Part 2

The orange colour shows a grammar subject from the Basics. You can click the Basics tab on the left to find the explanation.

The blue colour shows words that might be new or difficult. You can use an online dictionary to find the meaning. You can add these to your personal word list.

Questions in English will be answered in English. Questions in Dutch can be answered in English and Dutch.

The truth about... adaptation            

You're going to read an informative text about animals and their ability to adapt. Before you start reading the text we want you to brainstorm about the content. So, don't start reading just yet...

Basis

Task 1 - Reading a text, step 1
Take a quick look at the text below. Answer the following questions before reading the entire text.

1. What is the title of the text?
2. What are the different subtitles of the text?
   1. ………………………………………………………………………………………
   2. ………………………………………………………………………………………
   3. ………………………………………………………………………………………
   4. ………………………………………………………………………………………
3. Kijk naar de titel, de plaatjes en de verschillende tussenkoppen van de tekst. Schrijf in het Nederlands op waar de tekst over gaat en welke verschillende onderwerpen behandeld worden.

The truth about... adaptation    

What is adaptation?

When people hear the word adapt, one of the first things that comes to mind is "fitting in." People are always having to adapt or change to different situations or places.

For animals, including people, adaptation is often a matter of life or death! If they don't adapt in certain ways to their surroundings, they will not survive. Humans even use technology to adapt. Think of the space suits used by astronauts to control their temperature and for breathing so they can survive space travel.

An adaptation is a special skill which helps an animal to survive and do everything it needs to do. Adaptations could be physical changes to the animals body or behavioural changes.

Did you know...? Meerkats have dark circles round their eyes, which act like sunglasses, helping them see even when the sun is shining very brightly.

Aye-ayes (or ‘vingerdiertje’) have a number of adaptations for nocturnal living (they tend to come out at night). They have big eyes and ears to help them see and hear well in the dark. They also have special thin fingers to help them find bugs to eat.  

Camouflage
Camouflage is a type of adaptation that allows animals to blend in with their surroundings. This adaptation helps protect them from their enemies. An animal is much better able to "hide" by blending into its surroundings. On the other hand, camouflage also helps a predator "fit in" to its environment so that it won't be seen very easily as it comes up on its prey.

Take the Arctic fox. During summer months, the Arctic fox has a brown coat. During winter, the coat of the Arctic fox is white, matching its icy, snowy surroundings.

Did you know….? A chameleon changes its colour to blend in with the surroundings and be safe from danger.  
Did you know…? A camel, who lives in the desert, stores fat in his humps to make up for the scarcity of water.

Behavioural adaptation
Raccoons are a great example of behavioural adaptation in action! In their natural forest environment, they nest in trees and eat everything from berries to fish. They are mostly nocturnal, which means they come out at night. As night creatures, they are not seen by humans very often.

For some people living in suburban areas, however, raccoons can seem like one of the biggest pests — and it's all our fault! As humans destroyed the raccoon's natural habitat, these animals have learned to change their habits — to adapt. Instead of nesting in trees, suburban raccoons have made very comfortable homes in people's attics, basements, garages, and storage sheds. Since they are not picky eaters, they have traded forest food for the delicious leftovers found in our trash. Using their hands, they have learned to open garbage cans and gates. This is a problem for people living in the cities!

Did you know….? The African Wild Dog even uses camouflage to blend in with their surroundings..

Hibernation
How would you survive the long, cold winter without food? Bears do it in a very cool way — hibernation.

Hibernation helps animals survive the changing seasons. Foods that bears eat, such as berries and flowers, are much less available during cold winter months.

When they hibernate, bears enter a deep sleep. They remain safe by hiding in dens. The bears' body functions, such as heartbeats and breathing, slow down. While they sleep, the bears can survive because their bodies live off of their stored fat or food. It's like nature's built-in battery cell. That's why bears eat plenty during autumn, in order to store up fat.

