How does Zach and Drac's relationship change over the course of the story?
At the start of the story, they are friends. By the end of the story, they have grownto become even closer friends.
At the start of the story, they are best friends. By the end of the story, there istension between them.
At the start of the story, they don't know each other well. By the end of the story,they have grown to become close friends.
Their relationship does not change over the course of the story.
Question 3:
What is Steve's role in the story?
side-kick
guide and mentor
protagonist
antagonist
Question 4:
If you were reading this story out loud, what sort of voice would make the most sense to use for the
character Steve?
a quick, high-pitched voice
a slightly southern voice
a deep, calm voice
a slow, lumbering voice
Question 5:
Read the following passage.
The white circles stood out in the green grass like tiny armadas on a sea of green.
What sort of figurative language is this?
simile
metaphor
alliteration
onomatopoeia
Question 6:
Read the following simile.
The white circles stood out in the green grass like tiny armadas on a sea of green.
Why would the author compare the ring of mushrooms to an armada?
The white caps of the mushrooms look like the white sails of the ships.
The circular shape of the mushrooms looks like the circular way the ships sailtogether.
The brown stems of the mushrooms are like the brown hulls of the ships.
The mushrooms are an invasive species, like the invading ships of an enemyarmada.
Question 7:
What is the major challenge Zach and Drac face in this story?
They must save Steve from danger.
They must find a way to hide Drac's wings
They must defeat the evil goblin armies.
They must find a way to return home.
Question 8:
How does the author make Zach a relatable character?
Zach is a curious person.
Zach is clearly destined to be a hero.
Zach is extraordinarily brave.
Zach is often incorrect about simple things.
Question 9:
What is Drac's reason for why he is able to talk once they get into the fairy world?
The power of his friendship with Zach made him able to talk.
The magic of the fairy world both made him able to talk.
He could always talk, he just didn't have a reason to.
He is not sure why he is able to talk now, he just knows that he can.
Question 10:
How does Drac use his new-found ability of flight to aid Zach?
He scouts ahead for danger.
He flies Zach up the rocky cliff to get to the citadel.
He lets Zach ride him when Zach is tired.
He swoops down and attacks goblins threatening Zach.
Lesson Topic: Beware of Goblins
Beware of GoblinsWritten by Krista Garver
A typical goblin is a terribly uglycreature. In German stories, theystill enjoy the comforts of home,such as a chair and a pipe.
Two goblins walk through theirmines with a captured toad in ajar. Some myths show goblins astiny, gnome-like creatures, whileother myths depict them ashideous monsters.
Goblins are mythical creatures originally from British and German
legends. They are closely related in folklore to leprechauns and gnomes.
Unlike fairies and other magical beings that are sometimes kind, goblins
are pure mischief. At times, they are downright evil! Goblins are also ugly
– they are usually short with green skin and yellow, crooked teeth.
According to legend, goblins live in grottoes, which are small caves, or
other dark places. They are nomadic, which means that they don’t live in
one place very long. They only come out at night. They are very clever
and spend their time causing trouble for humans. In some tales, they are
tricksters, moving furniture around at night, banging on pots and pans,
tipping over milk bottles, and stealing pajamas.
Two small goblins steal a small child inthis rendering of a Swedish story.Goblins would sometimes replace thechildren they stole with changelings.
Hinzelmann is a goblin from a popularGerman folk story. He often looks like asmall child, and helps out around thehouse if he is treated well. But if he isignored, he causes all sorts of trouble!
In other tales, goblins are much more malicious. They like to
set fires and have been accused of making people have
nightmares. Some are even said to steal babies and replace them
with changelings. Goblins are also known for having huge
appetites. They raid pantries and steal food and animals. In some
stories, they even eat the children they steal!
Goblins especially enjoy terrorizing children. In fact, the only people who seem to get along with goblins
at all are parents. For centuries, parents have been using the threat of goblins as a way to scare children
into behaving.
