activity of text interpretation, aimed at students in the fifth year of elementary school, on living sand. These are foraminifera. very small beings that live in the seas, mangroves, bays and oceans. Let's get to know them better? 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:
Living sands is the popular name that scientists use to refer to very small beings that live in the seas, mangroves, bays and oceans. Beings that form – believe me! – much of the sand in the oceans. […]
Foraminifera are protozoans – beings that have only one cell, covered by a carapace similar to that of siris and crabs. To see them, you have to use a high-power microscope, as they are very small. But watching them, you bet, is very interesting. You can see, for example, that they move and feed themselves through projections of their cell called pseudopods – a word that means “false feet”.
They have been on the planet for about 540 million years. At sea, they have enormous value. In addition to forming, with the calcareous algae, a large part of the sediments of biological origin that exist there, together with the mud and the grains of sand, foraminifera serve as food for various animals, such as fish, molluscs and even other foraminifera. This means that they are part of the marine food chain, since they eat other beings and are eaten too.
Still at sea, in areas of coral reefs, foraminifera also play an important role. All because these protozoa carry, inside their carapaces, a bunch of algae much smaller than themselves, which help them to feed. This type of relationship is called symbiosis and occurs when one living being helps the other. In this specific case, while foraminifera give the algae a home and protection, they, in return, produce a substance that serves them as food and improves their resistance.
The foraminifera are also related to other marine beings. […]
Patrícia Oliveira Silva and Cátia Fernandes Barbosa. Magazine “Science Today for Children”. Issue 193.
Available in:. (With adaptation).
Question 1 – In the passage “To see them, it is necessary to use a high magnification microscope, since they are very small.”, the text refers to:
( ) Siris.
( ) crabs.
( ) foraminifera.
Question 2 – The segment “[…] they move and feed themselves through projections of their cell called pseudopods […]” is:
( ) a narration.
( ) a description.
( ) an argument.
Question 3 – In “[…] pseudopods – a word that means ‘false feet’.”, the dash points out:
( ) a comment made by the authors of the text.
( ) an explanation given by the authors of the text.
( ) a conclusion presented by the authors of the text.
Question 4 – Underline below the term that resumes the foraminifera:
"They've been on the planet for about 540 million years."
Question 5 – In the part “[…] foraminifera serve as food for various animals, such as fish, mollusks It is even for other foraminifera.”, the underlined word indicates:
( ) facts that add up.
( ) facts that alternate.
( ) contrasting facts.
Question 6 – In “That means they are part of the marine food chain, since eat other beings and are eaten too.”, the highlighted expression introduces:
( ) a cause.
( ) a purpose.
( ) a consequence.
Question 7 – According to the text, symbiosis between foraminifera and algae occurs because:
( ) foraminifera help algae.
( ) Algae help foraminifera.
( ) foraminifera help algae and vice versa.
Question 8 – Identify the snippet that contains an opinion:
( ) “[…] very small beings that live in the seas […]”
( ) “But watching them, you bet, is very interesting.”
( ) “[…] foraminifera also play an important role.”
By Denyse Lage Fonseca
Graduated in Letters and specialist in distance education.
