Still on the River Bottom: teacher key

Alligator Snapping Turtles, grade 7 edition, written for 7th grade. The alligator snapping turtle is the largest freshwater turtle in North America, and it has a worm-like part on its tongue. Read how it lives in southern rivers, how it feeds and how its young begin.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. How long can an alligator snapping turtle stay under water before it comes up for air?
   • 10 to 20 minutes
   • 40 to 50 minutes (answer)
   • Two hours
2. What does the turtle wave to lure fish?
   • The worm-like part of its tongue (answer)
   • Its tail
   • Its long claws
3. How does an alligator snapping turtle usually move around?
   • Swimming fast
   • Climbing onto logs
   • Slowly walking on the bottom of the water (answer)
4. What is special about the turtle's lure?
   • Many turtle species have one
   • It is the only turtle species with a body part for luring prey (answer)
   • Only the females have one
5. Males average 26 inches in shell length. What can you tell about females?
   • They grow smaller than males (answer)
   • They grow larger than males
   • They are the same size as males

Words

• freshwater: not salty water
• algae: water plant-like growth
• lure: to attract
• scavengers: eat dead animals
• clutch: a nest's eggs