Ric Comprehending Our World: Ages 11+ by Teacher Superstore

RIC-6436 3.5/975

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Comprehending our world (5–7) Comprehending our world (8–10)

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Introduction Comprehending our world covers a wide range of thoroughly-researched topics with titles familiar to the students. The texts, questions and additional activities require the students to delve into the topics to a depth appropriate to their level of understanding.

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Titles in the series are: Comprehending our world Ages 5–7 Comprehending our world Ages 8–10 Comprehending our world Ages 11+

Teachers notes............................................................................................................................. iv – v Film production.......................................34–35

Democracy..................................................2–3

An archaeological dig..............................36–37 © R . I . C . P u b l i cat i ons Lasers.....................................................38–39 The jet engine.............................................6–7 Ouro skin..................................................40–41 Global • warming...........................................8–9 f orr evi ew pur p sesonl y• Termite mounds...........................................4–5

Submarines.............................................12–13

Anacondas..............................................44–45

Creature camouflage...............................14–15

The great escape.....................................46–47

Our bones...............................................16–17

Malaria...................................................48–49

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Cyclones.................................................42–43

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The Olympic Games.................................10–11

Wimbledon tennis tournament.................18–19

Sharks.....................................................50–51

Thunderstorms.........................................20–21

Juries.....................................................52–53

UNICEF....................................................22–23

Building a road........................................54–55

Stem cells...............................................24–25

Beehives.................................................56–57

Our lungs................................................26–27

Cigarettes................................................58–59

Airbus A380............................................28–29

Lighting your home..................................60–61

TheVenus flytrap......................................30–31

The common cold....................................62–63

Hunting in packs......................................32–33

The eagle................................................64–65

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Comprehending our world

Teachers notes Comprehending our world contains 32 units, each with two pages:

• Teachers page

• Students page

The teachers page provides additional information for the teacher. It contains five sections designed to help teachers when presenting the worksheets to the students. Each teachers page contains: • indicator

• teachers notes

• answers

• additional activities

• curriculum links.

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Teachers notes: provides additional information about the topic which may be of interest and help with the delivery of the worksheet.

Indicator: states the objective for the reading/ comprehension activity.

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Answers: to the comprehension questions. Answers to applied questions require checking by the teacher. In such cases, examples of possible answers have been given.

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Additional activities: have been provided to encourage further research of the subject.These can be attempted by students of all abilities as each can work at his/her own level.

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Curriculum links: for all states, covering the comprehension and additional activities.

Comprending our world

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Teachers notes The students page provides:

• informative text

• comprehension questions.

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The title of the text is given

The text provides a concise, well-researched explanation of how the subject works. The subjects of the text include topics from: • the natural world—human body, plant, animal, weather

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The questions include:

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• the three levels of comprehension:

– literal, in which the answers may be found directly from the text

– inferential, in which the exact answers are not given but clues are provided from which the correct answer may be deduced

– applied, in which the reader is required to think deeply about the text and incorporate his/her own personal experience and knowledge to provide a suitable answer

• vocabulary development, in which words are given and students are asked to find synonyms from the text.

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Comprehending our world

o cr a c y m e D Indicator

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Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of democracy.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes Answers

1. Criminals and the insane

2. vote

3. presiding officer

4. ministers

5. polling station/booth

6. Teacher check

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• A unicameral government has only a single chamber (like the state government in Queensland, Australia).

7. Teacher check

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• Organise a class election, including candidates giving campaign speeches. Prepare voting slips listing candidates’ names and ensure all voters know how to vote; e.g. placing candidates in order of preference. Conduct a ‘Declaration of the poll’ result.

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• Find out what a ‘donkey vote’ is.

• Find out the name of the electorate your parents vote in and who its representative is.

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• Choose a minister from your country’s government and find information/pictures about him/her.

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• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a unicameral government; for example, there are fewer politicians to pay salaries to but there is no second house (e.g. upper house) to monitor the workings of the party in power.

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English TS3.1,TS3.2, RS3.5, RS3,6, WS3.9, WS3.12 3.1, 4.1, 3.2, 4.2, 3.3, 4.3, 3.4, 4.4 Refer to curriculum documents on http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au ENSL0401, ENSL0402, ENRE0401, ENRE0402, ENWR0401, ENWR0402 LS 4.1, LS 4.2, R4.1, R 4.2, W 4.1, W 4.2 2

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Democracy Read the text and answer the questions.

party members can not make their own decisions on an issue and have to agree with the decisions that the majority of the party wants. Sometimes, political parties form an alliance and govern as a coalition government. Most often, the party with most elected members usually forms the government and its leader selects a cabinet, a committee of the most able members (who then become ministers). The second largest party becomes the ‘Opposition’. The Opposition often acts as a watch dog and can criticise government decisions by voting against them or suggesting alternative policies.

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he word ‘democracy’ means ‘government by the people’. It was first used in the 5th century BCE by a Greek historian named Herodotus. Our word comes from the Greek words ‘demos’ (the people) and ‘kratein’ (to rule). Most democratic countries have a representative democracy where eligible citizens in an electorate vote for a candidate of their choice. Votes are cast at a polling station run by a presiding officer, who ensures complete privacy for people voting in the secret ballot. To attract votes, candidates organise campaigns where they inform electors of their plans in local community halls, on TV, in radio interviews or on a website. Usually, voters have to be a certain age and citizens of the country. Ineligible (disenfranchised) citizens who have no right to vote include the insane and convicted criminals.

Most democracies have bicameral parliaments, with a lower house where the government and opposition sit, and an upper house where elected senators sit. The government needs approval from the upper house before its decisions become statutes (written laws for the country).

People who wish to be members of parliament can stand as independent candidates or as members of a political party, such as the Greens or Liberals. Often,

2. What is a disenfranchised person unable to do?

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3. Who is in charge of a polling station? 4. What are cabinet members called?

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1. Which people can not vote in an election?

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5. Where does an elector cast his/her vote?

6. Why do you think the ballots are kept secret?

7. Do you think it would be better to be a member of a party or to be an independent politician? Explain your answer. R.I.C. Publications®

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Comprehending our world

m e oun t i m r ds e T Indicator

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

• Tie sticks together to show the height of a 9-m high mound.

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Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of termite mounds.

• Show condensation on the surface of a cold pane of glass using steam from an electric kettle/jug.

Answers

1. wings

2. excavated

3. huge jaws

4. The termites’ breath

6. sterile © R . I . C . P u bl i cat i ons 7. with their sense of smell 8. Teacher check •f orr e vi ew pur posesonl y• Additional activities 5. in flight

• Find information on aardvarks and pangolins (which attack termite mounds) and write a short paragraph about each.

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• Research and draw an accurate diagram of the inside of a termite mound. • Research and write a short paragraph on ‘magnetic mounds’.

• Research and write about two other social insects which live together like termites.

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Termite mounds Read the text and answer the questions.

uge termite mounds are familiar sights in subtropical and tropical regions. Some are 3 m deep, can reach a height of 9 m and are 100 years old!

huge jaws and a sense of smell, are also produced to defend the mound against ants and termite eaters. To fit the millions of termites born in the nurseries, the mound is enlarged using soils, plant material, saliva and termite faeces. Meanwhile, the outside walls are almost as hard as concrete.

A new colony is started by a male and female termite. After the two alates (winged king and queen termites) finish their mating flight, they shed their wings.They then seal themselves in a cavity they have excavated, the royal chamber, and over the years the queen’s swollen body produces thousands of eggs.

The magnetic mounds in northern Australia have a north-south alignment and are both narrow and tall, with the thinnest side facing the hot midday sun to help lower internal temperature. The broadest sides face east and west, warmed by the early morning and late evening sun when temperatures are not so high.

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The first offspring are blind, wingless workers that are sterile. They are the most numerous termites in a mound and search they for water and food, enlarge the mound, build tunnels and look after the larvae as they hatch. Wingless, blind soldier termites, with

Mounds are air-conditioned by a network of chambers and tunnels. The breath of millions of termites condenses on the inside walls and keeps the mound damp. This is important as termites can die if the air is too dry. New mounds are started by new alates, which swarm in pairs after exiting the old mound through tunnels dug by workers.

2. Which word in the text means ‘dug out’?

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3. What do soldier termites use to attack enemies?

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4. What keeps the inside of the mound moist?

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1. What do alates have that workers do not?

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5. Where do the king and queen mate?

6. Which word tells us workers can not lay eggs? 7. How do soldier ants detect enemies?

8. State which kind of termite you would not like to be and explain why. R.I.C. Publications®

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Comprehending our world

et engin j e e Th Indicator

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Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of jet engines.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

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• In pairs, students inflate a balloon as much as they can and then release it. Each pair records what happens. • Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of jet travel in relation to its possible contribution to the greenhouse effect.

Answers

1. ignited

2. connecting shaft

4. An afterburner © R . I . C . P u l i cat i ons 5. rotate 6. b combustion 7. Teacher check Isaac Newton •f orr evi ew p8. ur posesonl y• 3. combustion chamber

Additional activities

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• Copy the diagram of a jet engine and label each part: fuel injectors, turbine, compressor, combustion chamber, air intake fan, connecting shaft. • Research and write a short paragraph about Whittle, who was later knighted for his achievement

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• Discuss with a partner when you think a plane might need extra thrust.

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The jet engine Read the text and answer the questions.

mixture of air and fuel is ignited by an electric spark. The burning gases heat to a high temperature and rapidly expand before blasting through a nozzle at the rear of the engine. This provides a very powerful thrust, just like the balloon, and the plane is driven forward. This stream of hot exhaust gases blasting out of the back of the engine is the jet.

n the 1930s, both Frank Whittle and Hans Von Ohain were pioneers in the development of the jet engine. It operates using scientist Isaac Newton’s third law of motion: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The effect can be seen by releasing an inflated balloon. The highly pressurised air inside the balloon rushes out when released, deflating the balloon and propelling it in the opposite direction at great speed.

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When the hot, high-pressure gases exit the back of the combustion chamber they rotate a set of blades in a turbine. The turbine is connected by a shaft to the compressor and a fan, which also rotate and suck in a continuous supply of air.

(b) a

If design engineers think an engine requires more forward thrust, an afterburner is added. This means extra fuel can be sprayed onto the escaping gases, which burn and expand quickly to give extra thrust.

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In a jet plane, air enters the air intake at the front of the engine and a rotary compressor studded with small blades compresses the air into a smaller space. This raises its pressure and also increases the potential energy contained within the air. Under huge pressure, the air passes into a combustion chamber. Here, injectors spray aviation fuel into the chamber and the

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1. Which word means ‘started to burn’? 2. What connects the turbine to the compressor and rotates them?

3. Where does the air first rapidly expand? 4. What can be added for extra thrust? 5. Which word means ‘spin around’?

6. Which word means ‘the process of burning’? 7. How many decades have passed since Whittle’s and Von Ohain’s work? 8. Who are they indebted to for their success?

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l warmi a b ng o l G Indicator

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Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of global warming.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

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• Explain the use of the term ‘greenhouse’ by pointing out how the glass panes of a greenhouse let in sunlight and hold in the heat.

• The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement, originally created in the Japanese city of Kyoto in 1997. Nations who have signed it have agreed to try to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions during the period from 2005 to 2012. • Proposed emission trading schemes suggest that companies that exceed their CO2 emission limits have to pay for emitting further pollutants.

• Millions of trees are being planted around the world in order to raise CO2 absorption levels.

5. warm seas/oceans

6. malaria, dengue fever

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3. cutting down of trees

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Additional activities

• List some machines that burn fossil fuels.

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• Plant some trees in your school’s grounds/home garden.

• Design a poster to highlight the possible threat of global warming.

