Nonfiction Text Structures

Venus is a planet that is very different from

Earth. Venus has more volcanoes than any other

planet in the solar system, which gives it a

dense atmosphere of carbon dioxide and sulfur

dioxide gas. These gases are very poisonous

and they can even melt your skin. The thick

atmosphere traps in heat causing Venus to be

the hottest planet in our solar system.

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Tides are the rising and falling of the sea. At

high tide the sea is at its highest level, and at

low tide the sea is at its lowest level. Tides are

really all about gravity. The moon’s gravity pulls

on the Earth’s oceans which creates the tides.

As the Earth rotates, the Moon’s gravity pulls on

different parts of the Earth and the oceans bulge

toward the Moon.

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People often confuse apes for monkeys; as they

are both hairy mammals it’s not hard to see why.

Both eat plants and animals, but only apes use

tools for hunting and nut-cracking. Because

monkeys have a tail, they spend their time living

in the trees, whereas apes do not. Apes are

usually larger than monkeys and are able to walk

upright on two legs.

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When a female butterfly lays her eggs on a leaf,

they will hatch as newborn caterpillars. The

caterpillars eat a lot, so they will grow at a fast

rate. When a caterpillar is fully grown it will create

a hard outer case for itself called a chrysalis. In a

process known as metamorphosis, the caterpillar

reforms itself into a butterfly and

emerges from the chrysalis.

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Both coffee and tea are very popular drinks – so

popular, in fact, that wars have been waged for

access to these drinks. Tea was discovered

thousands of years before coffee, by the

Chinese, and is mostly produced by China and

India by using the leaves of plants. Coffee is

mostly produced by Brazil and is made using the

beans of plants.

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Elephants have the largest brain of all the land

animals. They can identify languages and

understand human body language. Elephants

even comfort each other when they are upset.

They can use tools, such as sticks to scratch

themselves. In addition, elephants have great

memories and they never forget a face.

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Almost everyone enjoys looking at the stars, but

not many people can explain the difference

between astronomy and astrology. Astronomy is

the study of the universe beyond the Earth and

involves studying the properties and motions of

objects in space. Astrology attempts to study

how these objects in space affect people on

Earth; even though its not based on science.

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When a rock is travelling through space it is

known as a meteoroid. But when the rock enters

the Earth’s atmosphere, the friction as it falls

through air produces a lot of heat and light, and

is known as a meteor. Finally, when the rock

hits the ground it can be picked up by a person

and the rock is called a meteorite.

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In 1607, the Jamestown settlers of early America

discovered that their new home was a difficult

place to live due to marshy lands, a lack of

crops, and Native American mistrust of the

settlers. Because of this, the settlers built a fort

for protection and learned to work with the

Native Americans by trading food, supplies, and

knowledge.

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Early America suffered many setbacks under the

Articles of Confederation. They soon realized a

new form of government was necessary for the

success of the states. The United States

Constitution was created, a president was

elected, and a supreme court and representative

congress were formed.

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