Manatees prefer quite shallow waters. This means that they can be found near the coast and in estuaries and rivers. They are able to live in fresh or salt water. Newborn manatee calves are almost black in colour and stay with their mother for up to two years. Mothers and babies communicate by making sounds that are described as chirps, whistles or squeaks. The most serious threat to manatees is collision with boats. The other main threat is loss of habitat . There are fewer shallow, peaceful places for manatees to go as a result of tourism on the coast and destruction of mangroves. On top of that, pollution destroys many of the plants that manatees eat. Scientists believe that manatees can live for 60 years. However, recent research
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Conclusion or summing up
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showed that, because of the many threats in the wild, many manatees do not live more than 10 years. It is a sad fact that manatees are becoming increasingly rare.
Glossary aquatic
lives or grows in water
collision crash habitat
natural home of an animal predator an animal that eats other animals
Finding the main idea is an important comprehension strategy . To find the main idea, ask yourself: • What is the paragraph all about? • What is the most important idea in the paragraph?
1 What are manatee babies called? 2 Why can’t manatees stay on the sea floor for long? 3 Are manatees found near where you live? How do you know? 4 ‘The most serious threat to manatees…’ What does this phrase mean? 5 What is the main idea of each of paragraphs 2, 3 and 4? 6 Look up these words in a dictionary. Which word best describes manatees?
solitary
sociable
aggressive
sedentary
7 Paragraph 2 begins with ‘It is said that...’ Does this mean that what follows: a) is true? b) might be true? c) is not true? 8 ‘They have no natural predators…’ What does this phrase mean? 9 Fill in the third column of your KWL chart. 10 What do you think can be done to protect manatees? • Extension: Ask students to work in pairs to make up glossary entries for the words agile, reputed, herbivores and estuaries . DA Work with a small group, demonstrating how to find the meaning of an unfamiliar word by using context clues or developing dictionary skills. • Show a YouTube video about manatees to the class. Pause regularly and ask questions to check comprehension. • Ask students to take notes, while viewing, on one aspect of the content. Ask them to compare the experiences of reading and viewing information.
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