Watching Whale Sharks

“It drifts or swims with its mouth open wide, filtering some of the ocean’s smallest creatures out of the water.” (paragraph 2)

What is the meaning of filtering?

• Pouring

• Searching

• Sending

• Taking

Read the phrase from paragraph 3. “much of the animals’ lives is a mystery.”

Fill in the bubbles before two sentences from the passage that support the author’s statement.

• “Imagine that you are swimming in the ocean and come upon a shark as long as a school bus.” (paragraph 1)

• “Tracking tags contain devices that keep a record of where each shark travels, how deep it swims, and any changes in water temperature.” (paragraph 7)

• “No one knows why the sharks dive so deep.” (paragraph 9)

• “Over the next 150 days, the shark traveled nearly 5,000 miles from the Yucatan Peninsula to a point about halfway between South America and Africa.” (paragraph 10)

• “Dr. Hueter thinks this may be one place where whale sharks go to give birth, but he’ll need more data to find out.” (paragraph 10)

“The satellite transmits the information back to Earth.” (paragraph 7)

Fill in the bubbles before two words or phrases from paragraph 7 that help the reader understand what the word transmits means.

• “devices”

• "changes"

• "sends"

• "e-mails"

• "a record"

Fill in the bubble before a sentence from the passage that shows why scientists think whale sharks can dive so deep.

• Using a tracking tag, Dr. Hueter recorded a whale shark that dived to a depth of 6,325 feet, or about 1.2 miles—the world record for whale sharks so far.

• No one knows why the sharks dive so deep.

• The reason may be because sharks don’t have swim bladders like most other fish.

• A swim bladder is a gas-filled sac that lets a fish rise, sink, or stay at one depth.

• Without a swim bladder, sharks sink toward the ocean floor to rest.

How is information presented in the passage?

• Whale shark research is presented from earliest to most recent.

• Known facts about whale sharks are compared to what is unknown.

• The differences between whale sharks and other whales are discussed.

• Problems whale sharks face are related to ways scientists try to solve them.

Which section of the passage would you go to if you wanted to find "What information is still unknown about the whale shark?"

• "Filling Up on Little Bits"

• "How to Track a Shark"

• "Deep Divers"

Which section of the passage would you go to if you wanted to find "Basic information about whale sharks?"

• "Filling Up on Little Bits"

• "Deep Divers"

• "How to Track a Shark"

Which section of the passage would you go to if you wanted to find "The ways scientist get information?"

• "Filling Up on Little Bits"

• "How to Track a Shark"

• "Deep Divers"

What is the main idea of the passage?

• Where whale sharks give birth is not known.

• Scientists are looking for new ways to track whale sharks.

• Where whale sharks feed makes them different from other sharks.

• Scientists continue to study whale sharks to discover more about them.