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Weaver Ants Stitch Leaves With Living Thread

5th grade nonfiction passage about weaver ants and leaf nests: 213 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction weaver ants and leaf nests 213 words

Weaver Ants Stitch Leaves With Living Thread

High in tropical trees, weaver ants live in nests made of leaves, and although they have no tools and cannot sew, they have found a way to stitch leaves together using their own young.

First, a group of workers finds two leaves that are close together. Some ants grip the edge of one leaf and pull. If the gap is too wide, ants form a living chain. One ant holds the edge of the leaf, and the next ant holds on to her waist, and so on, until the leaves come together.

Then comes the clever part. Weaver ant larvae can make silk, although the adults cannot, so a worker picks up a larva in her jaws and carries it along the seam. She taps the larva's head against one leaf and then the other, and each time a thin thread of silk is left behind. Back and forth the worker goes until the silk holds the leaves together.

When many leaves are joined, they form a roomy nest the size of a ball. A tree may hold many nests, and the colony lives in all of them. The ants also defend the tree against other insects.

It is an unusual team. The workers have the strength, and the larvae have the glue.

Questions

  1. What are weaver ant nests made of? in the text

  2. How do ants pull leaves together when the gap is wide? in the text

  3. Which ants can make the silk? in the text

  4. How does a worker use a larva to join leaves? in the text

  5. Why does the passage say the workers have the strength and the larvae have the glue? think about it

  6. What else do the ants do for the tree they live in? in the text

Words to know

tropical
from the hot, rainy parts of the world
grip
to hold on tightly
seam
the line where two pieces are joined
larvae
young insects that look like worms
colony
a large group of animals living together
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One passage, three levels

The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.

● Easier · 186 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.2

High in tropical trees, weaver ants live in nests made of leaves. They have no tools, and they cannot sew. But they found a way to stitch leaves together. They use their own young.

First, workers find two leaves that are close. Some ants grip the edge of one leaf and pull. If the gap is too wide, the ants form a living chain. One ant holds the leaf. The next ant holds on to her waist, and so on, until the leaves come together.

Then comes the clever part. Weaver ant larvae can make silk, and the adults cannot. A worker picks up a larva in her jaws and carries it along the seam. She taps the larva's head on one leaf and then the other. Each time, a thin thread of silk is left behind. The silk holds the leaves together.

When many leaves are joined, they make a roomy nest. A tree may hold many nests, and the colony lives in all of them. The ants also defend the tree against other insects.

The workers have the strength. The larvae have the glue.

▲ This passage · 213 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.8

High in tropical trees, weaver ants live in nests made of leaves, and although they have no tools and cannot sew, they have found a way to stitch leaves together using their own young.

First, a group of workers finds two leaves that are close together. Some ants grip the edge of one leaf and pull. If the gap is too wide, ants form a living chain. One ant holds the edge of the leaf, and the next ant holds on to her waist, and so on, until the leaves come together.

Then comes the clever part. Weaver ant larvae can make silk, although the adults cannot, so a worker picks up a larva in her jaws and carries it along the seam. She taps the larva's head against one leaf and then the other, and each time a thin thread of silk is left behind. Back and forth the worker goes until the silk holds the leaves together.

When many leaves are joined, they form a roomy nest the size of a ball. A tree may hold many nests, and the colony lives in all of them. The ants also defend the tree against other insects.

It is an unusual team. The workers have the strength, and the larvae have the glue.

■ Harder · 230 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.4

High in the canopy of tropical trees, weaver ants dwell in nests constructed entirely of leaves. They possess no tools, and they are incapable of sewing. Nevertheless, they have discovered a way to stitch leaves together using their own young.

First, a group of workers locates two leaves that lie close to one another. Some ants grip the edge of one leaf and pull. If the gap is too wide, the ants form a living chain, in which one ant holds the edge of the leaf and the next ant clings to her waist, and so on, until the leaves are drawn together.

Then comes the clever part. Weaver ant larvae are able to produce silk, but the adults are not. A worker lifts a larva in her jaws and carries it along the seam. She taps the larva's head against one leaf and then the other, and each time a thin thread of silk is left behind. Back and forth the worker travels, and the silk binds the leaves firmly in place.

When many leaves are joined, they form a roomy nest about the size of a ball. A single tree may hold many such nests, and the colony lives in all of them. The ants also defend the tree against other insects.

It is an unusual partnership. The workers supply the strength, and the larvae supply the glue.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put tropical, grip, seam, larvae and colony on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
  • Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 2 minutes to read aloud.
  • Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
  • Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
  • Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Weaver Ants Stitch Leaves With Living Thread"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 213 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.8. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.

What do the questions ask?

There are six. 5 ask for something the text says directly and 1 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.

How long does it take to read?

About 2 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.

Is this passage from a published book?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

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