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Global warming Read the text and answer the questions.

lobal warming is the gradual increase in the overall atmospheric temperatures of the Earth. Some scientists believe this is due to the greenhouse effect, when gases in the air absorb and trap solar infrared radiation (heat). Much of the radiation is absorbed by certain gases in the atmosphere and trapped as heat. Life on Earth would not be possible without the natural greenhouse effect, which allows solar radiation to warm our planet while preventing most infrared radiation from escaping to outer space.

CO2 have increased faster than at any time during the last 650 000 years, with many believing the burning of fossil fuels has produced this increase. Trees absorb CO2 from the air and release oxygen. However, large-scale deforestation in countries like Brazil and Indonesia means that millions of trees no longer exist to remove CO2 from our atmosphere.

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Many scientists believe that, unless we do something, now, there could be problems ahead: global warming may lead to the destruction of coastal communities through rising sea levels caused by melting glaciers and warmer oceans; Australia’s Great Barrier Reef may be devastated by increasing ocean temperatures; cyclones may develop more strength from the warmer seas; and disease-carrying mosquitoes may spread malaria and dengue fever to more regions as once cooler areas become sub-tropical.

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Unfortunately, industrial progress has meant that the burning of fossil fuels—like coal, oil and, to a lesser extent, natural gas—has released increasing amounts of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. While CO2 is part of the air we breathe, many scientists also believe it contributes to global warming by trapping increasing levels of heat in the atmosphere. Over the last 100 years, levels of

Some scientists believe global warming is a result of variations in solar activity, while others think greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, are responsible. Some people believe that if we don’t try to correct the situation now, future generations will ask why we didn’t try to protect our planet.

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2. What has allowed all life on Earth to flourish?

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3. What is meant by ‘deforestation’?

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1. Which fossil fuel is less harmful than coal and oil?

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4. Why are trees so important to life on Earth?

5. Where do cyclones derive their power from?

6. Which dangerous diseases could mosquitoes carry to new areas? 7. Who do you blame for the threat of global warming?

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Comprehending our world

mpic Ga y l O m e es h T Indicator

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Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of the Olympic Games.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

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• The idea of different national Olympic teams marching together at the Closing Ceremony was first suggested by a Melbourne schoolboy during the 1956 Games.

• The organisation of the Olympic Games has become very expensive and some costly sports have been dropped, while new ones, like beach volleyball, have been introduced over the years.

• Pigeons were once released to symbolically take news of the Game’s opening, but this practice was discontinued after some were incinerated in the Olympic cauldron during the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.

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Additional activities

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3. Paris, France 5. promote, limited, stadium, oath, ceremony

• Write a report on the difference between professional and amateur athletes.

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• Research where the Summer Olympics were held in 1988, 1992 and 1996.

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• Research in which years the Winter Olympics were held in Turin, Salt Lake City, Nagano and Lillehammer. • Design a poster advertising your city’s staging of an Olympic Games.

• The Olympic motto is ‘Citius – Altius – Fortius’. Research what it means.

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The Olympic Games Read the text and answer the questions.

The opening ceremony is watched on television by millions as athletes enter the stadium in the ‘parade of nations’, with the Greek team always first. Teams from other nations follow in alphabetical order, but with the host nation’s team always last. Finally, the Olympic Torch is carried in to light the Olympic Flame. Prior to this, the Torch has been relayed around the world, originally lit in Olympia, Greece, where the Ancient Olympic games was held.

t the Paris Congress in 1894, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was formed to organise and develop the Modern Olympic Games, revived in Greece’s capital city, Athens, in 1896. Its role was to promote sportsmanship and amateur sports, though professional basketballers and tennis players later competed in the 1992 Olympics.

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Before competing in their events, athletes, in unison, swear the Olympic Oath and promise to take part ‘in the true spirit of sportsmanship’. There is no age limit for athletes unless a sport’s international body decides otherwise. Competitors can not be discriminated against because of their religion, race or political beliefs. Each country is allowed only one team in team events and three entries in individual events. The Games are often seen as the pinnacle of competition in sports, and nations publish tables of medals they have won, especially when they have been successful! Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded to the leading contestants and ‘victory diplomas’ to lower placings.

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Each country hosting the Games has to have its own national, nonprofit making Olympic Committee, which arranges transport to and from events for the athletes and houses them in an Olympic Village. Usually Government funding helps to construct the Village, so competitors and a limited number of officials can be housed and fed at reasonable prices.

Unless cancelled during wartime, the Summer Olympics are held every four years. The Winter Olympics are held midway between consecutive Summer Olympics so they do not compete for funding, media attention etc. The IOC decides which city is awarded the Games and a minimum of 15 sports must be offered.

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At the closing ceremony, athletes no longer march as individual teams but march together as one.

1. Why do you think Greece is the first team to enter the stadium?

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2. What does ‘in unison’ mean?

3. Where was the IOC founded?

4. Which team is the last to enter in the opening ceremony?

5. Find words in the text that mean: advertise, restricted, arena, vow, rite? 6. If the Summer Olympics were held in Sydney in 2000, in what year were the next Winter Games held? R.I.C. Publications®

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Comprehending our world

marines b u S Indicator

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Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of submarines.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

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• Future submarines will use new, stronger metals to strengthen their hulls for deeper diving.

• In some military submarines the outer hull is covered with a thick layer of special sound-absorbing rubber to help avoid detection. • The conning tower is now called the ‘sail’ or ‘fin’.

Answers

2. compressed air © R . I . C . P u i ca t i ons 3. stern, vessels, accumulated, exactly, 4. b tol avoid enemy aircraft/ships location • orr evi ew pu os e onstale l y• 5. an f iceberg 6. r top prevent the airs becoming

1. escape hatches

Additional activities

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• Research the importance of a submarine named Nautilus.

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7. Teacher check

• Find out which nation used U-boats and write a brief report about them.

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• Research who is usually credited with inventing the first submarine.

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Submarines Read the text and answer the questions.

submarine is a vessel designed to operate under water for lengthy periods. Because of water pressure, many have a double hull, each made of strengthened steel, that protects crew and equipment. The space between the inner and outer hull provides room for missile-launching tubes, fuel tanks and ballast tanks.

which is then pumped overboard. This prevents air becoming stale and allows nuclear submarines to stay underwater for months. If a vessel can’t surface for some reason, the crew can free themselves through escape hatches at the front or stern of the boat. A computer will tell the crew exactly where they are.

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The periscope is the ‘eye’ of the submarine when it surfaces but is not used a great deal as its range is restricted. Below water, it uses passive sonar to listen for noises generated by other ships, possibly enemy ones. Its active sonar device sends out acoustic (sound) pulses which are measured when they reflect from the seabed, other ships, icebergs etc. and a global positioning system gives the exact location of the objects detected by the sonar device.

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To submerge, outside water is pumped into the ballast tanks.The submarine becomes heavier and dives using forward motion and the aid of winglike horizontal hydroplanes on either side of the conning tower and on the stern or bow of the vessel. These planes point down when diving and, in diesel-electric submarines, the diesel engines are shut down and electric motors take over. Smaller tanks are used to control depth. Later, compressed air expels water from the ballast tanks and the vessel rises with the hydroplanes pointing upwards. During wartime, submarines once surfaced at night to expel stale air accumulated inside the ship and take in fresh air. Now, modern vessels use a snorkel tube and a second tube removes the stale air. In nuclear submarines a special machine removes carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air,

For many years a military submarine’s principal attack weapon has been the torpedo, but many modern vessels are now also capable of launching long-distance missiles from the surface or even from an underwater position.

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1. What safety devices can be used in emergencies? 2. What is used to expel water out of the ballast tanks?

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3. Find words in the text that mean: rear, ships, gathered, precisely, position?

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4. Why did wartime submarines usually surface at night?

5. What natural feature is a possible danger to submarines?

6. Why is CO2 removed from the air inside a submarine? 7. What do you think it would be like to be confined in a submarine underwater for days on end? R.I.C. Publications®

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Comprehending our world

e camou r u fla t a e ge r C Indicator

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

• Point out on a world map the island nation of Madagascar.

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Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of creature camouflage.

• The cuckoo’s fledgeling is bigger, develops more quickly and often pushes other chicks out of the nest as it wins the battle for food brought by the mother bird.

Answers

1. To disguise when hunting and to conceal themselves from predators.

2. the cells; pigments

4. American king snake © R . I . C . P u l i ca on sits 5. The chameleon from Madagascar 6. b Chemicals in t its i blood, causing muscles to become smaller. • f o r r e v i e w p uTeacher r po sesonl y• 7. blend, foliage, motionless, thaws, 8. check 3. Tuck in their legs

cunning

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Additional activities

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• Choose one animal/insect not mentioned in the text, write a short paragraph on its use of camouflage and then report to the class. • Find out from which language we derive the word ‘camouflage’.

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• Discuss times when humans may use camouflage.

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Creature camouflage Read the text and answer the questions.

nimals and insects use camouflage in different ways but mainly to blend into a background when hunting prey or to conceal themselves from predators. A tiger’s stripes and a lion’s brown coat help them to merge into their normal surroundings but their appearance doesn’t change like some creatures can.

blood. These cause their muscles to become smaller and they appear to be dead. Nature protecting its own! Some creatures mimic other, more dangerous, animals! The harmless American king snake is brightly patterned like the venomous coral snake and this warns off potential predators. Several moths and fish have false, staring eyes on wings or near tail fins to frighten enemies.

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Though many creatures can blend perfectly against a background, they can still cast a revealing shadow to lurking predators. Some insects position their bodies to cast the smallest shadow while others tuck in their legs and flatten their bodies—the best position as no shadow is cast at all.

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Flounder, a type of flatfish, dwell on the ocean bed and change colours to match the sea floor. The chameleon, a slow-moving lizard, can quickly change the colour cells in its skin to blend with foliage as it hunts insects. Pigments (colours) stored beneath its skin are moved to parts of its body by nerves which send impulses to match background colours. Chameleons can effect these changes in minutes but cuttlefish only take seconds! Cuttlefish, like squid and octopuses, can squirt out ‘ink’ to cloud the water they are in, making them hard to detect. Some animals only change colour from season to season. Arctic hares and ptarmigans turn white to blend with winter snow, but both turn brown when the snow thaws in spring.

Perhaps the most cunning use of camouflage is by the cuckoo. This lazy bird lays its egg in another species of bird’s nest! The egg is coloured like the other bird’s eggs so the poor ‘foster mother’ raises the cuckoo’s fledgeling thinking it’s hers!

Fear also causes changes. One species of chameleon in Madagascar changes colour when afraid, drops to the ground and remains motionless until the threat is over. With American opossums, fear releases chemicals in their

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3. When flat on the ground, what do some insects do to avoid detection?

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4. Which creature tries to make predators think it is poisonous?

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5. Which creature described in the text changes colour when afraid?

6. What makes the American opossum appear to be dead?

7. Find words in the text that mean: merge, leaves, still, melts, sly. 8. What do you think of the cuckoo’s cheeky use of camouflage to avoid rearing its own chicks? R.I.C. Publications®

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b Our ones Indicator

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

• Adults have 206 bones, while babies have about 270.

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Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of human bones.

• Remind children about wearing safety helmets and pads to prevent breaking bones.

• Pinching the tip of their nose will teach students what cartilage feels like. • Weight-bearing exercise like football, athletics etc. are good for bones. • Nerve cells send electrochemical signals which enable us to move/talk.

• Blood carries oxygen to the body’s cells. The oxygen combines with chemicals obtained from food and the energy produced makes it possible for each cell to function.

1. (a) rib cage

(b) skull

2. When blood is lost 4. In red blood cells

5. 42%

6. upright, vital, injured, convert, function

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3. Because it’s not really a factory

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7. Teacher check

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Additional activities

o c . ch e r Curriculum links o er t s super

• Use your dictionary to find out what ‘osteology’ is. • Research the body’s smallest and largest bones.

