Many plants, many places (life science)

Climate is one of the things that determine which plants grow in an area.. Rain or snow, temperature, and the change of seasons help determine the types of plants that are successful in

Scott Foresman Reading Street 2.4.2

ISBN 0-328-13282-9

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Genre Comprehension

Skills and Strategy Text Features Expository

nonfi ction

• Fact and Opinion

• Sequence

• Ask Questions

• Captions

• Table of Contents

• Glossary

Life Science

Many Plants,

Many Plants, Many Places

Suggested levels for Guided Reading, DRA, ™

Lexile, ® and Reading Recovery ™ are provided

in the Pearson Scott Foresman Leveling Guide.

by Cynthia Clampitt

Scott Foresman Reading Street 2.4.2

ISBN 0-328-13282-9

ì<(sk$m)=bdcicj< +^-Ä-U-Ä-U

Genre Comprehension

Skills and Strategy Text Features Expository

nonfi ction

• Fact and Opinion

• Sequence

• Ask Questions

• Captions

• Table of Contents

• Glossary

Life Science

Many Plants,

Many Plants, Many Places

Suggested levels for Guided Reading, DRA, ™

Lexile, ® and Reading Recovery ™ are provided

in the Pearson Scott Foresman Leveling Guide.

by Cynthia Clampitt

1 Read page 14 again What opinion is

included on the page? Do you agree with the opinion? Why or why not?

2 What questions did you have when

you read the heading Animals as Food?

Use a chart like the one below to brainstorm your questions Did the text answer these questions?

3 What are nutrients? What nutrients do

you need to live?

4 How can the table of contents in

a chapter book help you locate information in a book such as this one?

Reader Response

Answers Questions

Editorial Offices: Glenview, Illinois • Parsippany, New Jersey • New York, New York Sales Offices: Needham, Massachusetts • Duluth, Georgia • Glenview, Illinois

Coppell, Texas • Sacramento, California • Mesa, Arizona

Many Plants,

Many Plants, Many Places

by Cynthia Clampitt

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ISBN: 0-328-13282-9

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3

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: 4

Plants for Each Place

CHAPTER 2: 8

Living in Wet Places

CHAPTER 3: 11

Living in Dry Places

CHAPTER 4: 14

Living with Animals

Almost anywhere you go on Earth, you will see many kinds of plants There

are some places where the climate is so

harsh that no plants grow there You

won’t find plants living at the South

Pole, for example, but most places

support a variety of plant life

Climate is one of the things that determine which plants grow in an area

Some places are warm all year, while

some places have cold winters Annual

rainfall is another element of climate

that affects plants

Over thousands of years, plants slowly adapted to changing conditions

As wet places got drier or warm places

got colder, small changes would help

one plant survive, while another might

not In time, these small differences led

to the growth of plants perfectly suited

to very different climates

Chapter 1: Plants for Each Place

5

Rain or snow, temperature, and the change of seasons help determine the

types of plants that are successful in an

area Landforms and waterways also

help determine which plants grow in an

area For example, mountains have very

different plants than lakeshores

In the United States, we have many different landforms and climate zones

The pictures below show the Northeast

and the Southwest regions of the

country

6

Northeast

The Northeast has warm summers and cold winters Plenty of rain falls there Most of the Southwest has warm winters and hot summers, and little rain falls in much of this region

Look at the two pictures What differences do you notice? Where are plants greener? What clues show that there is less rain in the Southwest? Each place has plants that are perfect for its climate

7

Southwest

Ponds, Lakes, Rivers, and Oceans

Salt would kill most land plants, but plants in the ocean are suited to living in

salt water

Giant kelp, found in the cold waters

of the North Atlantic Ocean, can grow

as much as 14 inches per day Giant kelp

grows up to 100 feet long before it dies

each winter

Water lilies, shown below, live in fresh water, and are found in lakes,

ponds, and rivers Water lilies are suited

to living in water They have tough,

waxy leaves that float and long stems

that grow up from the soft mud below

8

Chapter 2: Living in Wet Places

Because water lily leaves and flowers float, the stems do not have to hold them up Instead, the stems are flexible,

so they can move easily in water

currents

Reeds and rushes are water plants that grow near the water’s edge Only their roots and parts of their stems are under water

Some water plants do not have roots

at all They get their nutrients, or food,

directly from the water

9

Rain Forests

Some places have wet climates, with heavy rainfall Forests that grow

in these places are called rain forests

Washington’s Olympic National Park

rain forest often gets more than one

hundred inches of rain in a year The

trees grow close together, so they grow

tall to reach up to the sunlight

Mosses and ferns are also suited to the rain forest They are adapted for growing

in the shade Ferns and mosses grow

beneath the trees—and even on the trees

10

Red cedars and Douglas firs grow tall and close

together in Olympic National Park rain forest.

