Elephant Infrasound RACES Worksheet NAME:
DATE:
PERIOD:
PRACTICE 1: INFORMATIONAL
Independent Practice: Build Your R.A.C.E.S. Paragraph
Read the passage below. Highlight or underline one piece of evidence, then complete each guided step.
PASSAGE: THE SECRET GROUND WHISPERS OF ELEPHANTS
Informational Text
Elephants are widely known for their thunderous trumpet calls, but their most remarkable communication happens in near-total silence to human ears. Scientists discovered that African elephants produce ultra-low frequency rumbles known as infrasound, which drop far below the range of human hearing. These powerful acoustic waves not only roll through the open air but also travel directly through the ground as seismic vibrations. By detecting these tremors through sensitive nerve endings in their padded feet and trunk tips, elephant herds can easily receive distress alerts, weather warnings, and family calls from more than six miles away across the dry savanna.
Writing Prompt: Based on the text, how do African elephants communicate with other herd members over long distances?
R A Restate the Prompt & Answer Directly
Sentence 1
Stem helper: African elephants communicate across long distances by...
C Cite Direct Evidence from the Passage
Sentence 2
Stem helper: According to the passage, "..." / The author notes that...
E Explain How This Evidence Supports Your Answer
Sentence 3
Stem helper: This adaptation is vital for survival because... / This demonstrates that...
S Sum It Up with a Concluding Statement
Sentence 4
Stem helper: Ultimately, these subterranean signals ensure that... / In conclusion, ...
R.A.C.E.S. Self-Check (Review your 4 sentences before submitting):
Final Polish
R: Restated prompt
A: Answered prompt
C: Used quote marks
E: Explained "why"
S: Concluding link
Anglerfish Bioluminescence RACES Worksheet NAME:
DATE:
PERIOD:
PRACTICE 2: INFORMATIONAL
Independent Practice: Build Your R.A.C.E.S. Paragraph
Read the passage below. Highlight or underline one piece of evidence, then complete each guided step.
PASSAGE: DEEP-SEA LANTERNS: THE ANGLERFISH LURE
Informational Text
In the pitch-black waters of the ocean's midnight zone, sunlight never penetrates, forcing deep-sea predators to develop extraordinary hunting adaptations. The female anglerfish survives in this freezing abyss using a natural fishing rod called an illicium, which arches directly forward from her snout. At the tip of this spine hangs a fleshy bulb packed with millions of glowing bioluminescent bacteria. By regulating oxygen and blood flow to this bulb, the anglerfish causes it to flicker with an irresistible blue-green light. Curious organisms, attracted to the mysterious glow in the endless gloom, drift toward the lure—straight into the path of the anglerfish's needle-sharp teeth.
Writing Prompt: Based on the text, how does the female anglerfish successfully attract prey in the pitch-black deep sea?
R A Restate the Prompt & Answer Directly
Sentence 1
Stem helper: The female anglerfish attracts prey in the deep ocean by...
C Cite Direct Evidence from the Passage
Sentence 2
Stem helper: According to the passage, "..." / The author explains that...
E Explain How This Evidence Supports Your Answer
Sentence 3
Stem helper: This glowing lure is critical for hunting because... / This illustrates that...
S Sum It Up with a Concluding Statement
Sentence 4
Stem helper: In conclusion, this bioluminescent lure enables the anglerfish to... / Ultimately, ...
R.A.C.E.S. Self-Check (Review your 4 sentences before submitting):
Final Polish
R: Restated prompt
A: Answered prompt
C: Used quote marks
E: Explained "why"
S: Concluding link
Resurrection Plant RACES Worksheet NAME:
DATE:
PERIOD:
PRACTICE 3: INFORMATIONAL
Independent Practice: Build Your R.A.C.E.S. Paragraph
Read the passage below. Highlight or underline one piece of evidence, then complete each guided step.
PASSAGE: DESERT SURVIVORS: THE RESURRECTION PLANT
Informational Text
In the blistering heat of arid deserts, most vegetation quickly withers and perishes when water disappears. However, the remarkable resurrection plant has developed an extraordinary survival mechanism called desiccation tolerance. When moisture vanishes during severe droughts, the plant tightly curls its branches into a dry, brown ball, shedding up to 95 percent of its internal water and pausing all cellular activity. It can tumble across desert sands in this dormant state for years without dying. As soon as rainfall returns, the shriveled sphere rapidly absorbs water, unfurls vibrant green leaves within hours, and immediately resumes normal growth.
