Unit 4 Lesson 2 - Comprehension

About how old is the saguaro cactus when it started to grow arms?

• ten years

• thirty five years

• fifty years

• more than a hundred years

Which sentence from the story best supports your answer from question 1?

• Even with protection, the cactus was only a little more than an inch tall by 1870.

• One morning in the year 1860, a tiny green sprout appeared in the Sonoran Desert.

• Thirty-five years had passed.

• When the saguaro was fifty years old, it started to grow arms—not just one or two, but five!

What did the saguaro dream about?

• its parents

• the history of the desert

• its own history

• the last big rain

What was the effect of the hawk fighting the owl?

• The saguaro dropped its fruit.

• The other birds joined the battle.

• The animals below ran away.

• The summer rain began to drift in.

Which phrase describes the heat of the desert?

• cactus could not continue

• desert animals are upset

• baked in the midday sun

• showed their rising panic

What did the Great Horned Owl do?

• made holes in the cactus

• lived in holes others had made

• stole another birds nest

• built a stick nest

What caused the palo verde tree to die?

• not enough water

• animals ate it

• the shadow of the saguaro

• insects

What is the biggest problem in this story?

What did the birds cooperate to do?

Why did the saguaro want to drop its fruit?