Legends about goblins are found mainly in Europe, but no one
knows exactly when or where the first one started. British folklore
has stories of goblins who live in old castles and kill travelers who
enter their homes. They are said to stain their hats with the blood
of their victims. This is why they are also called redcaps. The most
famous redcap was Robin Redcap, a goblin who lived in a castle in
Scotland.
Oni areterrifyingmonsters inJapanesemythology.They are oftenhuge andstrong, andhave atendency to eatpeople.
In German stories, goblins usually choose just one family to play tricks on. In Greek
myths, goblins live underground but come out between December 25 and January 6 to
cause trouble. Stories about goblin-like creatures are even found in countries as different as
Zimbabwe and Japan. The main thing that all of the stories have in common is that goblins
are scary and should not be trusted.
Goblins have been a source of inspiration for many writers. Many early fairy tales from Hans Christian
Anderson and the Brothers Grimm were about goblins. More recently, goblins controlled the wizard bank in
the Harry Potter series. Goblins are also frequent characters in fantasy movies and games. As scary as
many of these goblins can be, we can at least be thankful that we’ll never see them in real life. No matter
how vividly we portray their green skin and crooked noses, they are still only just a myth!
Question 1:
Read the following passage.
In some tales, goblins are tricksters, moving furniture around at night, banging on pots and pans,
tipping over milk bottles, and stealing pajamas. In other tales, goblins are much more malicious.
They like to set fires and have been accused of making people have nightmares.
What does the word malicious mean?
being particularly skilled in causing pain or anguish
taking pleasure from the pain of others
having a desire or wish to harm others
consumed by greed
Question 2:
Which is the main idea of this article?
Goblins are mythical creatures that play tricks or cause harm to people.
Some goblins are simply mischievous, while others are actively malicious.
No matter how vividly we portray their green skin and crooked noses, they are stillonly just a myth.
Legends about goblins are found mainly in Europe, but no one knows exactlywhen or where the first one started.
Question 3:
Look at the illustration below. What features does it have that we usually find associated with most
goblins?
green skin
long, pointed ears
big, sharp teeth
two curved swords
Question 4:
Read the following passage.
Goblins especially enjoy terrorizing children. In fact, the only people who seem to get along with
goblins at all are parents.
What is the author implying?
Parents have an agreement with goblins to frighten children.
Parents enjoy scaring their children with goblin stories.
Goblins rarely attack adults in myths, choosing to frighten children instead.
Parents have used stories of goblins to frighten children.
Question 5:
How have stories of goblins changed over time?
Goblins have been reduced to a comical role in modern fantasy stories and folktales.
Early goblins were harmful, but later stories showed them as helpful creatures.
Many modern fantasy writers use versions of goblins in their stories, sometimes inuncommon ways.
Early depictions of goblins portrayed them as tiny creatures, but modern writersusually make them human-sized.
Question 6:
Which text would most likely present an opposing view about goblins?
Popular Japanese Myths and Folk Tales
"A Comparison of Myths, Legends, and Folk Tales From Around the World"
The Collected Short Stories of Hans Christian Andersen
"Reasons to Avoid Myth, Fantasy, and Witchcraft"
Question 7:
What statement would the author most likely agree with?
Myths and folk tales are entertaining and interesting.
Myths and folk tales can confuse people who think they are real.
Myths and folk tales have no use in modern society.
Myths and folk tales are useful for understanding a society's values.
Question 8:
Read the following passage.
Legends about goblins are found mainly in Europe, but no one knows exactly when or where the
first one started. British folklore has stories of goblins who live in old castles and kill travelers who
enter their homes. They are said to stain their hats with the blood of their victims. This is why they
are also called redcaps. The most famous redcap was Robin Redcap, a goblin who lived in a castle
in Scotland.
How is the passage structured?
It starts with a general claim, and then it provides two specific examples.
It starts with a rhetorical question, and then it gives three answers to the question.
It begins with a specific example, and then it gives a general claim.
It starts with a problem, and then it gives two solutions.
Question 9:
Which is a way that the German goblin Hinzelmann is similar to many other common portrayals of
goblins?
