Rescuing Orphan Elephants OST Practice Gr6

How does the In the Nursery section contribute to the reader’s understanding of the passage?

• by describing how keepers are trained at the organization

• by listing qualifications for working at the organization

• by explaining how keepers help elephants survive

• by distinguishing male from female elephants

What does the word coax mean as it is used in paragraph 10?

• allow

• deceive

• persuade

• squeeze

In paragraph 2, the author claims that orphan elephants are successfully reintroduced to the wild. Select two ways the author supports this claim.

• by detailing the ways keepers make the baby elephants feel comfortable in their new elephant community

• by explaining how baby elephants are kept safe as they learn to live away from the nursery

• by comparing the care baby elephants receive with the care needed by common pets

• by stating how long elephants typically live after reaching adulthood

• by describing the area where baby elephants are typically found

How does the author’s description of a stray kitten in paragraph 1 contribute to the rest of the passage?

• It makes a connection between the care needed for a pet versus the care needed for elephants.

• It points out that different kinds of animals need similar kinds of care.

• It emphasizes how rare it is to keep baby elephants as pets.

• It illustrates how difficult it is to care for baby elephants.

Read the sentence from the passage.

“When a baby elephant first arrives at the orphanage nursery, one of the biggest problems it faces is grief.”

(paragraph 5)

Select the sentence from paragraph 6 that supports the idea that grief can be the biggest problem for baby elephants.

• Elephants are highly intelligent, loving family members.

• In the wild, a female elephant usually stays with her family her whole life.

• Males don’t leave until they’re in their teens and then frequently return to visit.

• A baby separated from its family may feel so sad that it becomes ill and dies.

Which two quotations support the idea that baby elephants need a lot of care?

• “Like people, healthy elephants can live

  70 years or more.” (paragraph 3)

• “It drinks about five gallons of milk a day and must be fed every two hours.”(paragraph 4)

• “In the wild, a female elephant usually stays with her family her whole life.”(paragraph 6)

• “To make

  bottle-feeding

  feel less strange, the keepers often hang big blankets for the orphans to cuddle up against while they drink.” (paragraph 8)

• “Being very social animals, they feel more at home when they’re part of a herd.”(paragraph 11)

Select two examples that show how caretakers imitate nature when caring for a baby elephant.

• “Sometimes they have to teach a baby how to drink from a bottle.” (paragraph 8)

• “In the wild, a baby elephant will stand under its mother and rest its trunk on her body as it nurses with its mouth.” (paragraph 8)

• “Standing under mom or in her giant shadow protects the baby from sunburn too.” (paragraph 9)

• “The keepers aren’t big enough to offer much weather protection all by themselves, so they rely on blankets and parasols and mud.” (paragraph 9)

• “Most of the babies love the mud, but if one’s a little shy, the keepers gently coax it into a shallow puddle and scoop mud on it, just like a mom would, only with a shovel in place of a trunk.” (paragraph 10)

Part A: What is the central idea of the passage?

• Rescuing orphan elephants is common in some parts of Africa.

• A wildlife trust releases orphan elephants when they have matured.

• Orphan elephants decide for themselves when to rejoin an elephant family.

• Orphan elephants rely on their keepers to meet their physical and emotional needs.

Part B: Which detail from the passage supports the central idea in Part A?

• “They’ve been rescuing orphan elephants and successfully reintroducing them to the wild since

  1977.” (paragraph 2)

• “A baby elephant can usually stand and walk soon after it’s born, but for almost everything else it depends on its mother.” (paragraph 4)

• “It has to be taught how to behave and

  communicate—even

  how to use its trunk, which babies sometimes trip over while walking.” (paragraph 4)

• “When an orphan is about two years old, it’s ready to move from the nursery to Tsavo National Park, where it will eventually rejoin the wild elephant community.” (paragraph 11)

Part A: What is the author’s purpose in the passage?

• to show her passion for rescuing orphan elephants

• to describe how dedicated professionals help orphan elephants

• to explain why orphan elephants returned to the wild still need human help

• to suggest that more people should be involved in caring for orphan

  elephants