1. Harcourt Journeys: Story Selection
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2. “The Life and Times of the Ant”
Unit 3: Lesson 14
“The Life and Times of the Ant”
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3. Turn your Text Book to page 352.
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6. 1 2

7. Why do you think the author wrote about ants?
Answer
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8. Answer:
To inform readers about how important ants are and what they do for the earth.
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9. According to the timeline, which creature has lived on Earth the longest? Why do you think the author includes a timeline?
Answer
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10. Answer:
Ants have lived on Earth the longest. To help readers “see” how long ants have existed compared to dinosaurs and humans.
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11. 3

12. What makes ants social animals?
Answer
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13. Answer: They live and work together and solves their problems.
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14. 4 5 6

15. What are the main reasons that ants construct their homes underground?
Answer
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16. Answer:
for shelter from the weather, to create a safe place for the queen to lay eggs, and to store food.
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17. How does the transfer of heat make and anthill warmer than the area around it?
Answer
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18. Answer:
As the sun beats on an anthill, it absorbs the heat and transfers it down to the nest.
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19. What are some positive effects of building a nest beneath a rock or log?
Answer
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20. The nest is protected and stays warm.
Answer:
The nest is protected and stays warm.
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22. 7 8

23. How are the ants’ lives similar and different from peoples’ lives?
Answer
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24. Answer: Different: Ants work their entire lives, people do not
Answer: Different: Ants work their entire lives, people do not. Similar: Animals perform some of the same jobs people do, both work together to solve problems.
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25. What main ideas do the details provide in “A Life of Work” support?
Answer
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26. Answer: The life of an ant colony is a very busy place; ants work throughout their lives to support the colony.
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27. 9

28. Why do you think younger ants tend the queen and dig tunnels?
Answer
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29. Answer: These jobs help them bond and they are hard workers.
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30. 10 11

31. What do the ants “highways” tell you about the distances some ants have to travel to get food?
Answer
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32. The distance to their food sources may be very great.
Answer:
The distance to their food sources may be very great.
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33. How do harvester ants help wildflower plants grow in new places?
Answer
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34. Answer: The ants collect wildflower seeds and bring them back to the anthill. The seeds they don’t eat grow into new plants near the anthill.
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35. 12

36. What information in the text does the chart help to explain? How?
Answer
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37. Answer:
The text says that Harlow Shapley tested ants’ speeds at different temperatures, and the chart details his findings.
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38. 13

39. How would you summarize the main idea of “A Dangerous World”?
Answer
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40. Answer:
The world can be a dangerous place for ants because they have so many predators.
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41. 14

42. What details explain how a giant anteater is specialized to eat ants?
Answer
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43. Answer:
Its tongue, mouth and snout help it finds and trap ants and termites; its claws help it dig into the nest; its tail helps it sweep up ants; and its hair and stomach help protect it and digest the ants.
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44. 15 16

45. How do leafcutter ants help Earth?
Answer
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46. Answer:
As fungus from leaves decomposes, it releases nutrients that helps new plants grow.
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47. How do the illustrations and captions show what leafcutter ants do?
Answer
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48. Answer: They help explain what happens in each step on the ants’ work.
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50. Projectable 14.3
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53. Projectable 14.4
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57. How did you do?