Hinzelmann causes mischief and trouble when he is not treated well.
Hinzelmann often appears as a small child.
Hinzelmann wears fine clothing.
Hinzelmann is helpful around the house when he is treated well.
Question 10:
Read the following passage.
In German stories, goblins usually choose just one family to play tricks on. In Greek myths, goblins
live underground but come out between December 25 and January 6 to cause trouble. Stories
about goblin-like creatures are even found in countries as different as Zimbabwe and Japan. The
main thing that all of the stories have in common is that goblins are scary and should not be trusted.
Which statement could not be supported by this passage?
Goblin stories can be found around the world, although they are most common inEurope.
Goblins are portrayed in many ways, but there are common similarities betweenstories.
Goblins are commonly used in stories to scare listeners.
Stories of goblins began in the Europe and spread around the world from there.
Lesson Topic: Myths and Fairy Rings
Don’t Step on the Mushrooms: Myths and Fairy Rings
Written by Krista Garver
This fairy ring grew in a modernsuburban front lawn in England. Fairyrings might be small circles, but they canalso be quite large.
Gnomes, elves, andother small woodsprites are commonlyassociated withmushrooms.
A fairy ring is a circle of mushrooms that grows because the
subterranean parts of the mushrooms spread out in a ring. These
rings have a special place in European myths. They are thought to
be places where fairies dance in the moonlight and places that
serve as entrances to magical kingdoms.
Myths about fairy rings date back hundreds of years. One of the earliest mentions
of fairy rings is “witches’ rings” in Germany. According to myth, the rings were made
by witches dancing in the forest. In England, the witches’ rings were translated into
fairy rings or pixie rings. In Scandinavian folklore, the rings are created by elves.
Some myths say that the fairies use the mushrooms as dinner tables or umbrellas.
A man saves his friend from steppinginto a fairy circle in this 19th centuryprint. Fairies are often depicted asdancing around the perimeter of thecircle.
Shakespeare mentions fairy circles in hiscomedy A Midsummer Night's Dream,where a fairy says, "And I serve the fairyqueen/ To dew her orbs upon thegreen." Here, the king and queen of thefairies look on as other fairies dance in afairy ring.
Whichever magical creatures created them, the rings are seen
as signs for humans to stay away. They are entrances to the fairy
or pixie world. Some stories tell of people walking into a fairy ring
and being transported to strange places, never to return.
Sometimes they are said to travel through time. Other stories tell
of people wandering into a circle and then losing an eye, going to
sleep for 100 years, dying young, or becoming invisible. One of
the cruelest tricks fairies are said to play on intruders is to make
them dance until they die or go crazy.
There are ways to escape fairy rings, but it usually requires help. Different myths offer these solutions:
throwing wild herbs into the circle, touching the person with iron, and uttering enchanted words. Often,
someone who enters a ring cannot be rescued until one year and one day later. If they get out, a long time
may have passed, or they might have no memory. Even worse, they might later turn to dust or disappear.
Other European countries have different myths. In Holland,
fairy rings are created when the devil puts down a milk churn. In
Austria, they are made by flying dragons. In France, fairy rings are
guarded by giant toads, and for seven years only toadstools will
grow.
In some myths, fairy rings are lucky. According to Welsh folklore, they help sheep and crops to grow.
Another myth says that it is lucky to build a house on a fairy ring. In some places, people have apparently
received good fortune after dancing within a fairy ring.
With so many myths based upon fairy rings, what do you make of them? If you saw one, would you
approach it? Even if you’d rather not, at least now you can entertain your friends with stories about them!
Question 1:
Which passage best illustrates the idea that there are many opinions about fairy rings?
Often, someone who enters a ring cannot be rescued until one year and one daylater... In some places, people have apparently received good fortune afterdancing within a fairy ring.
In some myths, fairy rings are lucky... Another myth says that it is lucky to build ahouse on a fairy ring.
They are entrances to the fairy or pixie world... Some stories tell of people walkinginto a fairy ring and being transported to strange places, never to return.
