Can We Rescue the Reefs?

1. Can We Rescue the Reefs? Genre: Science Article Non-fiction Students will read about the importance of coral reefs to the ecology of our planet. Our coral reefs are in danger and we need to work together to rescue them.

2. Protecting the Reef (TC 145) Oil companies, careless divers, and an invasion by crown-of-thorns starfish threaten the Great Barrier Reef. The reef – a 30-million-year-old limestone formation-needs protection. Oil companies want to drill the reef area, while some divers wish to collect souvenirs of the reef itself. Collectors prize its brightly colored formations. Australia has made most of the reef a national park and created laws against drilling or collecting. However, scientists have yet to solve the problem of invasions of crown-of-thorns starfish, which have multiplied out of control at times and eat the animals that form coral reefs.

3. Coral Reefs (TC 146) 1. Coral are tiny ocean animals that live tightly-packed together in groups. 2. In warm, shallow seas the shells of these tiny animals eventually form reefs. 3. Sadly, up to 60 percent or a bit more than half of these coral reefs may be destroyed in the next 45 years. 4. The damage to the coral is related to harmful human actions. 5. When people clear land, loosened dirt washes into the sea. 6. The tons of dirt fill the water and block the light that algae plants, which play an important role in building coral reefs, need to survive.

4. Name That Reef (TC 148) There are three types of coral reefs: fringing reefs, barrier reefs, and atolls. A fringing reef grows from the edge of the land, such as the shore of a beach, with no water between the reef and the land. The barrier reef is farther off the shore. It acts as a barrier, or a block, between the water near the shore and the open ocean. An atoll is an island made of coral. It usually has a narrow horseshoe shape surrounding a body of shallow water known as a lagoon.

5. The Great Barrier Reef (TC 149) The Great Barrier Reef is a chain of coral reefs in the Coral Sea, off the northeastern coast of Australia. The 1,250-mile-long (2,000 km) reef protects the mainland from being hammered by harsh winds and waves. The Great Barrier Reef is currently experiencing a problem. An animal called the crown-of-thorns starfish has invaded the reef and is killing the coral. No one knows if the coral will be able to bounce back.

6. Daily Language Review (Monday) • The coral gets ____ food from plants. • ______ responsible for cleaning. • ________ anchors hurt the reef.

7. Daily Language Review (Tuesday) • ______ are about 2500 types of coral. • Coral reefs are known for _______ many colors. • _____ time we helped save the coral.

8. Daily Language Review (Wednesday) • _________ are reefs along the sea. • _________ damaged by fishing. • ________ doing something about it.

9. Daily Language Review (Thursday) • Storms often rock ________ boats. • _______ nets can be dangerous to sea creatures. • The fish gets ______ food from the coral.

10. Daily Language Review (Friday) • _____ amazing to see all the shapes. • Some fish change ________ colors. • __________ many different types.

11. Antonyms (Opposites) 1. expose ___ a. living 2. survive ___ b. tightened 3. dying ___ c. perish, die 4. loosened ___ d. protect, shelter 5. extreme ___ e. past 6. future ___ f. normal, average

12. Synonyms (Same meaning) 1. rescue ___ a. help 2. assist ___ b. narrow waterway 3. channel ___ c. harm 4. locate ___ d. save 5. damage ___ e. boat, water craft 6. vessel ___ f. find

13. Definitions I • protect ___ a. make necessary changes • adapt ___ b. keep from harm • reefs ___ c. animals • danger ___ d. peril, harm • seaweed ___ e. ocean plants • creatures ___ f. oceanic structure of animal shells

14. Definitions II • dissolve ___ g. underwater swimmers • motion ___ h. important characteristic • feature ___ i. movement • divers ___ j. protection from harm • coral ___ k. become solution • percent ___ n. portion, part • shelter ___ o. living structure of animals

15. Homophone List # 16 • Can you tell __________________ the ________________ is going to change? • Please _______________ if they will ________________ the admission fee. • Did he ______________ the small chest of _______________ tools? • The ship sailed _________________ through the _____________ of Gibraltar. • ____________ be happy to help you _____________ the garden.

16. Homophone List # 16 • _____________ smile tells us that _________________ happy. • The hotel manager was very ___________ to let us have the last ___________. • On ___________ afternoon, we all buy a hot fudge ______________ at Sonic. • The beef hung from a ______________ until it was cut into a _____________. • I rode my ___________________ bike while I wrote a letter on my ___________________________.

17. Latin and Greek Roots - 1 • mono ____a. two • dens/dentis ____c. brain • bi ____d. head • tri ____e. fourth • quartus ____f. three • December ____g. hundred • centum ____h. one • caput ____i. tooth • cerebrum ____j. ten • facies ____k. face

18. Match the Meanings with the word based on the root meaning: • Monarchy ____a. Professional who cares for teeth • bisect ____b. Contest of ten track and field events • trilogy ____c. Part of the brain that controls memory • quartet ____d. Music composition for four voices • decathlon ____e. Single or one ruler • centigrade ____f. One who leads or guides others • captain ____g. Treatment for the face • cerebrum ____h. Divide in two equal parts • facial ____i. One hundred degree thermometer • dentist ____j. A set of three literary or dramatic works

19. Match the Meanings with the word based on the root meaning: • monopoly ____a. Building where law makers meet • biplane ____b. Small notch starting a paragraph • trident ____c. A deceptive front • quadrangle ____d. An insect with over a hundred legs • decimal ____e. Control by one group • centipede ____f. Airplane having two wings • capitol ____g. Three-pronged weapon • cerebral ____h. Numbers built on the powers of ten • facade ____i. Requiring the use of the intellect • indent ____j. Having four angles, quadrilateral