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Our bones Read the text and answer the questions.

one is a living tissue that constantly changes as your body grows. Together, they form the skeleton, which is very important as you would otherwise, not be able to stand upright! Bones serve as attachment points for muscles, allowing your limbs to move and perform necessary functions. Vital organs would be exposed to damage if not protected by bone and the heart is protected by the rib cage, while the brain is protected by the skull.

diseases. If you are injured and lose blood, the body can convert yellow marrow to red marrow to help replace the loss. With age, the blood-producing role in many bones ceases. Bones store calcium and other minerals which help your nerves to send messages around the body and enable muscles to function properly.The hard part of a bone is about 58% calcium phosphate and a smaller percentage of calcium fluoride. On supermarket shelves you’ll find milk cartons with ‘high calcium’ content.To look after your bones, include milk, cheese, broccoli and spinach in your diet and this will help them!

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Inside many bones is a core of jelly-like soft tissue called marrow, of which there are two types: red and yellow. At birth and early age all marrow is red as the need to form new blood cells is important. In this bone ‘factory’ the red marrow makes new red blood cells, which carry vital oxygen from the lungs to various parts of the body. Red marrow also helps to destroy old red blood cells. The yellow marrow produces white blood cells, which defend the body against infectious

Where bones meet at joints they are covered with cartilage, which is a tough, flexible material that helps adjacent bones move smoothly over each other.Sporting competitors can tell you all about cartilage trouble!

(b) the brain?

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2. When might yellow marrow change to red marrow?

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3. Why is the word ‘factory’ in inverted commas?

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4. How is oxygen, so essential to humans, carried around the body?

5. About what percentage of hard bone is not calcium phosphate?

6. Find words in the text that mean: erect, important, hurt, change, operate. 7. List ways you can protect your bones from damage.

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ledon ten b im urname nis W o nt t Indicator

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

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Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of the Wimbledon tennis tournament.

• This topic could be studied during a Grand Slam event, with students asked to write a short paragraph on the event or their favourite player.

• Discuss Wimbledon’s insistence on mainly white clothing for players—its traditional stance as opposed to modern trends aimed at attracting younger people (e.g. oneday cricket matches).

Answers

1. food and drink

7. Teacher check

8. Teacher check

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Additional activities

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9. Teacher check

• Research and list the cities and countries where the four Grand Slam events are held each year.

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• Research the male and female Wimbledon champions of the last five years.

• Research the male and female tennis players who have won the most Grand Slam events in their careers. Present your results in a table.

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Wimbledon tennis tournament Read the text and answer the questions.

Teac he r

he Championships, Wimbledon, is the world’s oldest tennis tournament, having started in 1877. It is organised by a committee formed of 12 members of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and a number of nominees from Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association. Around 6000 people are involved in organising over 650 matches, both singles and doubles. Apart from those employed by Wimbledon, other workers are provided by companies, voluntary groups and public services such as police and nurses. Media representatives are present and about 1500 catering staff, 250 ball boys/ girls, and dozens of office cleaners, security guards and attendants are part of the workforce.

Court and No.1 Court are resown annually and the outside courts, which are used throughout the year, are also maintained. During the Wimbledon fortnight, the referee and his staff allocate umpires and line judges and arrange the program of matches. Chair umpires supervise two matches a day and use computers to keep records. There are no height or weight restrictions for ball boys/girls, who are mainly selected from schools in the London area. They must be physically fit and have a good knowledge of tennis laws which includes a written test. They also have to be available for training at 4 pm several days a week prior to the tournament. Ball girls were first used in 1977 to celebrate Wimbledon’s centenary.

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Wimbledon is a not-for-profit organisation and the income it earns from the tournament and sale of merchandise, after paying tax, is used to develop the sport in Britain through tennis clinics for promising young players.

Unlike other Grand Slam tennis events, Wimbledon has had a strict dress code. Players must wear mainly white, not the variety of colours displayed elsewhere.

Preparations for the event start months before with the courts being resown with rye grass seed. The Centre

1. What do you think the catering staff at Wimbledon provide?

2. How many years ago was the first Wimbledon tournament?

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4. Who is in charge of arranging the match program?

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5. Which are the two most important courts?

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3. What skills do you think ball boys/girls need?

6. List words from the text which mean: arranged, revenue, levy, yearly, chosen.

7. Why do you think it took so long for ball girls to be used? 8. Why do you think nurses are employed for the tournament? 9. Why do you think ball boys and girls are selected from the London area? R.I.C. Publications®

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n d e r s t or m u s Th Indicator

Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of thunderstorms.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

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• Students can determine how far away a thunderstorm is by counting the number of seconds between a lightning flash and a clap of thunder. Each three seconds represents one kilometre.

• Warn students not to stand under a tree during a thunderstorm as our bodies are better conductors of electricity than wood. Lightning has been known to strike a tree and then find a quicker way to the ground through the body of a person sheltering under it.

Answers © R . I . C .Publ i cat i ons 1. Air heats up and rapidly expands 2. In the tropics 3. • A cumulonimbus cloud 4. o Ats thee topso f o r r e v i e w p u r p nl y• 5. The temperate zones 6. Rising air currents 7. supercell storms

8. Light rain is falling

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Additional activities

• Find out and list safe places to be in a thunderstorm.

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9. moist/humid, occur, severe, vertically, final

o c . che e r o t r s super Curriculum links

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Thunderstorms Read the text and answer the questions.

thunderstorm is a form of weather where lightning and thunder occur, often accompanied by heavy rain and sometimes strong winds.

Thunder is the result of the sudden heating and rapid expansion of air caused by a lightning flash. This flash is an electrical charge between positive and negative points within a cloud, between clouds or between a cloud and the ground. The final stage in a thunderstorm is the ‘dissipating’ stage, when the cool air downdrafts in the cloud are stronger than the updrafts. This means warm air can no longer rise and large rain droplets can not form. The storm now gradually dies down with only light rain falling, perhaps for hours, and the cloud disperses as it thins out and slowly disappears.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Over 40 000 thunderstorms occur each day throughout the world. The USA records over 100 deaths in an average year from lightning strikes, more than deaths caused by tornadoes or hurricanes. Time for caution when thunderstorms are near!

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Teac he r

A storm starts at the cumulus stage, when the sun heats the Earth’s surface and warms the air above it. Warm air is lighter than cool air so it rises rapidly (updraft), up to 8 m per second. If the air is humid, it forms a cumulus cloud which keeps growing vertically, sometimes as high as 15 000 m in temperate zones but even higher in the warmer, moist air of the tropics. As the warm air currents continue to rise, water droplets in the updraft merge and become larger and heavier. When cool air enters the top of the cloud it descends (downdraft), pulling the droplets down as rain. The cloud is now a grey cumulonimbus rain cloud, lightning and thunder follow and it becomes a thunderstorm cell. Many storms have multiple cells, some of which can die out and then re-form. These supercell storms can produce severe weather for hours and cause widespread damage.

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2. Where do thunderclouds reach their greatest height? 3. What is the second type of cloud in the formation of a thunderstorm?

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4. Where is air coolest in a thundercloud?

5. What cooler parts of the world are mentioned?

6. What is an updraft?

7. Which storms cause most trouble for communities? 8. What indicates that a storm is waning? 9. Find words in the text that mean: damp, happen, intense, upright, last. R.I.C. Publications®

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U N IC E F Indicator

Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of UNICEF.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

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• UNICEF was created by a unanimous vote of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

• In 1965, UNICEF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its work around the world.

Answers

1. 7 years

2. To provide aid for young victims of World War II

3. New York

Additional activities

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• Design a poster to raise funds for UNICEF.

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7. malnourished, devastated, donations, supplies, attain

• Students could raise funds for UNICEF by organising a lunchtime concert, a ‘Bring and buy’ healthy food day, a dress-up day etc.

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• Research countries where you think UNICEF’s aid would be beneficial.

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• Write a report to say which UNICEF workers you consider to be the most important?

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UNICEF Read the text and answer the questions.

education facilities and a variety of programs, including immunising children against diseases. In recent years, UNICEF health workers immunised 100 000 children in camps in Somalia. Other emergencies have included aid for cyclone survivors in Bangladesh, the ongoing lack of education in wartorn areas of the Middle East and helping refugee families to rebuild their lives. Since 1990, UNICEF has been guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), an agreement to attain the highest standards of health for the world’s young.

It focuses its attention on the millions of malnourished children in countries where sufficient quantities of food are not available to the young. It also aims to protect children from violence and abuse and has raised concerns about the exploitation of young, poorly paid workers in ‘sweat shops’, especially in Asia.

UNICEF’s main work is to deliver supplies and equipment where needed and to provide funds for training personnel such as teachers, health experts, social workers and nutritionists.This huge task requires enormous amounts of money and though 75% of its income comes from concerned governments, the rest comes from public donations, sales of merchandise and a variety of fundraising events.

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Teac he r

he United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was created in 1946. It was renamed the UN Children’s Fund in 1953 but UNICEF also remains as an official title. It was originally founded to provide emergency aid to the unfortunate young victims in countries devastated by World War II. After 1950, the organisation decided to direct its efforts towards producing programs aimed at improving children’s welfare by primarily funding governments of developing countries, irrespective of religion or political beliefs.

From its headquarters in New York, UNICEF provides funds throughout the world for health services,

1. After how many years did UNICEF change its name?

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2. Why was UNICEF first formed?

3. Where is UNICEF’s head office?

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4. What provides most of the funding for the organisation?

5. Which international agreement influences the work of UNICEF?

6. Why do you think the organisation changed its name?

7. Give words from the text for: underfed, ruined, gifts, provisions, reach.

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Stem cells Indicator

Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of stem cells.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

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• Discuss what a human embryo is and public opposition to their use in research.

• In Australia and other countries, the ‘direct reprogramming’ method (using skin cells) would qualify for Federal research funding, unlike the extraction of stem cells from human embryos.

Answers

1. replicate

2. differentiation

4. Cancer may develop © R . I . C . P u l i cat i ons 5. Because the embryo dies 6. b viruses 7. Lesser chance of rejection 8. muscle cell, blood cell • f o r r e v i e w p ur posesonl y• 9. donate, cluster, copy/mimic, harvest, prize

3. laboratory

Additional activities

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Curriculum links

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• Find out what is meant by the ‘fear of rejection’ with transplant operations.

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Stem cells Read the text and answer the questions.

welcomed, the technique disrupts the DNA of the skin cells and creates the possibility of developing cancer, so more work has to be done.

any scientists prize stem cells as they can be developed into virtually any kind of cell in the body, a process called ‘differentiation’. When a stem cell divides to replicate itself, each new cell, under certain conditions in a science research laboratory, can be developed into another kind of specialised cell with a particular function; e.g. a muscle cell or a red blood cell. This means they can be used to repair damaged cells and organs.

With the 2007 research, both teams of scientists used viruses to carry four genes into the skin cells of mice. These genes can turn other genes on and off, but how they produce cells that mimic embryonic stem cells is still not understood. If this approach proves successful with humans, researchers could use donated skin cells and should be able to produce stem cells that genetically match the donor.This means that with organ transplants there may not be any fear of rejection.

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There are various ways of obtaining stem cells for research. In the cloning method, women donate unfertilised human eggs which are treated until they develop into a cluster of cells. After six days, scientists can harvest stem cells from the cluster but that destroys any embryo that has developed. This led to opposition from religious groups and concerned individuals. However, a recent discovery, reported in 2007, reveals scientists on two continents have made ordinary skin cells copy the powers of embryonic stem cells in tests with mice. This latest breakthrough gives hope that diseases like diabetes and Parkinson’s disease can be treated without the use of human embryos. Though

Unlike some other cells, stem cells can replicate themselves for months and yield millions of cells. It is an interesting area of research, but one that many people find equally concerning.

