The Life and Times of the Ant Probing Questions

Which sentence below BEST describes the author's perspective on ants?

• Ants are amazing little creatures whose activities benefit the earth.
• Ants are dangerous pests whose social communities threaten people.
• Ants are much smarter than other insects, such as bees and butterflies
• Ants are endangered creatures whose survival is threatened bytechnology

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CCSS.RI.4.1

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.4.8

Why does the author include a timeline at the beginning of the article?

• to show that dinosaurs lived longer than ants
• to show that dinosaurs are more important than ants 
• to show that people have not been on Earth as long as ants 
•  to show that ants have not been on Earth as long as people

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CCSS.RI.4.1

CCSS.RI.4.5

CCSS.RI.4.7

According to the article, why are ants sometimes compared to people?

• They both dig holes and tunnels.
• They both live in underground homes.
• They both work together to solve problems.
• They both choose jobs when they are adults.

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CCSS.RI.4.1

CCSS.RI.4.2

Why does the author include a thermometer in one of his drawings of an anthill?
to show how anthills absorb and transfer the sun's heat to the nest

• to show why anthills are more active in the heat 
• to show why some ants freeze to death in the winter
• to show how anthills reflect the sun's heat away from the nest
• to show how anthills absorb and transfer the sun's heat to the nest

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CCSS.RI.4.1

CCSS.RI.4.3

What purpose do the captions on the author's diagrams have?

• They summarize the main ideas in the text.
• They provide additional facts related to the topic.
• They explain how the author learned to draw and study ants.
• They provide amusing details but are not related to the topic.

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CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.4.7

Under which heading would you look to find information about the different jobs that ants have?

• "Grass Root Highways"
• "A Life of Work"
• "A Dangerous World"
• "Masters of the Earth"

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CCSS.RI.4.1

CCSS.RI.4.2

How does the author support his claim that an ant is one of the strongest creatures on Earth?
 

• with a picture of an ant next to an elephant
• by comparing ants to human weight lifters
• by describing a forest path built entirely by ants
•  with the fact that ants lift objects 5 times their body weight

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CCSS.RI.4.1

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.4.8

Why does the author include a diagram of a giant anteater in the text?
 

• to show how much bigger it is than an ant
• to show that it is not a very intelligent animal
• to show how its body parts help it hunt for ants
• to shows its resemblance to aardvarks and armadillos

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CCSS.RI.4.1

CCSS.RI.4.7

Which sentence below does NOT describe a way that ants help plants to grow?

• They recycle soil nutrients by digging.
• They spread plant seeds as they transport food.
• They spread flower pollen as they feed on plants.
• They recycle leaves by breaking them down to grow fungus.

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CCSS.RI.4.1

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.4.3

Where are you MOST likely to find an ant nest?

• near tall grass
•  under a rock or log 
• next to a lake or pond 
• beside a brick building

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CCSS.RI.4.1