Reading informational texts. Directions: Today you will be taking a short test using what you have learned about reading nonfiction texts.

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1 Name: Date: Teacher: Reading informational texts Lesson Quick Codes for this set: LZ1625, LZ1626, 1627, 1628, LZ1629 Common Core State Standards addressed: RI.3.1, RI.3.2, RI.3.4, RI.3.5 Lesson Text: Come and Get It by Kira Freed Assessment Text: Keeping our Oceans Clean by Patricia Abbey, adapted from the article Oil Spills courtesy of NOAA ( Directions: Today you will be taking a short test using what you have learned about reading nonfiction texts. 1) (RI.3.5) Preview the article, Keeping Our Oceans Clean by looking at the title and headings of this article. What do you predict this text will be about? Now read the article, Keeping Our Oceans Clean and answer the questions below. LearnZillion, Inc., 2012

2 2) (RI.3.4) Use the glossary at the end of the article Keeping Our Oceans Clean to help you determine the meaning of the word pollution in the section below. Use the space provided to explain in your own words what pollution means. (Hint: you may want to start your sentence with the words, Pollution is a word that means ) What causes clean ocean waters to become dirty ocean waters? Humans! In fact, most of the pollution found in oceans today is caused by, or comes from, people. 3) (RI.3.1) Read the section from the article, Keeping Our Oceans Clean. What does this look like? Sketch a picture to show your understanding of the text. Scientists call trash that can be found in the ocean marine debris. This floating garbage can cause lots of problems for the animals and plants that make their homes in the ocean. For example, even small pieces of litter, such as soda cans, plastic bags, or glass bottles, can get tangled around animals. With their bodies caught in plastic or cut by sharp objects, the animals may not be able to find food to survive. Or they may become easy targets for larger predators such as sharks, which then end up eating the harmful plastics and other materials. LearnZillion, Inc., 2012

3 4) (RI.3.2) Read the section of text below. What new information did you learn in this section? Write what you learned below. Marine debris is not the only kind of pollution in the ocean. The water of the ocean itself must be clean and fresh in order for animals to survive. One type of water pollution comes from chemicals from the land called runoff. Runoff is caused when chemicals from cars, trucks, boats, and farms drain into rivers and streams. The rivers and streams eventually flow into the sea, bringing lots of harmful chemicals with them. 5) (RI.3.1) Now think about the entire article. Explain what happens to plants and animals when the oceans get polluted. Make sure you use specific examples from the text. LearnZillion, Inc., 2012

4 By Patricia Abbey Adapted from the article Oil Spill courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Imagine that you re lying on the beach. Waves are lapping at the shore by your feet. Families and friends come to play and relax around you on the sandy shore. Now picture that same ocean full of garbage and other pollutants! You see dirty brown waves with pieces of trash and dead fish floating ashore. Would you want to swim in that ocean? Of course not! What causes clean ocean waters to become dirty ocean waters? Humans! In fact, most of the pollution found in oceans today is caused by, or comes from, people. Litter on the high seas Scientists call trash that can be found in the ocean marine debris. This floating garbage can cause lots of problems for the animals and plants that make their homes in the ocean. For example, even small pieces of litter, such as soda cans, plastic bags, or glass bottles, can get tangled around animals. With their bodies caught in plastic or cut by sharp objects, the animals may not be able to find food to survive. Or they may become easy targets for larger predators such as sharks, which then end up eating the harmful plastics and other materials. 1 P a g e

5 Dirty Water Marine debris is not the only kind of pollution in the ocean. The water of the ocean itself must be clean and fresh in order for animals to survive. One type of water pollution comes from chemicals from the land called runoff. Runoff is caused when chemicals from cars, trucks, boats, and farms drain into rivers and streams. The rivers and streams eventually flow into the sea, bringing lots of harmful chemicals with them. Oil Spills Oil, which is used to make the gasoline most of our cars need to run, can also cause damage to ocean water. Much of the world s oil can be found in the rocks deep below the ocean floor. In order to collect oil, ships with special equipment dig deep holes into the ocean floor and use long pipes to bring the oil to the top of the water. But if the oil gets out into the ocean, it can cause big problems for the environment. In April 2010, a ship drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico had an accident. An explosion started a fire that killed eleven workers and caused the ship to sink. It was a tragedy. The explosion also caused oil to begin leaking into the ocean. For 87 days, the oil spilled into the water, damaging plant and animal life for hundreds of miles. Experts arrived quickly and worked day and night to stop the oil and help clean up the mess. Although the spill was eventually stopped, a lot of damage to ocean life was caused. Oil stuck to the delicate skin of whales, dolphins, and other mammals, making it difficult for them to swim and breathe. Oil also coated birds feathers, which made it impossible for them to fly or hunt for food. If eaten, oil is dangerous and even life-threatening for humans and animals alike. After the oil spill, lots of sick animals were found along the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists and volunteers worked hard to clean them up and return them to the ocean. However, scientists are still concerned about the effects of the spill. They wonder if the offspring of animals that were harmed by the oil will also have health problems. It will take a long time for the ocean life in the Gulf of Mexico to fully recover. 2 P a g e

6 What can you do? How can we put an end to future ocean pollution in order to save marine plants and animals? To start, we must throw away our waste in a safe manner and work together to help clean up litter even when it is not our own trash. If you live near a beach, you can join a beach cleanup effort. Most importantly, we can inform others about the dangerous effects of dumping oil and chemicals into the ocean. There are no good excuses for littering! Glossary Chemicals (n) Delicate (adj) Experts (n) Marine (adj) Offspring (n) Pollution (n) Predator (n) An often harmful or dangerous substance fragile or easily breakable, not strong, glass is delicate someone who knows a lot about a topic related to the ocean the child of an animal materials that are harmful to a place or the things living in it an animal that hunts another animal for food 3 P a g e