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3. What is the name of a room where scientists work?

4. What is a present disadvantage with the use of skin cells?

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5. Why are some individual groups opposed to the use of human eggs?

6. What is used to ferry genes into skin cells?

7. Why would the use of stem cells from skin cells be desirable in transplants? 8. Give an example of a cell with a special function. 9. Find words in the text that mean: give, group, imitate, gather, value. R.I.C. Publications®

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Our lungs Indicator

Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of human lungs.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

• Explain that the term ‘pulmonary’ refers to the lungs.

Answers

1. exhaled

2. In the alveoli

3. oxygen

4. sticky mucus

5. In the walls of the alveoli

6. Bunches of tiny grapes

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• The left bronchus and right bronchus are the two major air passages of the lungs.

8. b coated, vital, engulf, foreign, © R. I . C.Pu l i c a t i o n s function •f orr e vi ew pur posesonl y• Additional activities

7. Teacher check; e.g.‘Enriched with oxygen’ .

• Draw a flow diagram to show how the lungs work.

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• Research to find out how increased exercise affects the lungs.

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• Research to find out about lung disorders such as asthma, bronchitis, emphysema and cystic fibrosis.

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Curriculum links

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Our lungs Read the text and answer the questions.

the blood, so the pulmonary artery carries blood back to the heart and then to the lungs, where again the blood is oxygenated. At the same time as the oxygen enters the blood in the capillaries, CO2 leaves the blood, moves into the alveoli and is then exhaled from the lungs. The alveoli walls are so thin, oxygen and CO2 can pass through easily.

ur lungs are made of a sponge-like tissue and are like balloons at the end of the bronchi, tubes that carry air from the windpipe (trachea) to the lungs. Inside the lungs are millions of tiny air spaces (sacs) called alveoli where the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide (CO2) takes place. The alveoli, with more than 300 million in each lung, resemble tiny bunches of grapes.The wall of each alveolus is less than one-hundredth of a millimetre thick and is coated with a network of tiny blood vessels called capillaries.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

The air inhaled by the lungs contains bacteria, viruses, dust and pollutants (like smoke etc.), but sticky mucus in the airways leading to the lungs traps most of these and the less harmful things are coughed up or swallowed, often with no serious effect. Some reach the alveoli where special cells’ called alveolar macrophages, engulf the foreign ‘invaders’ and usually destroy them. Blood flowing through the capillaries of the lungs is filtered so particles like blood clots and fat globules are removed and special cells break them up.

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When we inhale (breathe in) our lungs expand. This lowers the pressure in them which allows air from the atmosphere to flow in through a series of airways to the alveoli. Here, oxygen is extracted from the inhaled air, passes into the capillaries and then into the pulmonary vein. This large vein carries the blood, now bright red and rich in oxygen, to the heart. The heart pumps the blood around the body so that the oxygen originally absorbed by the lungs, and which is vital to humans, can enable cells and organs to function properly. This deoxygenates (removes oxygen to be replaced by CO2)

Lungs have another bonus for us! The air they expel vibrates the vocal cords to create the sound necessary for us to talk!

1. Which word means ‘breathed out’?

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3. What makes blood bright red? 4. What traps unwanted substances in airways?

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5. Where are the capillaries located?

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2. Where does the exchange of gases take place?

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6. What do the alveoli look like?

7. Explain in your own words what ‘oxygenated’ means.

8. Find words in the text that mean: covered, essential, surround, alien, operate. R.I.C. Publications®

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bus A380 r i A Indicator

Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of the Airbus A380.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

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• Early critics thought the A380’s extra weight would damage airport surfaces but the pressure exerted by its wheels is less than that of the Boeing 747 ‘jumbo’ as the A380 has 22 wheels to the 747’s 18.

• The A380 has cost $US 17 billion to develop. • The plane’s lowest level is reserved mainly for cargo.

Answers

2. Toulouse © R. I . C.Pu bl i cat i ons 3. Using wind tunnel tests 4. It is light. • f o r r e v i e w p ur pareonos es onl y• 5. Lower production of pollution 6. There light bulbs

1. Disturbed air behind the plane caused by the engines

8. reinforced, configuration, strict, locations, fatigue

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Additional activities

• Find out which airline made the first A380 passenger flight.

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7. The outboard engines

• Work with a partner and measure out 78 metres in the school grounds. This is the wing span of the A380!

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Airbus A380 Read the text and answer the questions.

various body parts—nose, tail, wings etc.—are made in different locations in Europe and then transported to Toulouse, France, for assembly.

he A380 is currently the world’s largest passenger plane and has a travel range of 15 000 km. It made its first passenger flight, from Singapore to Sydney, Australia, in 2007. It can carry over 800 passengers if an all-economy configuration is used. Expensive wind tunnel tests have resulted in an aerodynamic shape designed to reduce the ‘drag’ as air flows over the fuselage.

Airbus Industries, the manufacturer, has decided that the A380 has sufficient braking power so that only the inboard engines have thrust reversers to slow the plane. This reduces the amount of debris stirred up when landing. The A380 has a bulbless lighting system as light emitting diodes (LEDs) are used throughout the plane. This means cabin lighting can simulate daylight, night or shades between. The aircraft’s systems use aluminium wiring, 30% lighter than copper, which lessens the plane’s weight so it does not damage airport surfaces with its heaviness. Airport traffic controllers understand that the A380 generates more wake turbulence than other planes, so there is a need for more spacing between planes at airport approaches and departures.

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Its four engines, generally made by Rolls Royce, comply with the aircraft industry’s strict noise standards and produce relative low emissions compared to other airliners, lessening the plane’s impact on pollution production. An A380 has 50% less cabin noise than a 747 ‘jumbo’ and its higher cabin pressure means that both these improved features are expected to reduce the effects of long-distance travel fatigue.The operating costs for the A380 are not much more than for a 747, yet it carries a lot more passengers and uses less aviation fuel for comparable flights. About 25% of the fuselage is made of carbon-fibre reinforced plastic with alternating layers of metal sheeting.This composite material is less likely to corrode and has a higher resistance to lightning strikes. The

1. What do you think ‘wake turbulence’ is?

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2. Where is the plane assembled?

3. How did researchers test out the best body shape to use?

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4. Why is aluminium wire used?

5. What is good about low emissions from the engines?

6. What is unusual about the plane’s lighting system? 7. Which engines don’t have thrust reversers?

8. Find words in the text that mean: strengthened, layout, stringent, sites, tiredness. R.I.C. Publications®

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enus flytr V e ap h T Indicator

Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of the Venus flytrap.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

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• Though called a flytrap, the plant usually catches creeping insects and not those that fly. • The plant thrives in moist, moss-covered areas and is found in the wild only in North and South Carolina in the USA.

• Explain that nutrients are substances which provide nourishment essential for the plant’s growth.

Answers

© R. I . C. usensitive bl i c t i ons 2. P Hairs to a touch 3. sweet nectar 4. acidic juices • f o r r e v i e w ur p o se onl y• 5. On the lobes’ edges 6. p Sometimes less than ones second 1. carnivorous

7. Answers may vary

8. secrete, rigid, edges, digest, decomposing

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Additional activities

• Find brief facts about another flesh-eating plant and report to the class.

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9. Teacher check; e.g. acidic juices for dissolving food.

• Write a report on one plant from each of three of the world’s climatic regions; e.g. tropical, polar and dry.

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SCBS0402 LL 4

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The Venus flytrap Read the text and answer the questions.

he Venus flytrap, one of many carnivorous plants which have existed on Earth for thousands of years, catches and devours mainly insects and arachnids.

mesh allow tiny insects to escape—perhaps they’re not worth the effort needed to digest them! The trap reopens within 12 hours. Once a larger prey moves around, the trap tightens and digestion begins, taking about 10 days to complete. Any indigestible objects are blown out when the trap opens again. If the prey is too large, the trap can not close properly and bacteria can enter to feed off the decomposing insect and affect the trap itself. The lobe then rots and drops off, but a new one will grow.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Like your stomach, the trap contains acidic digestive juices that dissolve the prey and kill any bacteria sealed in with the plant’s meal. The juices are secreted by glands in the lobe and nutrients needed by the plant are extracted as the creature is digested. This process continues until all that is left is the insect’s skeleton and these remains are either washed away by rain or blown away by the wind when the trap opens.

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Teac he r

The trapping parts of the plant, leaf-like lobes hinged like a spectacles case, are at the ends of the plant’s stems and are a mouth and stomach in one! These leaves secrete a sweet nectar that attracts insects seeking food. A trap snaps shut when the prey touches any of the six pressure-sensitive hairs, three on each side of the lobe. Two of these hairs must be touched in succession or one hair touched twice to trigger a quick reaction, which sometimes takes less than one second! Along the edges of the lobes are rigid spikes (cilia) which mesh together as the trap closes to prevent prey from escaping. The trapping mechanism is so well developed it can distinguish between living prey and another stimulus like a raindrop or dead leaf. Holes in the

1. Which word means ‘flesh eating’?

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3. How are insects attracted to the trap?

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4. What breaks down the prey so it can be absorbed?

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2. What causes the trap to close?

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5. Where are the cilia located?

6. How long do the traps take to snap shut?

7. List any adjectives that describe the plant.

8. Find words in the text that mean: emit, stiff, rims, absorb, decaying. 9. What do you have in common with the Venus flytrap?

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g in pac n i t n ks u H Indicator

Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of animals that hunt in packs.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

ew i ev Pr

• Impala are African antelopes with long lyre-shaped horns.

• A springbok is an African gazelle which leaps when disturbed and a wildebeest (or gnu) is a large African antelope.

• Discuss the qualities needed for a pack to be successful; e.g. speed, endurance, cooperation, learned behaviour passed to young.

Answers

2. They make sounds © R . I . C . P bendurance l i cat i ons 3. A pride 4. u Their 5. They stay upwind of their prey. 6. It weeds out the weaker animals. • f o r r e v i e w p ur posesonl y• 7. springboks 8. conserves, sick, nocturnal, pursue, 1. canids

encounters

Additional activities

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• Write a report on any prey mentioned in the text.

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• List any advantages gained by animals hunting in packs as against a lone hunter.

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o c . che e r o t r s super Curriculum links

Science LTS3.3 3.5, 4.5 LL 4.1

SCBS0402 LL 4

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Hunting in packs Read the text and answer the questions.

Lions are powerful and agile but lack the speed and stamina to catch fleet-footed springboks. Lionesses hunt more than males, sometimes alone, but will sometimes join in a pack hunt for large prey and then share the meal. It is often lionesses which drive prey forward towards waiting members of the pride lying in ambush.

hen animals hunt in packs they can kill prey larger than what they can individually. Mediumsized canids, which include wolves and African hunting dogs, generally hunt prey over long distances as they’re adapted for endurance rather than speed. They finally bring down their prey after sometimes following them for hours, with the pack’s members wrestling the exhausted animal to the ground.

Hyenas are intelligent hunters and keep their ‘kills’ within the pack, away from scavengers. They regularly pursue healthy zebra and wildebeest on nocturnal hunts but if prey is scarce, the group sometimes attacks helpless animals like young goats.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Fortunately, pack hunters are more interested in animals than humans!

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Teac he r

A wolf pack conserves energy by following the prey’s trail, staying upwind so their scent can’t be detected, and keeping out of sight. Hunts sometimes fail so their bodies can take in a large meal to prepare them for days without food. Wolf packs often attack old, very young, or sick, slowmoving animals, and detect prey by scent, by tracking or through chance encounters. By removing weak or ageing animals, wolves help to strengthen the prey group as only stronger beasts are left to breed. African hunting dogs can form packs of up to 40 members and some,when hunting larger animals like impala or zebra, make a rapid charge to stampede the herd.A long chase then follows, which can reach speeds of over 70 km/h. During the chase, the dogs emit squeaking sounds in order to coordinate their movements with other pack members.