Basis

Task 2 - Reading a text, step 2
Lees de tekst globaal en sta niet te lang stil bij moeilijke woorden. Wanneer je klaar bent met lezen, vertaal dan deze woorden (ze zijn blauw, onderstreept in de tekst):

Task 3 - Reading the text in full, step 3
Lees de tekst nu volledig en zorg ervoor dat je weet waar hij over gaat. Schrijf bij elke tussenkop op waar dat stuk tekst over gaat. Deze aantekeningen zijn als het ware een samenvatting per alinea. Deze aantekening mag je in het Nederlands maken.

Task 4 - Questions about the text

Answer these questions about the text. We would like you to try to answer in English. If this is too difficult you can answer in Dutch.

1. What is ‘adaptation’?
   
2. Why is adaptation so important for animals AND people?
3. Humans are able to adapt by using technology. In the text, space suits are used as an example. Think of another example of how humans adapt to their surroundings.
4. Which two kinds of adaptation are mentioned in the text? Also explain what they mean and what the difference between the two is.
5. The meerkats have got circles round their eyes. What use do these circles have?
6. Is een aye aye een nachtdier? Write down the word that supports your answer.
7. Explain the next sentence: ‘A camel, who lives in the desert, stores fat in his humps to make up for the scarcity of water.’
8. What is the benefit (=voordeel) of camouflage for an animal?
9. What is the benefit of camouflage for a predator?
10. How does the Artic Fox change from summer to winter?
11. Why do people who live in cities hate raccoons?
12. Why do the raccoons come to the city?
13. Explain, in your own words, what hibernation is.
14. Why do bears eat plenty during Autumn?
15. Look for another animal (one that isn’t mentioned in the text) which uses adaptation and explain how and why they use it.

Task 5 - What are they going to do?

Bekijk de onderstaande foto en beschrijf wat de mensen volgende week op wintersportvakantie van plan zijn te gaan doen. Kies 5 situaties uit om te beschrijven. Schrijf volle zinnen op!

Om te zeggen dat je iets van plan bent gebruik je 'to be' (am/are/is) + going to + het ww. Bijvoorbeeld: The man near the trees is going to ride his unicycle.

Task 6 - What do you always do on holiday?

Nu ben jij aan de beurt! Wat doe jij altijd als je op vakantie bent? Of wat doe je nooit als je vrij bent? Om te zeggen dat iets je altijd, nooit of soms doet/om feiten te geven, gebruiken we in het Engels de Present Simple.

Geef 5 feitjes over jouw vakantie. Gebruik hiervoor dus de Present Simple en voeg de bijwoorden always, never en sometimes toe aan je voorbeelden.

Tip! Bekijk voor het maken van deze opdracht de Video uitleg over de Present Simple en over de plaats van de bijwoorden in een zin op de Wikiwijspagina. Je vindt de videos links onder het tabblad 'Basics' - Uitleg video's grammatica.

Task 7 - some or any?

Complete the sentences. Choose between some and any.

1. Dzenana and Manon are going to check ... assignments after school.
2. I can't help you with your homework because I don't have ... time.
3. Do you know ... of the children from the other year 1 classes?
4. Can you help me with this exercise? I don't know ... of these questions.
5. Have you got ... questions about the homework?
6. Are there ... exercises that you don't understand?
7. Jolijn hasn't got ... idea what the homework is.
8. There are ... questions I cannot answer.

Uitbreiding

Task 8 - What's the difference?

Inmiddels heb je drie verschillende grammaticale tijden bestudeerd. De Present Continuous, de Present Simple en het werkwoord 'to be going to'. Aan het einde van het jaar is het de bedoeling dat de deze drie correct, door elkaar, kan toepassen in spreek- en schrijfopdrachten. Wanneer gebruik je welke vorm? Welke regel hoort hierbij? Vul de onderstaande tabel aan - op deze manier heb je een handig spiekschema voor jezelf gemaakt als hulpmiddel bij het maken van zinnen (voor je Masterpiece).

Tip! Bekijk voor het maken van deze opdracht de Video uitleg over de Present Simple, Present Continuous en het werkwoord 'to be going to' op de Wikiwijspagina. Je vindt de videos links onder het tabblad 'Basics' - Uitleg video's grammatica.