Myths about fairy rings date back hundreds of years... According to myth, the ringswere made by witches dancing in the forest.
Question 2:
How are fairy rings actually created?
Pixies, fairies, or other sprites dance in the moonlight.
Witches dance in the forest in a circle.
The underground parts of a mushroom grows in ring shape.
How they are made changes from country to country.
Question 3:
Read the following passage.
A fairy ring is a circle of mushrooms that grows because the subterranean parts of the
mushrooms spread out in a ring. These rings have a special place in European myths. They are
thought to be places where fairies dance in the moonlight and places that serve as entrances to
magical kingdoms.
What does the word subterranean mean?
poisonous
nutrient-rich
hidden
underground
Question 4:
Which of the following is not a way that humans are punished for stepping into a fairy ring?
get turned into stone
going to sleep for 100 years
make the humans dance until they die or go crazy
losing an eye
Question 5:
Read the following two passages.
Passage 1:
Myths about fairy rings date back hundreds of years. One of the earliest mentions of fairy rings is
“witches’ rings” in Germany. According to myth, the rings were made by witches dancing in the
forest. In England, the witches’ rings were translated into fairy rings or pixie rings. In Scandinavian
folklore, the rings are created by elves.
Passage 2:
Other European countries have different myths. In Holland, fairy rings are created when the devil
puts down a milk churn. In Austria, they are made by flying dragons. In France, fairy rings are
guarded by giant toads, and for seven years only toadstools will grow.
How are these two passages related?
Both passages talk about the use of fairy rings.
Both passages detail myths of how fairy rings are created.
Both passages talk about German fairy rings.
Both passages detail myths of how dangerous fairy rings are.
none of the above
Question 6:
Read the following passage.
(1) There are ways to escape fairy rings, but it usually requires help. (2) Different myths offer these
solutions: throwing wild herbs into the circle, touching the person with iron, and uttering enchanted
words. (3) Often, someone who enters a ring cannot be rescued until one year and one day later. (4)
If they get out, a long time may have passed, or they might have no memory. (5) Even worse, they
might later turn to dust or disappear.
Which sentence best supports the idea that there are many ways to escape a fairy ring?
sentence 1
sentence 2
sentence 3
sentence 4
sentence 5
Question 7:
William Blake's Oberon, Titania, and Puck with Fairies Dancing shows the king and queen of the
fairies watching their subjects dancing in a fairy circle. What does this illustration show us about
portrayals of fairies?
Fairies are normally fun-loving.
Fairies enjoy wearing crowns and jewels.
Fairies are able to fly.
The king and queen of fairies are very strict.
Question 8:
In the previous question, you determined that fairies are normally fun-loving creatures. Which
passage from the article seems to conflict with that idea?
Some myths say that the fairies use the mushrooms as dinner tables or umbrellas.
In some places, people have apparently received good fortune after dancingwithin a fairy ring.
One of the cruelest tricks fairies are said to play on intruders is to make themdance until they die or go crazy.
They are thought to be places where fairies dance in the moonlight and placesthat serve as entrances to magical kingdoms.
Question 9:
What is the purpose of this article?
to compare and contrast different myths about fairy rings
to entertain the reader with myths about fairy circles
to explain myths surrounding fairy circles
to convince the reader that the fairy rings are nothing more than a ring ofmushrooms
Question 10:
The author concludes the article with two questions:
With so many myths based upon fairy rings, what do you make of them? If you saw one, would you
approach it?
Which main point do these two questions summarize?
There are many conflicting myths about fairy rings in Europe.
Many myths about fairy rings involve people getting trapped in the land of Fairy.
Fairy rings are actually simply mushrooms whose subterranean parts grow in aring.
The original, German name for fairy rings was witch's rings.
Question 11:
How does the fairy ring in the story "Fairy Rings" conform to some of the myths about fairy rings?
Zach is teleported into fairy world.
Zach is tormented by fairies after trespassing in the fairy ring.
Zach needs to use iron in order to escape a strange world.
Zach sees a creature that is forced to dance.
