9/10 Spark Time Week 3

Purpose:
While we're reading, think about...

Why do humans know more skills than chimpanzees?

Multiple Choice

According to the passage, what is one key difference between how humans and chimpanzees teach their young new skills?

• Humans intentionally teach new skills, while chimpanzees learn by observing.

• Chimpanzees use more advanced tools than humans.

• Chimpanzees teach their young through games, while humans do not.

• Humans and chimpanzees both avoid teaching new skills.

Multiple Select

Inference: The baby chimpanzee learns to drink using the moss from her mother.

Choose all of the details that support this inference

• “A baby chimpanzee sits on the haunches, watching her mother with large dark eyes.”

• “He used moss sponges to get mineral water from the clay pit he liked to visit.”

• “Her head cocks to the side as she looks at the moss in her mom’s hand.”

• “When she sucks on a corner, she even gets a few drops of cool water.”

Multiple Select

Inference: Chimpanzees learn from watching one another.

• “He used moss sponges to get mineral water from the clay pit he liked to visit.”

• “Within a week, seven more chimps in the community used moss sponges to drink the mineral water.”

• “When she sucks on a corner, she even gets a few drops of cool water.”

• “Their moss-sponge mastery was thanks to watching their mom, or another relative or friend, use them.”

Multiple Choice

What evidence from the passage shows that young chimpanzees learn new skills by observing others?

• Scientists taught chimps to recognize symbols

• Young chimps watched their mothers use moss to drink water, then tried it themselves.

• Adult chimps always use moss sponges to get mineral water.

• Chimps in other countries use the same methods.

Multiple Choice

According to the passage, why might adult chimps not learn new skills as quickly as young chimps?

• They are not interested in learning new things.

• Adults refuse to try new behaviors.

• They forget what they see quickly.

• They do not stay as close to their mothers and do not observe the skills as often.

Multiple Choice

How is “teaching” described as different from “observational learning” in the text?

• Teaching is only used by chimpanzees, while observational learning is used by humans.

• Teaching is less effective than learning by observation.

• Teaching involves direct instruction and breaking down tasks, while observational learning happens by watching others.

• Teaching happens by accident, but observational learning is always planned.

Multiple Choice

What inference can you make about why human toddlers might learn skills faster than baby chimps?

• Humans intentionally teach their children, while chimps do not.

• Toddlers are smarter than chimps in every way.

• Human children are forced to learn skills for survival.

• Chimps are distracted by playing in the forest.

Multiple Choice

Why does the author mention that young chimps are more likely to use moss sponges than older chimps?

• Older chimps are too strong to need sponges.

• Young chimps are more curious and stay close enough to observe new skills repeatedly.

• Adult chimps dislike water from moss sponges.

• The moss sponges are too small for adult chimps to use.

1) A light, misty rain has just stopped falling in the lush Budongo Forest of western Uganda in East Africa. A baby chimpanzee sits on her haunches, watching her mother with large dark eyes. Her mom gathers a handful of spongy moss from the forest floor. She dips it into the water of a clay pit, letting the moss soak for a minute. Then she lifts the bundle to her mouth and sucks the mineral water out of the dripping moss sponge. Ahhh, refreshing! And it’s good for her, too.

2) The little chimpanzee hops toward the clay pit herself. Her head cocks to the side as she looks at the moss in her mom’s hand. Curious, she grabs a ragged clump herself and clumsily dunks it in the water. The moss falls messily out of her hand when she lifts it out. She tries again, grabbing a more solid handful of moss. This time, the moss holds together when she dunks it in the puddle. When she sucks on a corner, she even gets a few drops of cool water.

​Based on the baby chimpanzee’s clumsy attempts at using the moss sponge, what can you infer about how young chimpanzees learn new skills?

Chimp See, Chimp Do
3) The baby chimp and her mother number among the members of the Sonso chimpanzee community. Scientists and conservationists began focusing on these apes in 1990, and have never stopped studying them. In 2011, they noticed something interesting: Instead of just drinking directly from puddles or scooping water with his hands or leaves, Nick, one of the troop’s alpha males, started something new. He used moss sponges to get mineral water from the clay pit he liked to visit.

4) Within a week, seven more chimps in the community used moss sponges to drink the mineral water. In 2014, researchers counted 48 apes in the troop using leaf or moss sponges to drink. Only a few older apes used the sponges, but the younger apes in the troop were more likely to do this. Their moss-sponge mastery was thanks to watching their mom, or another relative or friend, use them

What inference can you make about why scientists found the behavior of Nick, the alpha male chimp, interesting?

Mom Knows Best
5) Chimp mothers do the work of raising their young—usually with the help of other females, who sometimes babysit. Babies cling to mom’s chest, and then around age one ride on her back. Beyond just safety and food, it’s a chance for babies to see everything in mom’s daily routine: how she picks bugs off her arms, how the adults tell one another who’s in charge—and how their mom makes a mean sponge.

6) Chimps notice what one another are doing. They need to be on the lookout, after all. Chimps have complex social structures, so they must know who’s friendly and who’s not. Chimps read others’ expressions to figure out why they’re acting a particular way. That makes it possible for them to pay attention to a new skill like using moss sponges. As they mimic the same behavior, they learn the skill themselves. Researchers call this observational learning. This same ability shows up in all apes around the world. Scientists also notice it in other animals that have intricate social networks, such as dolphins, crows, elephants, and rats.

How does the passage suggest chimpanzee babies learn more than just safety and food from their mothers?

Teacher of . . . the Millenia?

10) Humans, on the other hand, are intent on teaching one another. We teach others new skills all the time. For example, usually older humans instruct kids how to read a book, play piano, ride a bike, or ice skate. We think about how to break tasks down into smaller points, and which parts are difficult. Importantly, we’re good at keeping each other focused and noticing whether the other person is understanding what we’re teaching them.

11) It seems that human toddlers may learn the skills their parents teach them faster than ape babies, too. With that combination, it’s no wonder that a 10-year-old human kid can do everything from write a poem to juggle to cook a mean macaroni and cheese.

Based on the passage, what inference can you make about how teaching affects the skills human toddlers learn compared to ape babies?