Weekly Reader Assignments

7th & 8th Grade:

Read the following articles in Current Science; Jagged Edge, White Blight, and Personal Mission. Read one at a time and answer the questions below in a Google Doc that you share with me (one doc please).

6th Grade:

Read the following articles in Current Science; Jagged Edge and White Blight. Read one at a time and answer the questions below in a Word doc that you save in your folder. If you have time, read and answer the questions to Personal Mission.

Skillbuilders: Jagged Edge

Multiple Choice
Choose the response that best completes each statement or answers each question. Write the letters in the spaces.

1. Lemurs are
(A) apes.
(B) monkeys.
(C) primates.

2. The word tsingy means
(A) needle.
(B) point.
(C) spike.

3. The gradual, natural breakdown of rocks is called
(A) erosion.
(B) metamorphism.
(C) weathering.

4. Sightseeing trips that leave nature unharmed are called
(A) adventure cruises.
(B) ecotourism.
(C) safaris.

5. Sixteen full-grown pygmy mouse lemurs weigh about 1
(A) ounce.
(B) pound.
(C) kilogram.

6. Madagascar is located off the coast of
(A) Africa.
(B) Asia.
(C) Australia.

7. When the shells of tiny sea creatures are compressed underwater over millions of years, the result can be
(A) fossils.
(B) limestone.
(C) sediment.

8. An animal that is unique to a region is said to be
(A) endemic.
(B) energetic.
(C) epidemic.

9. A fossa is an animal that looks like a type of
(A) cat.
(B) dog.
(C) monkey.

10. A landscape that takes shape from dissolved bedrock is called a karst
(A) tomography.
(B) topography.
(C) topology.

Skillbuilders: White Blight

Short Answer

1. What is the white substance that scientists have found covering thousands of dead and dying bats in the Northeast?

2. Give three reasons why some scientists believe that the bats’ deaths are not being caused by a pathogen.

3. What is metabolism?

4. What might be robbing bats of enough fat to last them through the winter?

5. Scientists classify animals according to their genus and species. Domestic cats are called Felis (genus) catus (species). According to this article, what is a genus name for many bats?

Skillbuilders: Personal Mission

Fill in the Blanks
Write the word or words that best complete each sentence.

1. Chordoma is a rare type of _____________________.

2. The _____________________ is a stiff rod of tissue that gives rise to the spine.

3. Cancer occurs when _____________________ multiply uncontrollably.

4. When cancer has _____________________, it has spread to other parts of the body.

5. The _____________________ is the bony structure that surrounds the brain.

6. Drug treatments used to fight cancer are called _____________________.

7. The tailbone is the base of the _____________________.

8. _____________________ are the basic units of inheritance.

9. _______________ _______________ are cancer cells taken from a tumor and grown in a lab.

10. A gene is a segment of _____________________.