The Eagle's Year: teacher key

Bald Eagles, grade 5 edition, written for 5th grade. Follow a bald eagle through hunting, nest building, eggs and the winter. Learn how the insecticide DDT once put eagles in trouble.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. How does a bald eagle catch fish?
   • It takes them from near the surface (answer)
   • It digs for them
   • It dives deep under the water
2. What does bald in the bald eagle's name probably come from?
   • A word that meant loud
   • A word that meant white (answer)
   • A word that meant bare
3. How long do young eagles stay in the nest?
   • About a day
   • 3 years
   • 10 to 12 weeks (answer)
4. What happened to eggs when eagles ate fish with DDT in them?
   • The eggs got bigger
   • The shells were too thin to last (answer)
   • The eggs hatched early
5. Why do eagles from the north fly south in winter?
   • They go to open water (answer)
   • They go to build nests
   • They go to learn to swim
6. What does the word roosts mean?
   • Fish hooks
   • Loud calls
   • Resting places (answer)

Words

• insecticide: bug poison
• roosts: resting places
• spawn: lay eggs
• eaglets: baby eagles
• perch: a high seat