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1. What is the name for members of the dog family?

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2. How do African hunting dogs keep in contact during a hunt?

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o c . che e r o t r s super

3. What is the name for a group of lions?

4. What ability helps canids during a hunt?

5. How do wolves prevent prey detecting their scent?

6. How does hunting improve a herd’s quality? 7. Which animals do lions find difficult to catch? 8. Find words in the text that mean: saves, ailing, night, chase, meetings. R.I.C. Publications®

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roducti p on lm i F Indicator

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

• Demonstrate how a clapperboard is used—‘Action!’

• Each scene may be shot many times, with the best ‘take’ chosen later.

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Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of how a film is made.

• Choose a film most students have seen and discuss their opinions of the dialogue, music (in terms of mood), locations and acting.

Answers

1. The director

2. A major film studio

3. Certain stars attract bigger audiences 4. It is unsuccessful 5. Answers vary

Additional activities • Choose a film you have seen and describe its storyline.

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• Look at the entertainment pages of a newspaper and list the names of any major film studios you find.

• Conduct a survey to determine the most popular film in your class, year group or school.

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Film production Read the text and answer the questions.

director of photography; a composer for the music and many more crew members.

film starts with an idea for a story and the source may be an original idea or based on a true story, a popular book or play. After the script has been written, the search begins for suitable actors to play the leading and supporting roles. Later, filming at outdoor locations and/or interior studios begins. Before you see a film, many experts are involved in a lengthy process that may take many months or even years.

During the production stage, the film is created and information about every scene filmed is recorded on a clapperboard. This information is used later to synchronise the sound with the visuals. On completion, and after approval by the director, producer and possibly the leading actors, the film is ‘in the can’.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

During post-production,the film’s editor assembles the scenes in sequence and, where necessary, ‘trims’ them by seconds or even minutes. The film is then previewed for a selected audience (perhaps one with an age group ranging from 15 to 30 for a film like Star wars) and changes may be made after any feedback is received. The film is then advertised, including the use of press releases, cinema trailers, posters and interviews with the stars of the film. Finally, after everyone’s hard work, the film is released.

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Teac he r

A producer usually selects the story and/or screenplay. Next follows a step outline, which describes each scene in the film as a short paragraph. Film distributors, usually companies with cinema chains, are then contacted and they consider the potential financial success of the film and the actors and director associated with it. Some films may not be immediately successful, so potential DVD sales and worldwide distribution rights are discussed. Financial backing is then sought, usually from a major film studio like Disney™. The pre-production stage occurs next, with the producer and others deciding who to hire as the film’s crew: the director, responsible for creative decisions in the film and for filming; a location manager to sort out locations; a

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2. Where does the money to finance a film usually come from?

3. Why would a distributor be concerned about which actors are hired for a film?

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4. Why might a film be released on DVD soon after a short cinema run?

5. Does music add to the mood of a film? How?

6. Which phrase means the filming has finished? 7. What happens if the picture and sound are not synchronised? 8. Find words in the text that mean: shortens, sites, quest, long, parts. R.I.C. Publications®

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aeologica h c ld ar ig n Indicator

Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of an archaeological dig.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

ew i ev Pr

• Clues such as plants growing slowly or being of a different colour than their surroundings may mean that something is buried just below the surface.

• Artefacts are classified (sorted into groups with common characteristics); e.g. coins, religious objects, jewellery.

Answers

1. radiocarbon dating

2. magnetometer

4. Long shadows © R . I . C . P u l i cat i ons 5. Wrapped in tissue paper 6. b true 7. To avoid damaging fragile artefacts. 8. pick • f o r r e v i e w p ur posesonl y• 9. buried, delicate, locating, knowledge, tiny 3. Teacher check

Additional activities

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Comprehending our world

Curriculum links

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• Research information and write a report on a famous archaeological ‘find’, such as the Roman ruins in Bath, England; Pompeii in Italy or the Terracotta Warriors in X’ian.

o c . che e r o t r s super

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An archaeological dig Read the text and answer the questions.

n archaeological excavation or ‘dig’ is the search for artefacts made or used in the past by human beings; for example, tools, weapons, ornaments and buildings. Through the recovery and examination of artefacts and human remains, archaeologists can study ancient cultures. Their task is to describe, classify and analyse the artefacts and place them in an historical period by using knowledge from sources both ancient and modern. The discovery of radiocarbon dating in the 1940s has enabled scientists to date materials up to about 60 000 years old!

sunrise, when long shadows show up details on the ground, have led to the discovery of many important sites. Geophysics, using magnetometers, is effective in locating tiny deviations in the Earth’s magnetic field caused by buried iron artefacts. Careful planning precedes promising digs, though several important sites of Roman ruins in Britain have been discovered by accident during new construction projects. A site plan is drawn and pegged out and each small section is numbered. Photos, both black and white and coloured, are taken and recording sheets are filled in with details of any ‘finds’. During a dig many searchers use small, singlepointed picks and soft brushes to extract artefacts, which are then carefully cleaned. Labelled boxes lined with tissue paper are often used for more delicate or tiny objects.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Teac he r

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Surveying a promising site is often done on foot because mechanised transport may cause damage to delicate objects. However, this method can not locate ‘finds’ buried under the ground or covered by dense vegetation. In such circumstances,aerial surveys that photograph large areas may be used. Photos taken just before sunset or after

We can thank archaeologists for our increasing knowledge of the past!

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2. What instrument is activated by buried iron objects?

3. Radiocarbon dating was invented in 1949. How long ago is that?

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4. What helps to reveal details on the ground in aerial photos? 5. How are easily-broken artefacts protected?

6. Some sites are discovered by chance. True or false?

7. Why are mechanical earthmovers not used on some sites? 8. Which tool would probably be used first, a brush or pick? 9. Find words in the text that mean: interred, fragile, finding, wisdom, minute. R.I.C. Publications®

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Lasers Indicator

Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of lasers.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

ew i ev Pr

• Laser is an acronym derived from ‘light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation’.

Answers

1. (a) They block them

(b) The beam transmits information

3. The narrow beam is concentrated on a small spot

2. There is minimal tissue damage 4. diamond

illuminated, transmits, reliable, © R. I . C.Pu 6. bdevice, l i cminimal at i on s •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• 7. Teacher check; e.g. turned into vapour 5. Teacher check; e.g. only a spread of 1 km2 on the Moon, lasers which destroy virus cells

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Additional activities

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• Research and list ten inventions that include laser technology that you think have changed the world. • Make brief notes on Gordon Gould and his battle to be recognised as the inventor of lasers.

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Comprehending our world

o c . che e r o t r s super Curriculum links

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Lasers Read the text and answer the questions.

fibre optics technology, have proved to be very reliable in long-distance communication systems in which the beam transmits information. Lasers are used to dazzle audiences with amazing displays, guide missile systems, accurately measure the distance to the moon and play important roles in CD players, computers and in delicate operations in hospitals and dental surgeries. A laser can produce strong heat where no mechanical contact is possible, such as the eye’s retina, so an operation can be performed with minimal tissue damage.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

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Teac he r

laser is an electrical device that emits a concentrated beam of energy when atoms are stimulated and create light rays. If you shine a torch, energy particles called photons are created from excited atoms and immediately spread in a cone-shaped beam. If each photon doesn’t hit anything it will continue on, the distance depending on the strength of the light source. Laser rays are different as they are almost parallel to each other and, unlike usual light beams, only spread slightly. As such, a laser generates an intense, narrow beam. These rays are so concentrated that, in 1962, a beam of 30 cm2 was directed at the moon and illuminated an area on its surface of only 3 km2. A similar beam of ordinary light would illuminate an area 402 000 km2 because the rays would diverge so much! Meanwhile, some modern lasers only have a spread of 1 km2. The light created by lasers is intense and can be focused to such a narrow beam that it can vaporise small amounts of any substance and drill holes in the hardest of materials, even diamonds! Lasers can be blocked by rain, fog or snow, but, when used with

In 2007,American university researchers found a way to use one type of laser to destroy virus cells,a breakthrough in the fight against disease. Laser technology is now a multi-billion dollar industry.

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2. Why are lasers so useful when performing eye surgery?

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3. How can a laser beam drill holes in very hard materials?

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(b) How are laser beams used in communication systems?

4. Which very hard substance is mentioned?

5. What developments in laser technology have been made over the years? 6. Find words in the text that mean: lit, sends, dependable, tool, least. 7. Explain in your own words what is meant by ‘vaporise’. R.I.C. Publications®

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Our skin Indicator

Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of human skin.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

ew i ev Pr

• Show a diagram of the three layers of tissue in the skin: the epidermis (the outer layer), the dermis (the layer under the epidermis) and the subcutis (the layer of fat below the dermis).

• The epidermis is made of an inner layer of live cells and an outer layer of dead cells.

Answers

1. nourish

2. eight

3. sensory points

9. dilate, cushion, react, constantly, supplies

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Additional activities

• List what you think are the three most important functions of the skin and explain why you chose them.

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Comprehending our world

Curriculum links

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Science LTS3.3 3.5, 4.5 LL 4.1

SCBS0402 LL 4

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Our skin Read the text and answer the questions.

flatten out and are shed when they die. Billions are shed daily, so the skin renews itself constantly. The dermis contains capillaries, which carry tiny blood cells that oxygenate and nourish the skin and immune cells that protect the body from invading viruses by engulfing and destroying them. The dermis also contains sebaceous glands which produce sebum, an oily substance that lubricates and waterproofs the skin and keeps hair and the surface of the epidermis soft. Protein collagen in the dermis strengthens the skin so it resists tearing, while elastin fibres help to restore skin to its former shape after stretching.

he skin, the body’s largest organ, is about 1.25 mm thick. Each square centimetre has millions of cells and thousands of sensory points which react to stimuli such as touch and temperature. The skin’s three layers are a defence against dehydration, infection, injuries and extreme temperatures. When we’re too hot, nerve impulses cause blood vessels to dilate and take more blood to the skin’s surface.This increases its temperature and heat is lost through radiation, while sweat glands in all layers of the skin lose heat by evaporation.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

The subcutis is formed of a layer of fat cells and acts as a shock absorber to cushion the body and as an insulator against extreme temperatures. It also supplies nutrients, substances essential for growth, to the other layers.

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Teac he r

The epidermis contains melanocytes, cells that provide the pigment melanin which colours our skin and protects it from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. It also contains Langerhans cells, which are part of the body’s immune defences. The dermis, which supports and strengthens the epidermis, is where skin cells are created. The new cells then gradually move up to the epidermis,

Did you realise how much your skin does for you?

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2. How many layers of skin would make up a centimetre? 3. Which parts of the skin react to a tap on the body?

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1. Which word means ‘to provide nutrients’?

o c . che e r o t r s super

4. In which layers of the skin are the sweat glands? 5. What substance keeps your hair soft? 6. Which cells help to soften a blow to the body?

7. What happens when you dehydrate? 8. What does the subcutis provide to help other layers grow?

9. Find words in the text that mean: widen, soften, respond, continuously, provides.

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Cyclones Indicator

Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of cyclones.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

ew i ev Pr

• Specially equipped unmanned reconnaissance aircraft are often flown into the centre of a storm to obtain precise information on its location and progress.

Answers

1. In densely populated areas

2. In the ‘eye’

3. warm water

4. thunderstorms

5. No

6. When it moves over land

8. charts, havoc, circulating, advance, moist © R. I . C. Publ i cat i ons Additional •f orr e vi ew pactivities ur posesonl y•

7. Converging winds

• Find the areas of the world where the word ‘typhoon’ is used.