11

Deserts

Deserts are places that get less than ten inches of annual rainfall Some deserts are cold, some are hot, but all are dry Because rain is rare and often comes in short, heavy bursts, desert plants have to be able to either save water or grow quickly when water is available

Some desert plants have spines, which are like thorns, instead of leaves

A cactus has its spines in star-like clusters A spine has less surface area from which water can evaporate, or dry up Desert plants also have stomata,

or tiny openings

on leaves or stems, that can close to keep water from evaporating

The barrel cactus can expand to store water.

Chapter 3: Living in Dry Places

Mountains can be difficult places for plants to grow High mountains can stop

clouds, so all the rain falls on one side of

the mountain The other side may get

very little rain, creating a dry climate

This effect is known as a rain shadow

Strong winds may blow, which also dries a mountain’s soil The winds affect

plants in other ways too Many high

mountains are cold as well as dry

Of course, the higher up a mountain you go, the harsher the conditions

There are often great forests on the

lower slopes of mountains, but the

plants change as you climb

12

Some mountain plants grow in clusters, that is, their stems grow close together This traps heat and water

Often, plants grow close to the ground, which protects them from strong winds

Some plants, such

as lichens, grow right on the rocks

Mountains in very hot regions may have many of the same plants you find in deserts

13

Lichens growing

on rock

Tree shaped by wind

Animals as Food

Plants that live in places where the soil has few nutrients get what they

need in other ways Some of these

plants actually eat insects and other

small creatures!

The leaves of sundew plants have hairs that make a kind of glue First, an

insect gets stuck in the glue Then,

the leaf folds over the insect

and traps it

The pitcher plant has leaves that form tubes that are filled with

liquid The surface at the mouth of

the tube is slippery Insects slip and

fall into the liquid and are digested

by the plant

Some consider the Venus’s-flytrap to be the most interesting of

the meat-eating plants The

Venus’s-flytrap has leaves that are hinged in

the middle When an insect lands on

one of the leaves, the leaf closes up,

trapping the insect

Pitcher plant

Chapter 4: Living with Animals

The Venus’s-flytrap can trap and digest insects, such as this dragonfly, to get the nutrients it needs.

15

Birds

help

spread

seeds.

16

Friends and Enemies

More common than plants eating animals is animals eating plants For

some plants, such as grass, the plant

survives by growing back after the

animal has moved on However, many

plants have thorns to protect them from

animals Others have leaves that taste

bad or are poisonous

17

Plants and animals are not always enemies, however Many plants need animals to help with their life cycles

Juicy berries or other types of fruit attract bats, birds, monkeys, and other animals, which then spread the seeds far from the original plant Beautiful flowers attract insects, which then spread pollen from one flower to another

Just as different plants are specially suited to the climates in which they live,

so too they are suited to the animals with which they live

Thorns protect plants from animals.

Now Try This

Plants need sunlight Adaptations make it possible for plants to get the

sunlight they need This experiment will

show you one of these adaptations

You’ll need:

• two small planting containers

• planting soil

• a shoebox

• two seeds (beans, corn,

or other seeds)

• a small wedge or block

19

1 Put some soil in each container

2 Plant a seed in each container

3 Water both seeds a little

4 Turn the shoebox on its side Set the containers inside the shoebox

5 Place the shoebox on a window sill, with the open side facing the window

6 Put a block or a wedge under one

of the containers The container should be tilted away from the window

7 Water the containers for a week

or two

8 Watch the seeds grow Why do the stems grow differently? How does this help the plant get sunlight?

Her e’s H ow to D o It!

Glossary

change to fit

surroundings or

conditions

year or for a year

of weather a place

has year after year

water or air

needed by living things

openings or pores

in a plant or animal

1 Read page 14 again What opinion is

included on the page? Do you agree with the opinion? Why or why not?

2 What questions did you have when

you read the heading Animals as Food?

Use a chart like the one below to brainstorm your questions Did the text answer these questions?

3 What are nutrients? What nutrients do

you need to live?

4 How can the table of contents in

a chapter book help you locate information in a book such as this one?

Reader Response

Answers Questions