Writing Prompt: Based on the text, what adaptation allows the resurrection plant to survive severe desert droughts?
R A Restate the Prompt & Answer Directly
Sentence 1
Stem helper: The resurrection plant survives severe desert droughts by...
C Cite Direct Evidence from the Passage
Sentence 2
Stem helper: According to the passage, "..." / The author points out that...
E Explain How This Evidence Supports Your Answer
Sentence 3
Stem helper: This dormant strategy protects the plant because... / This proves that...
S Sum It Up with a Concluding Statement
Sentence 4
Stem helper: Ultimately, this resilient cycle proves that... / In summary, ...
R.A.C.E.S. Self-Check (Review your 4 sentences before submitting):
Final Polish
R: Restated prompt
A: Answered prompt
C: Used quote marks
E: Explained "why"
S: Concluding link
Arctic Inuksuk RACES Worksheet NAME:
DATE:
PERIOD:
PRACTICE 4: INFORMATIONAL
Independent Practice: Build Your R.A.C.E.S. Paragraph
Read the passage below. Highlight or underline one piece of evidence, then complete each guided step.
PASSAGE: STONE SENTINELS: THE ARCTIC INUKSUK
Informational Text
Across the treeless, windswept tundra of the Arctic, endless horizons of snow and ice offer almost no natural landmarks, creating extreme hazards for travelers. To navigate this unforgiving wilderness, ancestral Inuit peoples constructed distinctive stone structures known as inuksuks. Carefully stacking and balancing unworked stones into human silhouettes or directional pointers, builders formed durable markers capable of withstanding fierce blizzards. Each inuksuk communicated critical survival knowledge: some guided hunters along safe trails across frozen waterways, others revealed hidden food caches and fishing camps, while lines of inuksuks steered migrating caribou herds toward hunters.
Writing Prompt: Based on the text, why were stone inuksuks essential to the survival of ancient Arctic peoples?
R A Restate the Prompt & Answer Directly
Sentence 1
Stem helper: Stone inuksuks were essential to the survival of Arctic peoples because...
C Cite Direct Evidence from the Passage
Sentence 2
Stem helper: According to the passage, "..." / The author states that...
E Explain How This Evidence Supports Your Answer
Sentence 3
Stem helper: These landmarks prevented catastrophe because... / This illustrates that...
S Sum It Up with a Concluding Statement
Sentence 4
Stem helper: Ultimately, these enduring stone beacons allowed... / In conclusion, ...
R.A.C.E.S. Self-Check (Review your 4 sentences before submitting):
Final Polish
R: Restated prompt
A: Answered prompt
C: Used quote marks
E: Explained "why"
S: Concluding link
Glowing Dinoflagellates RACES Worksheet NAME:
DATE:
PERIOD:
PRACTICE 5: INFORMATIONAL
Independent Practice: Build Your R.A.C.E.S. Paragraph
Read the passage below. Highlight or underline one piece of evidence, then complete each guided step.
PASSAGE: NIGHT SPARKS: THE DEFENSE OF DINOFLAGELLATES
Informational Text
On calm nights along tropical coastlines, crashing surf and boat wakes frequently ignite with an eerie neon-blue glow. This breathtaking phenomenon is produced by trillions of microscopic single-celled algae called dinoflagellates. Whenever the surrounding seawater is disturbed by a swimming predator or breaking wave, physical movement triggers an instant chemical reaction within each cell, generating a flash of light lasting less than a second. Biologists call this the "burglar alarm" defense: the flash startles small grazing creatures like shrimp, while simultaneously illuminating them in the darkness so larger fish can locate and hunt those predators.
Writing Prompt: Based on the text, what purpose does the glowing blue light serve for microscopic dinoflagellates?
R A Restate the Prompt & Answer Directly
Sentence 1
Stem helper: Microscopic dinoflagellates produce glowing blue light in order to...
C Cite Direct Evidence from the Passage
Sentence 2
Stem helper: According to the passage, "..." / The author explains that...
E Explain How This Evidence Supports Your Answer
Sentence 3
Stem helper: This "burglar alarm" tactic protects the algae because... / This reveals that...
S Sum It Up with a Concluding Statement
Sentence 4
Stem helper: In summary, this luminous flash serves as an effective defense that... / Ultimately, ...
R.A.C.E.S. Self-Check (Review your 4 sentences before submitting):
Final Polish
R: Restated prompt
A: Answered prompt
C: Used quote marks
E: Explained "why"
S: Concluding link
