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#3489 Daily Warm-Ups: Reading
TROPICAL Rainforests
Rainforests are very warm, wet forests. Rain falls for days and even months. Rainforests
have millions of different types of plants and animals. They live in the four different zones of
the rainforest.
The first zone is called the emergent zone. This is high above the rainforest. Here, giant
trees stretch higher than the average height of any of the other plants.
Many birds and
insects live here.
The second zone is the canopy. This is the leafy area of the tops of the trees. Most of the
animals in the rainforest live here.
You can find monkeys, parrots, and frogs up here. You
can also find butterflies, snakes, and sloths. A sloth is a very slow-moving animal that hangs
upside down from the trees.
The understory is the third zone. It is made up of mostly young trees and shrubs. It is dark
and cool.
It is under the leaves, but not on the ground.
The forest floor is the final zone of the rainforest. The largest animals, such as jaguars and
even elephants usually live here. The forest floor is also home to millions and millions of
insects!
Warm-Up
Name _________________________ Date _________
Nonfiction: Science
STORY QUESTIONS
1.
In which zone would you most likely find a large animal, such as a jaguar?
a.
emergent zone
c. understory
b. canopy
d.
forest floor
2.
According to the passage, how many types of plants and animals live in the rainforest?
a. trillions
c. kazillions
b.
millions
d. thousands
3.
Which is the highest zone in the rainforest?
a.
forest floor
c. canopy
b.
emergent
d. understory
4.
In this passage,
zone
probably means . . .
a. time zone.
b. area under water.
c. part or section.
d. area where no animals live.