• A cyclone has a calm ‘eye’ in its centre. Read about Cyclopses, creatures from Greek mythology, to find a connection.

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• Organise a dress-up day, a concert or a bring-and-buy sale to raise funds for cyclone victims.

Curriculum links

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Science ESS3.6 3.1, 4.1 EB 4.1

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Cyclones Read the text and answer the questions.

yclones, called hurricanes or typhoons in some parts of the world, are powerful destructive storms that yearly kill thousands worldwide and cause billions of dollars damage, especially in densely populated areas.

30 km in diameter. Converging winds—winds that flow in different directions and run into each other—push even more air upwards so the circulation and wind speeds both increase to even greater levels. While these rotating wind speeds are very fast, the cyclone itself may advance very slowly or even remain stationary for a while.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

A cyclone’s winds may not have the force of a tornado but they can topple huge trees, bring down powerlines, fling moored boats onto beaches and wash away bridges and roads. However, the greatest loss of life is by drowning. Because of the havoc they cause, specialists at weather centres around the world study and analyse changing weather charts to identify possible areas where they might develop.

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Teac he r

Cyclones are often described as ‘tropical cyclones’ because they develop their power from the warm ocean water located in the tropical climate zones of the Earth. They lose their intensity if they move over land, becoming rain-bearing depressions with less wind strength. However, if they change direction and move out to sea again, they can regenerate more power. They are called ‘cyclonic’ because winds swirl round a central ‘eye’, which is a low-pressure area with little or no cloud and very light winds. Cyclones begin as thunderstorms, then the wind speeds increase into a tropical storm and when wind strengths exceed 120 km/h the depression becomes a cyclone. In the worst cyclones (Category 5) winds can exceed 280 km/h. In their formation, warm, moist air rises and is replaced by more air warmed by heated tropical water. The continuously moving cycle creates a pattern of circulating winds around the eye, which can be up to

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2. Where are there no strong winds in a cyclone?

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1. Where does most damage and loss of life usually occur?

o c . che e r o t r s super

3. From what in the tropics do cyclones derive their power? 4. What do cyclones often begin as?

5. Is a storm with 100 km/h winds a cyclone? 6. When does a cyclone lose power?

7. What causes wind and rotating speeds to become faster? 8. Find words in the text that mean: maps, chaos, rotating, progress, damp. R.I.C. Publications®

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condas a n A Indicator

Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of anacondas.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

ew i ev Pr

• People have claimed to see snakes longer than 10 m but there are doubts over their authenticity.

• An anaconda’s young are born alive as the developing eggs are retained in the oviduct—a tube through which eggs pass from the ovary.

• Reticulated means ‘a pattern-like network of lines’.

Answers

2. When they come to drink © R . I . C . P u bl i cat i ons 3. On land 4. boas 5. A ligament attached to its jaw To prevent any bacteria making it ill • f orr evi ew p6. ur posesonl y• stretches

1. It drowns them

7. Caimans, turtles, fish and possibly river snakes.

8. carcass, sluggish, connected, rots, venomous

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Additional activities

• Present a brief, illustrated report on caimans.

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• Use an atlas to locate the huge river in South America where many anacondas are found. Draw a map of the continent and label the countries through which the river and its tributaries flow.

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Science LTS3.3 3.5, 4.5 LL 4.1 SCBS0402 LL 4

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Anacondas Read the text and answer the questions.

hough the Asian reticulated python is regarded as the world’s longest species of snake—one has been measured and verified as around 10 m—the anaconda is recognised as the heaviest and largest because of its body mass. They live in jungles in Central and South America and can be as wide as a person’s body.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Once its prey is dead, the anaconda unhinges its jaw (which is connected to a ligament that stretches) so its mouth can be opened very wide to swallow its victim whole. Normal behaviour is to swallow the animal’s head first so its limbs fold inwards and are not an obstacle to ingestion. The snake’s many teeth are not for chewing but used to grasp prey to prevent it from escaping. Once the carcass is inside the snake it must be digested (broken down into substances the snake’s body can use), before it rots in the anaconda’s stomach. If the snake can not digest the carcass before it is attacked by bacteria, the anaconda has to regurgitate it or it will possibly die from food poisoning. Not a fitting ending for such a magnificent creature!

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Teac he r

Camouflaged by their body patterns, anacondas live partly in rivers and swamps as water supports their weight as they hunt prey. Anacondas are sluggish on land but move smoothly through water at night, using stealth to hunt prey like fish, turtles, caimans, other snakes and land animals like pigs, deer and even jaguars when they come to a water source to drink.They do not have venomous fangs as they are boas, snakes which kill victims by coiling their powerful bodies around them. Their muscles tightly squeeze the prey until it suffocates or is crushed and dies from internal bleeding or circulatory failure. Sometimes a river-based anaconda may drown its victim as it is pulled into the water.

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3. Where are anacondas not so efficient predators?

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2. When does an anaconda kill mammals?

o c . che e r o t r s super

4. What name is given to snakes which crush their prey?

5. Why can the snake open its mouth so wide?

6. Why should the anaconda digest its prey as quickly as possible? 7. Which aquatic creatures does the anaconda eat? 8. Find words in the text that mean: body, slow-moving, linked, decays, poisonous. R.I.C. Publications®

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Comprehending our world

eat esca r g e pe h T Indicator

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

• The Gestapo were the German secret police under Hitler’s regime.

• ‘Dick’s’ entrance was under a drain sump and ‘Harry’s’ under a stove.

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Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of the attempted escape from Stalag Luft III.

• One of the escapees who was recaptured, Squadron Leader Jimmy James, died in England in January 2008.

1. Poland

Answers

2. Teacher check; e.g. probably because of the stiff-legged way they walked.

3. A Royal Air Force bombing raid 4. It would no longer be dark.

7. 4%

8. They formed an escape committee.

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Additional activities

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9. ordered, dispersed, delayed, perimeter, grid

• Use cardboard boxes to make a short tunnel 60 cm in diameter to see how difficult it would have been to move through.

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• Write a review of the PG-rated movie, The great escape, starring Steve McQueen.

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Curriculum links

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The great escape Read the text and answer the questions.

lights hooked into the camp’s electrical grid and a small rail car system were also installed.

n 1944, there was a mass escape attempt from a German prisoner of war camp named Stalag Luft III. The camp housed thousands of Allied airmen and was located near the Polish town of Sagan, now Zagan. When built, the camp was thought to be escape proof.

Tunnel ‘Tom’ was discovered by guards in 1943, leaving ‘Harry’ as the only operating tunnel. The plan was delayed until the moonless night of 24 March 1944, with lots drawn among the prisoners for a chance to be one of the 200 escapees. Nerves were on edge when they found the exit was about 3 m short of the surrounding forest. Then some escapees showed signs of panic when a Royal Air Force (British) bombing raid cut the tunnel’s power supply and delayed everything. It was then evident that not all 200 men could escape under the cover of darkness, so it was decided to close the tunnel at 5 am.Then a shot was heard—‘Harry’ was discovered!

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Teac he r

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To be able to escape, the prisoners realised any attempts had to be well organised, so they formed an escape committee, led by ‘Chief Escape Officer’ Roger Bushell, a South African-born Air Force Officer who became known as ‘Big X’. They decided to dig three tunnels—Tom, Dick and Harry—but the problem of getting rid of dirt and preventing their collapse had to be solved. Dirt was dispersed from bags hidden in the men’s trouser legs and bed boards and other wooden furniture was used to hold up the tunnels’ walls. The tunnels were only about 60 cm wide and were dug about 9 m deep to avoid detection from the microphones placed around the camp’s perimeter. In the later stages,‘Dick’ was used to deposit dirt and store forged travel documents, identity cards and civilian clothes. Fresh-air pumps, electric

In all, 76 men escaped but only three returned to freedom. Of the rest, 23 were sent back to the camp and Hitler, the German leader, ordered the Gestapo to execute the remaining 50.

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3. What event disrupted the escape? 4. Why did they decide to close Harry at 5 am?

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2. The men spreading dirt from the bags in their legs were called ‘penguins’. Why do you think they were given this name?

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5. Why was 24 March 1944 chosen for the escape attempt?

6. What planning error meant guards might detect the escapees?

7. Approximately what percentage of escapees reached freedom? 1% 4% 10% 20% 8. What did the prisoners do to ensure the escape attempt was well planned? 9. Find words in the text that mean: commanded, scattered, deferred, circumference, network. R.I.C. Publications®

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Malaria Indicator

Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of malaria.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

ew i ev Pr

• The female anopheles mosquito needs to feed on blood for its eggs to develop inside its body.

• Measures taken to control malaria include: draining or filling in its breeding places; spraying with insecticides; spreading oil films on water to kill the larvae (‘wigglers’), which then can not breathe; introducing small fish like minnows to eat the larvae (vegetation on the surface has to be cleared so the fish can see the larvae).

Answers

2. b Excessive perspiring © R. I . C.Pu l i ca t i ons 3. In the liver and red blood cells 4. A vaccine 5. • When clumps burst or when chills f o rr ev i eblood w p6. ur posesonl y• cells rupture

1. by biting an already infected person

7. The immune system

8. Teacher check; e.g. wearing loose clothing, insect repellents, tablets.

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9. fatal, rupture, microscopic, tablets, coma

Additional activities

• Quinine was one of the earliest antimalarial drugs. Research to find out where it comes from.

o c . ch e r Curriculum links o er t s super

• Write a brief report on the tsetse fly and the diseases it can carry.

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Science LTS3.3 3.5, 4.5 LL 4.1

SCBS0402 LL 4

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Malaria Read the text and answer the questions.

several hours and is accompanied by chills and fever, headache, muscular pain and nausea. After an attack the victim perspires profusely, which drops the body temperature to normal. However, as the attacks recur again and again the victim becomes weaker with each bout of fever and the body temperature can reach 39.5 °C. These shaking attacks, with severe chills and high fever, can recur every 48 hours and with certain parasites the victim can lapse into a coma and die. The parasite is reasonably safe from attack by the body’s immune system because for most of its life cycle it remains in the liver and red blood cells (which are invisible to immune detection).

alaria is a serious, often fatal, disease spread by the female anopheles mosquito. Several million people, especially young children, die of the disease each year in tropical and sub-tropical areas of Africa, Asia and the Americas.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Doctors can provide drugs such as chloroquine,to prevent or cure malaria, but some parasites resist treatment by this drug so others are prescribed. Researchers are hopeful they can discover a vaccine to treat the disease and in the meantime travellers holidaying in malarial regions are advised to take a course of antimalarial tablets before and during their holiday, wear loose clothing and use recommended insect repellents.

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Teac he r

If a mosquito bites a person infected with malaria, it takes in blood containing the microscopic malaria parasites. When it has its next meal (sucks blood) these organisms mix with its saliva and can be injected into its new victim.The parasites then enter the bloodstream and travel to the liver, where they multiply and form clumps of new parasites. Soon the clumps burst and release smaller, different malarial parasites which invade red blood cells where they multiply again.The infected blood cells rupture, which releases even more parasites. This brings on a malarial attack, which can last

1. How does an anopheles mosquito absorb malaria parasites?

2. What lowers the body’s temperature after a fever attack?

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3. Where does the parasite hide from the body’s immune defences?

4. What might be the answer to malaria treatment in the future?

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o c . che e r o t r s super

5. When are new parasites released?

6. During which kind of attack does the victim shake and feel cold? 7. What is the body’s defence against invading organisms called?

8. List precautions you can take to avoid being bitten on holiday. 9. Find words in the text that mean: lethal, burst, tiny, pills, unconsciousness. R.I.C. Publications®

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Sharks Indicator

Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of sharks.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

ew i ev Pr

• Humans have cartilage in many parts of their body, including the ears and nose. • Sense of smell is thought to be a shark’s main way of locating prey. • A shark can lose around 30 000 teeth in a lifetime.

