activity of text interpretation, aimed at fifth-grade elementary school students, about the curious world of leaf-cutting ants. How about getting to know this world, huh? So, read the text carefully! Then answer the various interpretative questions proposed!
You can download this text comprehension activity in editable Word template, ready to print to PDF and also the activity with answers.
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SCHOOL: DATE:
PROF: CLASS:
NAME:
Read:
Though found only in the Americas, leaf-cutter ants are known worldwide. The fame they have as a gardener or farmer runs rampant! But, contrary to what their nicknames might suggest, they don't grow vegetables, but fungi inside their nests. These micro-organisms are their main food and they grow – now it makes sense! – together with the pieces of vegetables that the insect carries into the colony.
It is estimated that this habit of cultivating fungi emerged 50 million years ago among ancestral ants, which gave rise to today's leaf cutters. Agriculture practiced by humans has existed for approximately 10,000 years. See how the ants got ahead?
And they are really skilled. They cut pieces of leaves, flowers and even fruits with precision. The leaves are usually carved in the shape of a half moon; they can do the same very close to the stem of the plant, the part that supports the leaf and attaches it to the stem. To make their cuts, they climb to the top of trees and act like circus performers. With the piece of leaf caught in their jaws, they swing and end up hanging by just one leg. Then they descend from the tree towards the colony along its trails, which look like small avenues on the forest floor or in the gardens of the houses.
Paulo Savio D. da Silva and Hélio Soares Júnior.
Magazine “Science Today for Children”. Edition 218.
Available in:. (Fragment).
Question 1 – Read back:
“[…] they do not grow vegetables, but fungi inside their nests.”
The text refers to:
Question 2 – Underline the expression that indicates a time circumstance below:
“It is estimated that this habit of cultivating fungi emerged 50 million years ago among ancestral ants [...]”
Question 3 – In the segment “And they are same skillful.”, the highlighted word could be replaced by:
( ) "very".
( ) "in fact".
( ) "even so".
Question 4 – The excerpt “They cut pieces of leaves, flowers and even fruits with precision.” It is:
( ) a narration.
( ) a description.
( ) an argument.
Question 5 – Identify the part that, according to the text, “supports the leaf and attaches it to the stem”:
( ) the flower.
( ) the fruit.
( ) the stem of the plant.
Question 6 – In “To make their cuts, they climb to the top of trees and act like circus performers.”, the word “like”:
( ) points to a cause.
( ) starts a comparison.
( ) introduces an example.
Question 7 – Watch:
“With the piece of leaf caught in their jaws, they swing It is they even hang from one leg.”
The underlined word means:
( ) sum.
( ) opposition.
( ) alternation.
Question 8 – The authors of the text dialogue directly with the reader in the passage:
( ) “Did you see how the ants got ahead?”
( ) “The leaves are usually carved in the shape of a half moon [...]”
( ) “Then they descend from the tree towards the colony along its trails [...]”
By Denyse Lage Fonseca
Graduated in Letters and specialist in distance education.