Mysterious Circles

Mysterious Circles

By Ginny Whiteside

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of this passage? One of the statements below is too broad, too BIG, and one of the statements below is too narrow, too specific. But one of the statements IS the main idea of the entire passage. Can you find it?

• Strange circles have appeared in fields in England and around the world, and no one knows what is causing them.

• Some crop circles are bigger than a football field.

• Crop circles are patterns of flattened crops or snow that appear mysteriously.

Multiple Choice

Crop circles are most often found...

• in fields of soybeans

• near highways

• where grain is growing

Draw

Draw how you visualize crop circles on the image below.

Multiple Choice

Researchers do not think the circles are hoaxes because...

• they appear all over the world

• they don't know how the circles are made

• the patterns are formed too perfectly

Multiple Choice

The crop circles are generally created...

• overnight

• as a joke

• by hedgehogs

Multiple Choice

The cells of plants in the crop circles are...

• long and stretched out

• bent

• charged with electricity

Multiple Choice

According to researchers, people have been seeing crop circles...

• since 1976

• since ancient times

• when there are UFOs in the area

Multiple Choice

Making Inferences: Combine your own logical reasoning with the information from the text to make an inference that is not directly stated in the text, but can be inferred. Is this statement a logical/correct inference or a faulty/incorrect inference:

In 1976, more crop circles began appearing.

• Correct Inference

• Faulty Inference

Multiple Choice

Making Inferences: Combine your own logical reasoning with the information from the text to make an inference that is not directly stated in the text, but can be inferred. Is this statement a logical/correct inference or a faulty/incorrect inference:

The crop circles are being made by something that is shaped like a circle.

• Correct Inference

• Faulty Inference

Multiple Choice

Making Inferences: Combine your own logical reasoning with the information from the text to make an inference that is not directly stated in the text, but can be inferred. Is this statement a logical/correct inference or a faulty/incorrect inference:

Crop circles cannot be made during the day.

• Correct Inference

• Faulty Inference

Multiple Choice

Making Inferences: Combine your own logical reasoning with the information from the text to make an inference that is not directly stated in the text, but can be inferred. Is this statement a logical/correct inference or a faulty/incorrect inference:

Charging a plant with electricity causes it to become soft.

• Correct Inference

• Faulty Inference

Multiple Choice

Making Inferences: Combine your own logical reasoning with the information from the text to make an inference that is not directly stated in the text, but can be inferred. Is this statement a logical/correct inference or a faulty/incorrect inference:

It does not take long to make a crop circle.

• Correct Inference

• Faulty Inference

Multiple Choice

Use words precisely. The sentence below contains an underlined word from the article. Following the sentence, there are three possible synonyms for the word. Which word is the best synonym for the meaning of the underlined word.

On occasion, though, it was more complex.

• square

• complicated

• simple

Multiple Choice

Use words precisely. The sentence below contains an underlined word from the article. Following the sentence, there are three possible synonyms for the word. Which word is the best synonym for the meaning of the underlined word.

At first, skeptics thought the crop circles were a joke.

• believers

• farmers

• critics

Multiple Choice

Use words precisely. The sentence below contains an underlined word from the article. Following the sentence, there are three possible synonyms for the word. Which word is the best synonym for the meaning of the underlined word.

A Scottish professor studying the circles explained why he didn't think the crop circles were hoaxes.

• genuine

• fakes

• man-made

Multiple Choice

What is the author's purpose in writing "Mysterious Circles"?

• To entertain the reader with a story about crop circles

• To encourage the reader to research crop circles

• To inform the reader about the mystery of crop circles

Multiple Choice

The authors' opinion about crop circles is...

• that they are made by whirlwinds

• that they are made by UFOs

• not stated in the article

Poll

After reading all of the objective information about crop circles, choose the most likely reason why you think crop circles appear.

• hedgehogs

• people do it as a prank or hoax

• UFOs

• microwave energy from whirlwinds