Answers

1. Angle its fins

2. Those living in the oceans’ depths

3. oxygen/seawater

4. skeleton

6. b Teacher check © R. I . C.Pu l i c at i ons 7. Constantly replaced, not set in a 8. Its skeleton is made of cartilage, jaw socket u notp bone. • f o r r e v i e w p r osesonl y• 9. consume, predators, rely, superb, suddenly

5. In the skin

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Additional activities

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• Write a brief, illustrated report on a particular species of shark; e.g. hammerhead, grey nurse, tiger, great white. • Categorise shark species as dangerous or harmless.

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• On an outline map of the world, use a key to show the distribution of different shark species.

o c . ch e r Curriculum links t er o s super

• Research to find how and why sharks are sometimes hunted by humans.

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Sharks Read the text and answer the questions.

Inside a shark’s nasal passage are highly-developed sensory cells which can detect the presence of blood in water several kilometres away.A shark is able to detect a single drop of blood in over 100 litres of seawater! Also, sensitive receptor organs on a shark’s skin can pick up any irregular vibrations from wounded seals or other prey in the vicinity. The eyesight of near-surface sharks is not exceptional but those living in the ocean depths are able to see and hunt prey in near darkness.

harks have existed for millions of years and have special characteristics which make them superb predators.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Sharks also rely on their sense of taste and will often reject a victim after their first ‘test bite’! The teeth of sharks which consume larger prey are embedded in a fibrous tissue overlying their jaws. When worn or broken, teeth are constantly replaced by new ones, unlike yours which sit in jaw sockets and are not replaced once you leave childhood behind—something which certainly pleases dentists!

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Teac he r

Most fish have bony skeletons but a shark’s is made entirely of cartilage, which means its body weight is relatively light. When a shark moves, water enters its mouth and passes through its external gill slits where dissolved oxygen in the seawater enters tiny blood vessels called capillaries.The oxygen then goes into the blood stream and circulates round its body. This is how a shark breathes so it can survive. A shark is able to move quickly and smoothly through water at high speeds and can stop suddenly and turn sharply by positioning its fins at different angles.This capacity to angle its fins, combined with its acute sense of smell and its ability to detect slight electrical fields round prey, makes it a formidable foe which usually hunts alone.

2. Which sharks have better eyesight?

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3. What does a shark need to take in to survive? 4. What part of a shark is made of cartilage?

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m . u

1. What can a shark do to enable it to manoeuvre so well?

o c . che e r o t r s super

5. Where are the organs which pick up vibrations located?

6. Which hunting ability do you admire most? Why?

7. How are a shark’s teeth different from ours?

8. Why is a shark lighter than a bony fish of similar size? 9. Find words in the text that mean: eat, hunters, depend, magnificent, abruptly.

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Juries Indicator

Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of a jury.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

ew i ev Pr

• Prospective jurors must be citizens of the nation, within the correct age range and of good character. Convicted felons and those who are insane do not qualify. • Jurors usually receive a travel expense allowance and meals when on duty.

• In some countries, unanimous verdicts are required, in others majority verdicts decide the outcome. • Trials by jury are not used in some countries; e.g. Germany and India.

Answers

1. So that distance is not a problem

(b) There is a retrial.

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7. district, verdict, selected, discussions, length

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reach a verdict.

8. Teacher check

Additional activities

m . u

o c . che e r o t r s supe r Curriculum links

• Find out how felons are tried in countries such as Germany and India, where trial by jury is not the standard practice. • Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of having a verdict decided by a jury rather than just a judge.

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Juries Read the text and answer the questions.

jury usually consists of 12 jurors, though Scotland uses 15 in criminal trials and some countries may use only six in less important cases.

people selected to become a potential juror can claim exemption because of their occupation, health issues or serious family problems etc. During the trial, the jury hears evidence presented by the prosecution’s and defence’s lawyers and sometimes a summing-up or advice from the judge. They then retire to consider the facts before deciding a verdict of ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’. In most legal systems, if the accused is found to be guilty the judge then decides what punishment is given. If the jury can not reach a verdict there is a ‘hung jury’, and a retrial is ordered with a different jury.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

ew i ev Pr

Teac he r

In most justice systems, panels are selected at random from suitable adults living in the district where the trial will take place.This is so distance travelled to the court is not a problem. The required number of jurors is then selected from the panel by drawing lots. Prosecution and defence lawyers often challenge a potential juror because of perceived bias against their client; for example, the juror is a friend of a witness, or has a relationship with the defendant. Those successfully challenged are replaced by others from the panel.

While attending a case, jurors are not allowed to read or watch media reports about the case. In some very serious criminal cases juries may be confined in accommodation with no outside contact for the length of the trial.

Once all jurors are selected, they choose among themselves who will be the head juror, the foreperson, who can ask a judge to explain any points of law, presides over the jury’s discussions and reads their verdict to the court. In case a juror becomes ill, others are nominated as reserves and must follow the court proceedings in case they are needed. Some

In some modern courts, the jury can see exhibits presented by a lawyer or expert witness on a computer screen in front of the jurors.

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3. How are jury members selected from the panel?

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2. Who reveals the jury’s decision to the court?

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4. Who can object to a juror’s selection?

5. Who decides what punishment the accused receives? 6. (a)

(b)

What is a ‘hung jury’?

What happens in the event of a ‘hung jury’?

7. Find words in the text that mean: region, decision, chosen, debates, duration.

8. A juror must be ‘of good character’. Explain what you think this means.

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ing a roa d l i d Bu Indicator

Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of the process of building a road.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

ew i ev Pr

• The white paint used to make road markings contains thousands of tiny glass beads which reflect a car’s headlights at night. • The public, including students, have a duty to inform the appropriate government department about trees or bushes which obscure road signs.

Answers

1. Teacher check

2. Make its surface thicker.

4. to keep down the dust generated © R . I . C . P u l i c at i o n s 5. Teacher check; e.g. warning lights, 6. b Local, state/territory and federal slower speeds near schools governments • f o r r e v i e w p r posesonl y• 7. endangered, vegetation/flora, decorative,u layer, stockpiled

3. under house slabs/brick paving

Additional activities

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• Draw a sequential chart using diagrams and captions to show the stages of the road-building process. • Research and describe the work of a draftsman.

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• Debate the proposition: Driving licences should only be issued to those over 21 years of age.

o c . ch Curriculum links e r er o t s super

• Suggest ways in which road conditions might be improved.

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Building a road Read the text and answer the questions.

hen planning to build a road, those involved work with the federal, state/territory and local governments to provide funding. The planners consider such factors as the volume of traffic, effects on the environment and road safety. Planned roads have sometimes been rerouted so as not to affect habitats of endangered species, both flora and fauna.

position, ‘fill’ (composed of gravel or broken rock of suitable size) is spread on the road bed and rolled by heavy machines until it has been compacted. Water is sprayed at different times to control the dust raised by the machines. The finishing process is the addition of a layer of asphalt, a mixture of hot bitumen sprayed on the road and covered with aggregate (small pieces of crushed rock of similar size). Huge machines then roll it to a level surface by compacting it while it is hot.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

After completion, safety improvements like marked traffic lanes, traffic lights and road signs are installed. Of course, all road surfaces deteriorate over time from heavy vehicle use or frost or storm damage, so maintenance is important even if it causes traffic delays. Better to be late than involved in an accident caused by a damaged road surface!

ew i ev Pr

Teac he r

After a contract has been awarded to a construction firm, the building process begins. A surveyor sets out the alignment of the road and tries to follow the natural shape of the land to avoid the added expense of cutting or filling.Then draftsmen and engineers draw plans to confirm the alignments and decide on surface thicknesses, which depends on the number of vehicles estimated to use the road once it is built. A site for the delivery of any gravel and broken rock needed and a water source are then located.

Now construction is ready and any vegetation in the way is removed and the topsoil usually stripped and then stockpiled nearby to be used for roadside embankments, decorative flower beds etc. After drainage pipes are in

1. What do you think of traffic delays caused by roadworks?

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2. What adjustment can be made to a road that might carry a lot of traffic?

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o c . che e r o t r s super

3. Where else would you see compacting done?

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4. Why is water required on-site?

5. What other safety features are presently used on roads? 6. Where does the money for new road-building projects come from?

7. Find words in the text that mean: threatened, plants, ornate, tier, stored.

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Beehives Indicator

Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of a beehive.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

ew i ev Pr

• Creatures that invade hives include wax-eating moths,skunks,wasps and dragonflies (which often eat bees).

• The queen bee stores male sperm in its stomach sac. If it releases it onto an egg, the egg becomes a worker. If it doesn’t, the egg becomes a drone.

• Pollen provides young bees with important fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals, while the sugar in nectar is a source of energy.

Answers

7. 15 eggs

8. A comb

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9. abdomen, die, scarce, pores, depend

Additional activities

• Research South American killer bees.

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• Collect labels from honey jars for a classroom display.

o c . che e r o t r s supe r Curriculum links

• Design a poster praising honey’s health benefits.

• Construct a flow diagram to show how honey is produced.

• Draw up a table providing information about different types of honey.

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Beehives Read the text and answer the questions.

Worker bees are the ‘busy bees’ of the hive! They search for and collect pollen and nectar to provide food, regurgitating the nectar into empty hexagonal cells. These cells are built and shaped by workers in the beekeeper’s vertical wooden frames (combs) suspended in the hive. As the water in the nectar evaporates it changes to honey and the workers then put caps on the cells using wax produced in special glands in their abdomen. They convert the sugar in the honey into wax, which then oozes out of their body’s pores. The wax is also used by the workers to build honeycomb cells. The beekeeper takes the honey from the ‘combs’ to eat or sell but leaves enough for the bees. Workers don’t lay eggs but feed a mixture of honey and pollen to the larvae which develop from the eggs until they turn into honey bees. Workers also clean the hive, protect it from invaders and even fan in fresh air with their wings! Their hard work in hives around the world means that millions of kilograms of honey is made and sold each year, as well as millions of kilograms of beeswax (used in candles, lipstick and polishes). We hope the bees realise how useful they are!

typical built honey bee hive has one queen, thousands of worker bees (the queen’s unmated female offspring) and a few hundred drones, the male offspring. Laying eggs is the queen’s sole task— up to 2000 a day at a rate of about one every 40 seconds! The queen may live as long as five years and produce a million eggs. She doesn’t like rivals, so if two queens hatch at the same time they fight until one stings the other to death.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Teac he r

ew i ev Pr

The only function drones have is to mate with their hive’s queen or other queens as they do no work in the hive. Drones live in the hive in summer and depend on worker bees feeding them as their tongues are not long enough to obtain nectar from flowers. When food becomes scarce in the colder autumn months, workers stop feeding the drones on honey stored in cells and drag them out of the hive to die.

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4. If a person is described as a ‘drone’, what kind of person are they?

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o c . che e r o t r s super

5. How does nectar change into honey?

m . u

3. Why do you think food is harder to find in the colder months?

6. Why are drones dragged out of the hive to die?

7. Approximately how many eggs could a queen lay in 10 minutes? 8. What is another word for a beekeeper’s frame? 9. Find words in the text that mean: stomach, perish, rare, openings, rely. R.I.C. Publications®

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e Cigar ttes Indicator

Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of cigarettes.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

ew i ev Pr

• Tobacco companies have made millions of dollars. In the 1990s, secret tobacco industry documents leaked to the public showed they knew smoking caused disease and nicotine was addictive, but they kept the information secret.

• In 2008, the World Health Organisation warned that one billion people could die from a global ‘tobacco endemic’ in the 21st century if current sales growth continued.

