RI.4.2 #4

�2015 Alyssha Swanson: Teaching and Tapas License valid for one classroom only

Lexile Level – 860 Words - 743

Page 37

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Healing Power of Wolves Did you know that wolves are like doctors? Just like a doctor helps heal people, or helps them get better, wolves do the same for ecosystems. An ecosystem is an area where living things interact with other living things. Let’s read further to find out how wolves can help ecosystems heal. Wolves are what we call “top predators” because they are at the top of their food chain. This means that they have no other animals that hunt them for food. A food chain starts with decay detrivores (worms, insects, and mushrooms that live in soil). The next level is vegetation that uses the waste of the decay detrivores. Examples of vegetation are plants, trees, grasses, and shrubs. A bird will eat the grass and then a snake eats the bird. Finally, the wolf eats the snake and the food chain is complete. If wolves no longer live in an area, then the number of animals that they eat will increase in their population. For example, the number of deer will increase, or go up. If the number of deer increases, there will be a lot more of them eating grass and vegetation. With more deer eating, there will be less vegetation growing. After this happens for several years, the deer and other animals that eat vegetation will no longer have enough food.

!Healing Power of Wolves!

Food Pyramid Food Web

A food pyramid and food web are similar diagrams for showing a food chain.

Decay Detrovores

!Healing Power of Wolves!

�2015 Alyssha Swanson: Teaching and Tapas License valid for one classroom only Page 38

Page 2 RI.4.2

#4

Vegetation isn’t just food for animals. It is also a home or place of protection for many insects and other small creatures. Mice and other rodents can hide from hawks and other large animals in the tall grasses. If wolves no longer live in an area, then these small animals cannot hide because there would be less vegetation. Without vegetation, these animals have to find another place to live or they could die. Plants, trees, shrubs, and grasses all have roots that dig deep into the ground. These roots act like fingers that hold soil in place. Imagine you stick your hands into a jar full of Skittles, grab as many as you can, and pull your hands back out. What keeps the Skittles from falling back into the jar? Your fingers! Roots do the same thing. This is important near rivers. If there is no vegetation along a riverbank, there are no roots to hold the soil. Without roots to hold the soil, the dirt along the side of the river can fall into the water. This can be very harmful. There are many different animals and fish that live in rivers. If the water becomes too dirty, these animals can die. Fish can breathe underwater because they have gills that act like our lungs. There is oxygen in water that goes into their gills for them to breathe. If too much dirt falls into the water, it could keep the fish from getting enough oxygen. Trees along the river can provide shade for animals living in or near the water. If the water isn’t a certain temperature, some fish will leave the area. They are a food source to other living things that live in and around the river. Without trees around, beavers will not have wood to sharpen their teeth, which is needed for survival. Without beavers, dams won’t get built. Dams provide protection and shelter for turtles, fish, and insects. Just by removing wolves from an ecosystem, all of these things will begin to happen. And they have. Yellowstone National Park is an example. For 70 years, wolves were not around. Slowly, all of these animals were affected because deer ate much of the vegetation. But later, wolves were put back into Yellowstone. After a short amount of time, the deer population went down, grass grew, fish returned, beavers began building dams. Large birds and bears came around because they had food to eat. Things returned to normal again. Wolves healed this ecosystem! ##

Lexile Level – 860 Words - 743

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RI.4.2 #4

!RESPOND! NAME:

�2015 Alyssha Swanson: Teaching and Tapas License valid for one classroom only Page 39

Healing Power of Wolves RI

.4.2

1. What is the main topic of the text? ________________________________________________ 2. What is the main idea of this text.

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3. Color in a key detail that supports the main idea of the text.

Explain in your own words how this detail supports the main idea. ____________________________________________________________________________________#

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4. Color in a key detail that supports the main idea of the text.

Explain in your own words how this detail supports the main idea. ____________________________________________________________________________________#

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5. Write a summary of this text. #

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MAIN IDEA =

Topic + What the author says about the topic

SUMMARY =

Main Idea + Supporting Details