From Nursery to Reef: teacher key

Barracudas, grade 6 edition, written for 6th grade. A young barracuda starts out hidden in shallow water and moves to the deeper reef. Read how it grows, hunts and where in the world it lives.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. Where does a young great barracuda move by its second year?
   • From its shallow nursery to deeper reef (answer)
   • From the reef to a river
   • From the sea to the shore
2. Which travel in schools during the day?
   • Only the oldest fish
   • Young barracudas and some adults (answer)
   • No barracudas
3. What makes ciguatoxin?
   • Big fish
   • Sharks
   • Tiny reef algae-like organisms (answer)
4. Small fish eat the tiny organisms. Why is the toxin found in bigger fish?
   • It builds up in the bigger fish that eat those fish (answer)
   • Bigger fish make it themselves
   • It is in the water only
5. What does nursery mean in: moves from its shallow nursery to deeper reef?
   • A place where young fish grow up (answer)
   • A deep, dark place
   • A place with no fish

Words

• nursery: young fish home
• ambush: wait and surprise
• ciguatoxin: natural toxin
• schools: groups of fish
• breed: have young