Answers

2. P nicotine © R. I . C. ubl i cat i ons 3. Particles of tar 4. It hasn’t passed through a cigarette’s filter. 5. • They filter air r neurotransmitters f or evi ew6. p ur posesonl y• 1. carcinogens

8. coats, cylinder, banned, toxic, crave

Additional activities

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• Design a poster warning of the dangers of smoking. • Find another description for secondhand smoke.

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• Research to find out how smoking can damage the lungs.

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m . u

7. Teacher check

o c . che e r o t r s super Curriculum links

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Cigarettes Read the text and answer the questions.

and bacteria before it enters the lungs. As more cilia are damaged, more tar enters the lungs.

harmless-looking small white cylinder is, as a 2008 advertisement stated, ‘the most sinister enemy’. Containing over 4000 chemicals, 43 of which are carcinogens (cancer-causing substances), cigarettes slowly poison a person’s body.

Smoke that is exhaled or drifts from the cigarette tip dries the skin so that it has less elastin, the protein that keeps skin supple. As a result, regular smokers often have more wrinkles.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Carbon monoxide is a deadly, odourless gas released from a burning cigarette and when inhaled it reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood. This is why many smokers are short of breath when climbing stairs or exercising. Many countries have banned smoking in public places because of the health risks nonsmokers are exposed to through secondhand smoke. Because this smoke does not pass through the cigarette’s filter, it often contains more toxic chemicals than any exhaled smoke. Perhaps it is better to avoid cigarettes altogether!

ew i ev Pr

Teac he r

The major ingredient in cigarettes is tobacco. One of the chemicals that occurs naturally in tobacco is nicotine. Nicotine is a greatly addictive substance which makes a cigarette smoker crave more cigarettes. It is also very poisonous, as it constricts circulation of blood around the body. It also interferes with body chemicals called neurotransmitters, which carry messages from one brain nerve cell to another. Cigarette smoke contains tiny solid particles called tar. When the smoke is inhaled it cools inside the lungs and the particles, which contain carcinogens, form a dark sticky mass that coats the lining of the lung. The tar also coats cilia, tiny hairs inside the bronchial tubes leading to lungs that trap dirt

2. What substance makes a smoker continue smoking?

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3. What coats the inside of the lungs?

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o c . che e r o t r s super

4. Why is the smoke from the tip of a cigarette more toxic?

m . u

1. What are cancer-causing chemicals called?

5. What is the function of cilia?

6. What chemical helps transmit messages in the brain?

7. Explain in your own words what ‘the most sinister enemy’ might mean. 8. Find words in the text that mean: covers, tube, barred, poisonous, yearn. R.I.C. Publications®

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your h g n i t om h g i e L Indicator

Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of lighting in homes.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

ew i ev Pr

• In a hydro-electric power station, water stored in a dam rushes down huge pipes to spin the blades of a turbine. • Tungsten is a hard metal with a high melting point of 3410 degrees celsius.

• While many houses still use light bulbs with filaments, most, are slowly being replaced by bulbs that use fluorescent gases.

Answers

2. Switching on a light © R . I . C . P u b i ca t i ons 3. In order to reach houses (and factories) 4. l Because it’s dangerous 5. Toggle or tumbler switch Teacher check; e.g. high melting • orr evi ew pu6. r p osesonl y• f point

1. A generator and turbine

8. Teacher check

Additional activities

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• Write a short report on Thomas Edison, who invented the light bulb. • Write a brief description of the metal tungsten.

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m . u

7. rotates, reduced, glow, linked, pylons

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Lighting your home Read the text and answer the questions.

stronger current is now very dangerous, so it is sent along underground cables or cables located on high pylons. The power of the current is then reduced by another transformer, sent along mains cables under streets, and from there into your house. An electric current flows round a circuit. When a light switch is ‘off’, two pieces of metal behind the switch are pushed apart and the circuit is broken, meaning the light receives no electricity. When you switch the light, ‘on’ the metal pieces touch and the circuit is complete, the electric current flows and the light comes on.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

In the light bulb is a filament,a very thin coil of wire made from a metal called tungsten. The current has to force its way through the thin wire and as it does so it creates heat. This causes the filament to glow and create light. Tungsten only melts at very high temperatures, unlike fuse wires which melt and break the circuit during a power surge.

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Teac he r

hen you turn on a light using a toggle (or tumbler) switch, you complete an interesting journey! Many power stations burn fossil fuels like oil, coal or natural gas, or even use nuclear fuel, to boil water and change it to steam. The steam then rushes along pipes and rotates at high speed the broad blades of a huge turbine. The turbine’s shaft is linked to a generator, a large coil of copper wire between the poles of a large magnet. This electromagnet pulls along electrons, tiny bundles of energy, in the wire. When the electrons move they form an electric current. This flows along the wire at thousands of kilometres a second! The current from the power station is not strong enough to reach your house so it is strengthened by a device called a transformer. The

1. Which two machines are linked by a shaft?

2. What is the end of an ‘interesting journey’?

3. Why is the current from a power station strengthened?

4. Why is the current carried along high pylons?

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m . u

5. The lever which connects/disconnects a circuit is called a what?

o c . che e r o t r s super

6. Why is tungsten used for filaments?

7. Find words in the text that mean: turns, lowered, shine, joined, towers. 8. Do you think we should stop using fossil fuels to run power stations? Explain your answer. R.I.C. Publications®

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mmon c o c old e h T Indicator

Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of the common cold.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

ew i ev Pr

• In 1990, the commander of a space shuttle flight was sick with a cold and was unable to fly. The cost of the delay was $US 2.5 million. Millions of dollars are lost around the world each year because of absences from work due to the cold virus.

• Because hundreds of different viruses cause the common cold it is unlikely that a vaccine will be developed for some time.

Answers

© R. I . C. Pu b l i c ahandkerchief/tissue t i ons 4. Cover mouth with 5. Teacher check; e.g. avoid 6. The virus spreads. crowded • f oplaces rr evi ew pur posesonl y• 2. immune system chemicals/nose glands

3. A week

7. It could lead to more serious ailments.

8. destroyed, irritate, spreads, enclosed, main

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Additional activities

• After research, write a short paragraph on bronchitis or pneumonia.

m . u

1. tear ducts

• Design a poster advising cold victims how to prevent spreading their illness.

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• Research old-fashioned cold remedies.

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o c . che e r o t r s super Curriculum links

English TS3.1,TS3.2, RS3.5, RS3,6, WS3.9, WS3.12 3.1, 4.1, 3.2, 4.2, 3.3, 4.3, 3.4, 4.4 Refer to curriculum documents on http://www.qsa. qld.edu.au ENSL0401, ENSL0402, ENRE0401, ENRE0402, ENWR0401, ENWR0402 LS 4.1, LS 4.2, R4.1, R 4.2, W 4.1, W 4.2

Science LTS3.3 3.5, 4.5 LL 4.1

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The common cold Read the text and answer the questions.

causing a sore throat or a cough. Sometimes chemicals produced by the immune system stimulate glands in the nose’s lining so they create more mucus to flush out a virus. This is what produces a runny nose! The nasal discharge is clear and watery at first, but then thickens and may become yellowy-green from the dead blood cells and bacteria it contains.

hough there are many different cold viruses, colds are mainly caused by rhinoviruses—a family or viruses that infect humans. Cold viruses reproduce best between 29 °C and 35 °C and as the human body’s temperature is slightly higher, the viruses’ main entry point is a cooler part of the body, the nasal passage. ‘Rhino’ means ‘nose’, but cold viruses can also enter through tear ducts.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

The immune system can usually end a cold virus infection within a week, but during that time the coughing and sneezing may spread the virus to other victims through airborne droplets (aerosols), especially in enclosed places like offices, buses, cinemas or classrooms. Researchers also believe viruses can be spread by direct contact when touching contaminated surfaces, where viruses can survive for hours. Washing your hands is so important!

Teac he r

ew i ev Pr

Hairlike cilia inside the nose capture many viruses and others are destroyed by the adenoids, folds of tissue behind the nose. Most viruses that enter through the mouth are carried into the stomach and destroyed by stomach acids.

The body’s immune system protects the victim and most of the symptoms that make you feel miserable are caused by its efforts to defeat any virus that has entered the body. Some viruses manage to enter cells which can become damaged and burst, releasing the virus to infect other cells. Then chemicals released by the damaged cells can irritate nerves in the throat, perhaps

A cold is a mild infection. However, if it spreads to your air passages and lungs it may cause bronchitis or pneumonia, both of which are more dangerous. So, always treat a cold with caution.

2. What gives you a runny nose when you have a cold?

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3. How long does a cold usually last?

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m . u

1. Which part of the eye can be an entry point for viruses?

o c . che e r o t r s super

4. What can you do to prevent spreading viruses when sneezing?

5. How can you try to avoid catching a cold?

6. What happens when a cell bursts?

7. Why should you treat a cold seriously? 8. Find words in the text that mean: exterminated, annoy, disperses, confined, chief.

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The eagle Indicator

Teac he r

Reads text and answers questions to show an understanding of eagles.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Teachers notes

ew i ev Pr

• Read and discuss (e.g. its use of alliteration) Lord Alfred Tennyson’s poem ‘The eagle’. • Use a road directory to map out an area of 8 km by 5 km to help students appreciate the scale of a large eagle’s hunting territory.

• In Texas, in the United States of America thousands of golden eagles have been shot by hunters in planes as ranchers fear they could kill young lambs and calves.

Answers

1. An eagle has keen eyesight

7. talons, situated, diurnal, steal, prey

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m . u

8. keen eyesight; strength; long, hooked beak; strong, curved talons; good binocular vision; tailored wings; adapted toes for a firm grip

Additional activities

• Write a report about one species of eagle; e.g. the golden eagle.

o c . che e r o Curriculum links t r s super

• Many eagle species are endangered. Write a report about the plight of eagles around the world. Design a poster about protecting wildlife.

• Listen to Tennyson’s poem ‘The eagle’. Write a poem about this magnificent bird.

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The eagle Read the text and answer the questions.

may have hunting territories of up to 40 km2 in area, yet constantly return to the eyrie over several months to feed eaglets, of which there are usually one or two, until they can hunt for themselves.

agles are among the largest and most powerful birds in the world. There are over 50 different species and they are found on all continents except Antarctica.

An eagle’s weapons include a long, hooked beak for piercing and tearing flesh and strong, curved talons to hold its prey securely. Its eyes are situated on the side of its head but are directed forward so it can see straight ahead.This means it has good binocular vision because its eyes have overlapping fields of view. As the eagle dives, its eyes constantly adjust to the changing distance between it and its prey. Many eagles have large wings and the long feathers are shaped so the air flows smoothly over them. Some species living in forests have shorter wings and long tails so they can manoeuvre better around trees. Others which are fish or snake eaters have toes which are rough underneath to firmly grip and hold slippery prey.

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Eagles are diurnal predators as they hunt prey during daylight hours, with most species spending their nights in an eyrie on a high point safe from humans, their worst enemy. Many eagles hunt while soaring high in the sky or watch for prey from a high perch like a cliff ledge or tall tree. They glide great distances on air currents as they watch, ‘eagle-eyed’, for any movement by rabbits, squirrels, fish and young deer or lambs. One species even preys on monkeys! Eagles depend on surprise and strength rather than speed and, after seizing its victim on the ground, will carry the prey back to its eyrie if there are young eaglets to be fed. If prey is scarce, they will take dead animals (carrion) or even steal meals from other predators! Larger eagles

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3. How long is it before eaglets can hunt for their own meals? 4. Why do you think some farmers and ranchers kill eagles?

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5. Name three continents where eagles are found.

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2. What is the name for an eagle’s nest?

6. Find out which country has the bald eagle as its national bird as it is only found naturally in that country.

7. Find words in the text that mean: claws, located, daytime, purloin, quarry. 8. List some features that help eagles hunt their prey. R.I.C. Publications®

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