, I

: ·1

I I I

Name:

WORDS IN CONTEXT

Date: The Great Kapok Tree

SELECTION VOCABULARY

Tell whether each of the following statements is true or false. If it is false, explain why.

1. To be silent means to talk a lot. _____________ _

2. A community of animals is a group of animals that live in the same area.

3. The ruins of something is what is left after something is destroyed. __

4. A squawking bird is a pleasant thing to hear. _________ _

5. Someone who hesitated would talk without stopping. ______ _

6. Family members of people, animals, or plants related to earlier relatives

are referred to as generations. ________ _

Level 9/Unit 1 Selection Vocabulary 103

I I I

104

Name: Date : The Great Kapok Tree

COMPREHENSION: Foll1 GENEIWllATIONS

GENERALIZING IN THE JUNGLE Match the generalizations below about the importance of trees with the creatures or humans who make these statements or to whom these statements apply.

1. jaguar a. Creatures who live in them pollinate trees and flowers.

b. Trees produce oxygen that 2. boa constrictor animals and humans need to

live.

3. bee c. Trees provide places for small

animals that larger animals feed on.

4. tree porcupine d. Trees help make the forest beautiful.

e. Snakes make their homes in 5. monkeys trees.

f. He says nothing, but his actions reveal his understanding of the

6. sloth statements made to him.

g. Once trees disappear, people clear underbrush and only ruins

7. toucan remain.

h. He believes that if the sleeping

8. tree frog man sees the creatures of the forest with new eyes, he will not hurt the trees.

9. child i. The roots hold the soil of the forest in place.

j. A ruined forest means many 1 O. sleeping man ruined lives.

Extension: Have students make generalizations about the people who cut down the trees.

Level 9/Unit 1 17\ Form Generalizations

:E 3:: (!)

" C:

e " as

I I

Name: Date:

THE END OF THE WORD Is NEAR

The Great Kapok Tree VOCABULARY: Summ

A suffix is a word part or element that you add to the end of a word. It creates a new word with its own meaning. Sometimes the spelling of a word changes when you add a suffix. Some.common suffixes include: -ous (means ''full of' or "causing") -/y (means "in a particular way")

-fut (means ''full of') -less ( means "without")

-y (means ''full of' or "having")

In each sentence from the selection, circle the suffix in the underlined word. Then write a new sentence, replacing the underlined word with a phrase that has the same meaning. Here's an example:

The canopy is a ~place that touches the sky. The canopy is a place full of sun that touches the sky.

1. You will leave many of us homeless if you chop down this great Kapok tree.

2. And surely you know that what happens tomorrow depends upon what you do today.

3. The big man tells you to chop down a beautiful tree.

j: 4. He felt the steamy mist rising from the forest floor. i f!!

C,

" ::; c E j 5. What wondrous and rare animals they were!

Level 9/Unit 1 STRUCTURAL CLUES: Suffixes

Extension: Have students reread what the tree frog said. Ask them to come up with different ways to describe the tree frog's voice.

I'

11

\ 11

I. I 11 l1

I\ .,

105

Name: Date:

SEEING THE f OR EST FOR THE TREES

The Great Kapok Tree COHPREHENSION: SrmNG

The setting is where and when the events in a story take place. In ''Th~ Gre~t Kapok Tree" the setting is very important. Analyzing the setting will help you understand why the different characters feel the way they do. Answer each of the following questions about the setting of ''The Great Kapok Tree."

1. How does the author describe the forest animals who live in the rain forest?

2. When sunlight breaks through the forest canopy, how does the author describe its effects on the forest?

3. How are the plants described?

4. How does the author describe the smell of the plants dangling from the Kapok tree?

s. Judging from the way the author d~scribes and portrays the Amazon rain forest, how do you think she wants us to feel

106

about it?

Extension: Have students write a paragraph in which they describe a local park using as many descriptive details as possible.

Level 9/Unit 1 '?1 ANALYZE STORY ELEMENTS: Setting

' ,I

i '

I

' '

Name: Date:

AUTHORS HAVE ATTITUDE!

The Great Kapok Tree COMPREHENSION: AUTHOR'S PURPOSE

AND POINT 01 VIEW

Authors often have a particular point of view, or attitude about something, which they express through their writing. Recognizing an author's point of view can help you understand an author's purpose, or reason for writing. Tell what you think about the author's purpose and point of view by answering the questions below.

1. Tell three things about the story that entertained you.

2. Did the story teach you anything about rain forests? What did you learn?

3. What are three things that you think the author is trying to persuade you to believe?

4 . . What do you think is the author's attitude, or point of view, about the rain forest? Explain your answer.

5. ff you were the man with the ax, would you have left the forest too?

Level 9/Unit 1 Author's Purpose and Point of View

Extension: Have students look back at other stories they have read this year and ask them to tell which story was the most entertaining, which the most informative, and which was the most persuasive.

107

Name:

JUST BECAUSE

Date: The Great Kapok Tree COHPREHENSION: UUSE AND EFFECT

In ''The Great Kapok Tree" it is important to understand what events happen and why they happen. Answer the following questions about cause and effect.

1. Why did the man come into the rain forest?

2. What will happen to the oxygen supply if the trees are chopped down?

3. What will happen to the soil if the trees disappear?

4. What will happen to the animals if the trees are destroyed?

5. Why, at the beginning of the selection, do the creatures become quiet when the two men enter the forest?

6. What does the toucan say will happen once the trees are chopped down?

7. Why does the jaguar depend upon the tree?

a. What does the child think might happen if the sleeping man can learn to look upon the rain forest in a new way?

108 Extension: Have students write down other examples of cause and effect In the selection. Encourage students to share them with the rest of the class.

Level 9/Unit 1 ORGANIZE INFORMATION: 8 Cause and Effect

Name: Date: The Great Kapok Tree STORY COHPREHENSION

You AND ME AND A TREE Think about the world you have just read about in "The Great Kapok Tree." Then answer the questions below.

QUESTIONS ANSWERS

1. What is the setting?

2. Who are the main characters?

3. What is the problem?

4. What happens while the man is sleeping?

5. How does the story end?

..

Level 9/Unit 1 Story Comprehension

Extension: Ask students to sum up the message of ''The Great Kapok Tree." What lesson or moral do they think the author is trying to teach about the rain forest and the relationship between people and the environment? 109

Name: Date : The Great Kapok Tree

INFORMATION RESOURCES: (HARTS AND TABLES

CREATURES OF THE NIGHT (AND DAY) Charts and tables make it easier to remember information. The table below is based upon information in "The Great Kapok Tree." Fill in the information asked for about each creature.

Creature

1. -------------

2. ---------- - --

3. -------------

4. -------------

5. -------------

6. -------------

7. -------------

8. -------------

9. What might you title this table?

This creature tells the sleeping man that

tree is home where ancestors have lived

hive is in tree, and it flies from tree to tree and flower to flower collecting pollen

roots of trees will wither and soil will wash away

once trees are gone, people settle land, clear underbrush, and forest disappears ruined forest means ruined lives

tree is source of food

trees produce oxygen

try to see the rain forest and its creatures in new way

1 o. What is the order in which the creatures above are listed?

110 Extension: Have students make a chart for another story they have read. You might display these charts in a designated area in the classroom.

Level 9/Unit 1 Graphic Aids:

Charts and Tables