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Desert Plants: Find It Fast worksheet preview

Worksheet

Desert Plants: Find It Fast

Use a table of contents, headings, a sidebar, a glossary, search key words and hyperlinks to find facts about desert plants quickly.

Grade 3ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toRI.3.5

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What’s included

  • Single worksheet
  • Auto-graded online
  • 1 Common Core standard
  • Printable answer key
  • 9 questions
  • Classroom-ready

Details

Format
Interactive · Printable
Grade
Grade 3
Subject
ELA
Question types
Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

  • Students use a table of contents, headings and a glossary to find information quickly.
  • Students use a sidebar to locate an extra fact about a topic.
  • Students choose key words and hyperlinks to search for information on a topic.

How to use

Have students look through the book pages before answering. Talk about which feature (contents, heading, sidebar, glossary, search or link) is fastest for each question.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

RI.3.5

Use text features and search tools such as key words, sidebars, and hyperlinks to find information on a topic quickly.

Preview

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Name Date

Desert Plants: Find It Fast

Use text features and search tools to find facts.

Read the book pages

This book is about desert plants. Look at the contents, the headings, the sidebar and the glossary.

Desert Plants
Contents
What Is a Desert? . . . page 3
Cacti and Their Water . . . page 5
Roots Wide and Deep . . . page 8
Seeds That Wait . . . page 11
Glossary . . . page 14

Desert Plants

What Is a Desert?

A desert is a place that gets very little rain. Many deserts are hot, but some are cold. Plants that live in a desert must find ways to get by with very little water.

Cacti and Their Water

A cactus has a thick, green stem that works like a water tank. After a rain, the stem fills up and swells. The cactus can then use the stored water for a long time. Sharp spines cover many cacti. The spines keep hungry animals from taking a bite.

Roots Wide and Deep

Desert plants use different kinds of roots. Many cacti have shallow roots that spread out wide. When rain falls, these roots soak up water fast. A mesquite tree has roots that reach deep underground. They can find water far below the surface.

Seeds That Wait

Some desert flowers begin as seeds that lie in the dry soil. The seeds wait for a good rain. Then they sprout, grow, and bloom in a short time. Soon a patch of desert may be full of color.

Sidebar: Did You Know?

The stem of a saguaro cactus is pleated, like the folds of a paper fan. The folds spread open as the stem fills with water. Many saguaros grow in the deserts of the southwestern United States.

Glossary
cactus: a plant with a thick stem that holds water
roots: plant parts under the ground that soak up water
seeds: small parts that can grow into new plants
spines: sharp, pointed parts on the outside of a plant

Find it in the book

Use the book pages above to answer each question.

1.
Look at the contents. On which page does the part called "Roots Wide and Deep" begin? Write the page number.

It begins on page  .

2.
Maya wants to learn how a cactus keeps water inside its stem. Under which heading should she look?
  • A. Seeds That Wait
  • B. Cacti and Their Water
  • C. What Is a Desert?
  • D. Roots Wide and Deep
3.
A reader does not know the word seeds. Use the glossary. Which meaning is right?
  • A. sharp, pointed parts on the outside of a plant
  • B. plant parts under the ground that soak up water
  • C. small parts that can grow into new plants
  • D. a plant with a thick stem that holds water
4.
Read the sidebar. Underline the sentence that tells what the folds of a saguaro stem do when the stem fills with water.

The stem of a saguaro cactus is pleated, like the folds of a paper fan.The folds spread open as the stem fills with water.Many saguaros grow in the deserts of the southwestern United States.

Find it online

Now look at an online page about desert plants. Underlined words are hyperlinks: you click one to jump to another page.

Online Desert Guide
Search box: cactus spines
Search results
1. Sea Urchins of the Ocean Floor
Meet the spiny animals that live on rocks and sand.
2. Cactus Spines: Keeping Hungry Animals Away
Find out why many cacti are covered in sharp spines.
3. Cactus Plants for Sale
Pots, soil, and gifts for your home.
More to explore
Wildflowers Bloom After Rain
Mesquite and Its Deep Roots
Why Rain Forests Stay So Wet
How Desert Animals Find Water
5.
Sam types the key words cactus spines. Which search result will best help him learn why cacti have spines?
  • A. Result 1
  • B. Result 2
  • C. Result 3
6.
Maya wants to read more about a plant whose roots reach far below the ground. Which hyperlink should she click?
  • A. Why Rain Forests Stay So Wet
  • B. Wildflowers Bloom After Rain
  • C. How Desert Animals Find Water
  • D. Mesquite and Its Deep Roots
7.
Dev wants to find out how a mesquite tree gets water. Sort each set of key words.
plantsdesertmesquite tree rootspizza recipesmesquite roots water
Helps find the answerToo wide or off topic
8.
Match each text feature to how it helps you find information.
  1. contents
  2. glossary
  3. sidebar
  4. hyperlink
  1. A. gives an extra fact in a box
  2. B. jumps to another page when clicked
  3. C. tells what important words mean
  4. D. shows where each part begins
9.
Write the key words you would type in a search box to learn how desert wildflowers grow after a rain. Use three or four words.

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