Name: WEEK 24

Nonfiction Text Features DAY 1

READ THE INFORMATION   Study the table of contents and read the excerpt from a science text.

An Icy Mass
Contents At the far reaches of
the solar system,
beyond Neptune’s or
bit, a dark mass of ice
Introduction ........ ....... ....... ..... i orbits the sun. The
mass is Pluto, once
Chapter 1  The Sun ........ ....... .... 1 as the smallest plan known
et of Earth’s solar sy
In 2006, astronomer stem.
Chapter 2  Mercury .. ....... ....... .... 17 s classified Pluto as
dwar f planet. a
Chapter 3  Venus. . ....... ....... ....... 33
Although its great di
Chapter 4  Earth.. ....... ....... ....... . 45 stance from Earth
makes it difficult for
Chapter 5  The Moon ........ ....... .. 52 astronomers to stud
do know some things y, we
Chapter 6  Mars ........ ....... ....... . 66 about Pluto. For exam
this dwar f planet is ple,
only about two-third
Chapter 7  Jupiter ........ ....... ...... 72 size of Earth’s moon. s the
We also know that Pl
Chapter 8  Saturn ....... ....... ....... 80 rotates very slowly uto
on its axis. During on
e day
Chapter 9  Uranus...... ....... ....... . 85 on Pluto, six days pa
ss on Earth.
Chapter 10  Neptune.. ....... ....... ... 92 We know, too, that
it takes 248 years fo
Pluto to orbit the su r
Chapter 11  Asteroids. . ....... ....... .. 98 n. The path it takes
br
inside Neptune’s orbi in gs it
Chapter 12  Beyond Asteroids ....... 99 t of the sun for seve
ra l
years at a time. In ot
Index  ........ ....... ....... ....... ...... 104 her words, during th
period, Pluto is close is
r to the sun— and to
Earth —than Neptun
e is.

SKILL PRACTICE   Read the item. Write your response.

1. What would be a good title for this book and why?

2. On which page could you start reading about NASA’s missions to the moon? Explain your choice.

3. To which chapter would you turn to read about solar flares? Explain your choice.

STRATEGY PRACTICE   Explain why scientists don’t know much about Pluto. Then list two facts that we know.

© Evan-Moor Corp. • EMC 3615 • Daily Reading Comprehension 155

Name: WEEK 24
Nonfiction Text Features DAY 2
READ THE INTERVIEW   Notice how Carlos Martin responds to the interviewer’s questions.

Carlos Martin, Firefighter

Kids Careers caught up with Carlos Martin at his fire station in Dusterville, Iowa.
Kids Careers: Walk us through a day in the life of a small-town firefighter.
Carlos: Much of the day is fairly uneventful. In the morning, I make coffee. Then I check
the truck and equipment, make sure the logbook is up to date, and straighten up the kitchen.
Most of our daily duties involve making sure the station is tidy. We spend a lot of time here, including
sleeping and eating.
Kids Careers: What’s the most common type of call you get on an average day?
Carlos: Most calls aren’t emergencies. For example, Mrs. Epstein calls us whenever she burns
dinner accidentally. She has a sensitive smoke detector, and she can’t reach it to turn off the alarm.
Kids Careers: What’s the best part of working as a firefighter?
Carlos: Being on a team with skilled people. They’ve become my good friends. We’re like a family.
Kids Careers: What’s the worst fire that you’ve seen?
Carlos: During my first week on the job, we were called out to a tanker truck that had caught fire on
the highway. Only the front part was on fire, but we had to work fast because the tanker was full of
gasoline. It was a tough situation, but my team and I took care of it safely. That’s when I knew I had
made the right decision to become a firefighter.
Kids Careers: What advice do you have for kids who want to be firefighters?
Carlos: Get good grades, stay physically fit, and be a good community member. Firefighters are
there to help people, and I think it’s the best job in the world.

SKILL PRACTICE   Read the item. Write your response.

1. Where does this interview take place?

2. What made the tanker truck fire the worst that Carlos has seen?

3. What do you think Kids Careers is? Explain.

STRATEGY PRACTICE   Write a related question that the interviewer might ask after hearing about the tanker
truck fire. Have a partner answer it as if he or she is Carlos Martin.

156 Daily Reading Comprehension • EMC 3615 • © Evan-Moor Corp.

Name: WEEK 24
Visual Information DAY 3
READ THE PASSAGE   Notice how the information in the diagram and the text support each other.

How a Tsunami Forms

A tsunami (soo-NAH-mee) is a
TSUNAMI
massive ocean wave usually caused by WAVE

an earthquake beneath the ocean. Most

earthquakes occur where two plates, or
blocks of Earth’s crust, come together. OCEAN
When the plates push against each
other, one plate can snap up suddenly,
releasing energy upward. The energy is
then transferred into the ocean, causing CRUST CRUST
(plate 1) energy (plate 2)
a tsunami wave to rise and spread out
in two directions. In deeper water, the
wave moves faster and farther than
in shallow water. A tsunami can travel
thousands of miles before it reaches
the shore.

SKILL PRACTICE   Read the item. Write your response.

1. What do the circles in the middle of the diagram indicate?

2. What happens to the wave of water caused by an undersea earthquake?

3. Where would you be likely to see this text and diagram?

STRATEGY PRACTICE   Write a short caption for the diagram to summarize how an earthquake can cause
a tsunami.

© Evan-Moor Corp. • EMC 3615 • Daily Reading Comprehension 157

Name: WEEK 24
Visual Information DAY 4
READ THE GRAPH   Think about the information in the graph.

Favorite Sports of Fifth and Sixth Graders

30
Number of Students

25 Fifth graders
Sixth graders
20

15

10

0
Soccer Baseball Swimming Basketball
Sports

SKILL PRACTICE   Read the item. Write your response.

1. Which sports are more popular with fifth graders than sixth graders?

2. The same number of fifth graders voted for which two sports as their favorites?

3. How many fifth graders were polled? How many sixth graders? How do you know?

STRATEGY PRACTICE   How would you change this graph to compare favorite sports for grades 5, 6, and 7?

158 Daily Reading Comprehension • EMC 3615 • © Evan-Moor Corp.