A Day in the Life of a Ratel: teacher key

Honey Badgers, grade 8 edition, written for 8th grade. Follow a honey badger through a day of digging, walking and resting, from Kalahari food studies to the first ones in zoos.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. How long does it take a honey badger to dig out a gecko or skink?
   • 1 to 2 minutes (answer)
   • About 1 hour
   • Nearly 10 minutes
2. How many teeth does a honey badger have?
   • 12
   • 32 (answer)
   • 60
3. When did a honey badger first appear in a North American zoo?
   • The 1830s
   • 1999
   • 1904 (answer)
4. In the Kalahari, what did the food-search pattern show?
   • It peaked twice a day (answer)
   • It never stopped
   • It happened only at noon
5. What does estimate mean in the text?
   • A careful guess (answer)
   • A loud call
   • A kind of trot

Words

• robust: strong, sturdy
• skink: small lizard
• peaked: reached a high
• trot: a bouncy run
• estimate: careful guess