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Megalodon & Main Idea

Total questions: 10

Worksheet time: 8mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What are some strategies for finding the main idea?

a)

Highlight the entire paragraph

b)

Highlight contrasts or contradictions

c)

Blackout unnecessary information

d)

Highlight the first and last sentence

e)

Writing a "gist" or summary statement

2.

Which sentence from the article would be most important to include a summary of the article?​

a)

A species is a group of similar living things that can reproduce successfully to make offspring.​

b)

The Megalodon's enormous size was highly unusual even among sharks, scientists recently discovered.

c)

They found at least one shark species that grew to more than 20 feet (6 meters) long.

d)

There's also one more big question: Shimada says that scientists are not sure why Megalodon went extinct

3.

What is MOST likely the reason the author included information about mako sharks, deep-sea goblin sharks and great whites?

a)

to describe some of the extinct relatives of Megalodon that have older fossils

b)

to describe some of the extinct relatives of Megalodon that were left out of Shimada's study

c)

to list some of the Lamniform relatives of Megalodon still living in modern times

d)

to list some of the Lamniform relatives that were equal in size or larger than Megalodon

4.

How does the author build understanding of Kenshu Shimada's study of Lamniform sharks?

a)

by highlighting the names of each of the Lamniform sharks that he studied and the body size of each

b)

by highlighting the equation he developed and how it showed the number of teeth in sharks

c)

showing why Shimada focused on shark teeth and how he used them to calculate the length of a shark

d)

showing how Shimada studied fossilized plants in the past and what the studies of fossilized animals now show.

5.

Read the sentence from the section "Why were Megalodons So Big?"


While these giant sharks are still inside their mother's womb, they will sometimes eat the eggs of siblings that have not hatched yet.


How does this detail develop the article's central idea?

a)

It explains a possible reason why Lamniform sharks are very large.

b)

It explains a possible reason why most Lamniform sharks are extinct.

c)

It illustrates how Kenshu Shimada solved the mystery behind the body structure of Megalodon.

d)

It illustrates how Kenshu Shimada estimated the ages of the megalodon fossils he studied.

6.

What sentence BEST describes how the section "Studying Fossilized Teeth" contributes to the central idea of the article?

a)

It shows how scientists learn about shark babies

b)

It explains how scientists learn the size of the Lamniform sharks

c)

It describes the study that author Kenshu Shimada led

d)

It explains how scientists study fossils

7.

Using context clues, what do you think the best synonym for "embryo" based on the sentence below.


"Shimada says their giant sizes may come from a habt of Lamniform shark embryos, or unborn babies."

a)

shark

b)

unborn baby

c)

fossil

d)

mystery

8.

Which quote from the article best supports the following claim?


Scientists are still learning a lot about the Megalodon

a)

Scientists looked at the group of sharks that included Megalodon, called Lamniformes. This group still has living members.

b)

The Megalodon picture is a little clearer than it was before.

c)

Shimada says that scientists are not sure why Megalodon went extinct.

d)

Scientists can use teeth to estimate a shark's body size.

9.

What statement would make the best central idea statement for the article?

a)

Scientists don't know a lot about the Megalodon Shark or other sharks that are related to it.

b)

Baby SHARK dododododo BABY SHARK dodododododo

c)

Scientists are able to learn more about the Megalodon by studying its bones and habitat.

d)

Scientists learn more about the Megalodon by studying their teeth and the habits of other similar sharks alive today.

10.

What did you learn in this two-day lesson?

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