A Boat That Is Alive

10/10/2020 4:37:00 PM

Image: nationalgeographic.com

Do you know?

  • Ants are smart, six-legged creatures found in almost every part of the world.
  • Ants survive in water by building their version of a ‘lifeboat’ and can float for long periods of time to survive floods.

Let's explore it!

FACT: Fire ants can survive in a raft up to several weeks.

Image: nationalgeographic.com

Listen and choose the correct answer to each of the following questions.

  • What is the weather like in the tropics?
  • Why do the ants join to form a ball?

What is the weather like in the tropics?

  • Cold
  • Warm
  • Little rain

The ants join to form a ball to _____.

  • play for fun
  • survive flood
  • keep their food dry

Complete the text you are listening to by dragging the correct word to each blank.

A Boat That is Alive

The tropics are warm. In some places, it rains a lot. Sometimes, it rains so much that the waters quickly. The land becomes . How do some tropical ants survive the flood? How do they keep from drowning?

The ants join together. They form a ball. They are like a boat that is ! As the ant boat on the water, it over and over. Sometimes the ants are above the water. Sometimes they are below the water.

The ants are able to breathe when they are above the water. The ant boat rolls enough that the ants can survive. They get enough air to keep from drowning.

Read and answer the following questions.

A Boat That is Alive

Fire ant life raft. Image: nationalgeographic.com

The tropics are warm. In some places, it rains a lot. Sometimes, it rains so much that the waters rise quickly. The land becomes flooded. How do some tropical ants survive the flood? How do they keep from drowning?

The ants join together. They form a ball. They are like a boat that is alive! As the ant boat floats on the water, it rolls over and over. Sometimes the ants are above the water. Sometimes they are below the water.

The ants are able to breathe when they are above the water. The ant boat rolls enough that the ants can survive. They get enough air to keep from drowning.

This story is mainly about _____.
  • ants
  • boats
  • floods
  • the tropics

Above is to below as _____

  • float is to ant.
  • float is to warm.
  • float is to sink.
  • float is to breathe.
What happens before the ants join together?
  • The ant boat rolls over.
  • The land becomes flooded.
  • The ants survive the flood.
  • The ants keep from drowning.

Put the right word in each blank. The sentences are from the text.

  1. Sometimes, it rains so much that the waters quickly.
  2. The land becomes .
  3. They are like a boat that is !
  4. As the ant boat on the water, it over and over.

Put the right word in each blank. These are new sentences for words in the text.

  1. The floodwaters were fast.
  2. Doctors kept the baby for six weeks.
  3. The city was completely after the heavy storm.
  4. The dog over onto its back.
  5. You can very easily on the Dead Sea because it's so salty.