Trees

A tree is a wooden stick trying hard to reach the sky. It wants to reach the sunlight which it needs for life. The stick is
called a trunk. Raising itself tall also keeps the leaves farther away from insects and animals. There are two main types of
trees: conifers and broad-leaved.

Broad-leaved trees are usually rounded. Conifers grow into a triangular shape. To be called a tree the plant must be
over twenty feet tall. It can have only one trunk. Anything else is a shrub. A tree below twenty feet is called a sapling.
Redwoods are the tallest trees in the world. They can grow to more than three hundred-sixty feet in height.

All the parts of a tree work together to make it grow. Leaves make food by using sunlight and gases in the air. The
roots take water and minerals from the soil. The leaves need water, and the roots need food. The trunk carries water and
sap up and down the tree. Sap is the name for the tree's food. The water and sap channels are just under the outer layer of
bark. The bark protects them. As a tree grows, the bark cracks open on the outside. New bark grows on the inside.

The leaves of broad-leaved trees are thin, flat, and often wide. In northern climates, broad-leaved trees are
usually deciduous. They lose their leaves in the fall. The veins in a leaf carry food and water around the leaf. A leaf's
shape can identify the type of tree. Young leaves are especially tasty to deer and other animals. Some trees have thorns to
keep the eaters away.

Conifers are trees which produce cones. Some conifers have hard, spiky needles. Leaf-eating animals cannot eat these
spikes or needles. Others have bad-tasting leathery leaves or scales. Each needle of a conifer stays on the tree for three to
four years. They save their energy by not having to make new needles each year.

Twigs stick out from trees and are the growing ends of the tree. Each twig has some buds. These contain new shoots.
The shoots open and become new twigs. Sticky scales protect the buds from insects.

Some trees have beautiful blossoms. These attract bees or other insects. They then carry pollen from male flowers to
female flowers. Female flowers make seeds from the pollen. These may grow into trees. On conifers the cones serve as
blossoms. Male cones produce pollen. This is blown to the female cones. Seeds begin to grow. The cone scales harden
and protect the seeds. Seeds fall from cones to grow into new trees. They have light wing-type propellers on them to blow
them away from the parent tree. They could not get sunlight under the tree.

Some trees use their fruit as a means of spreading seeds. They may rely on the animals who eat the fruit and then leave
the seeds in their droppings. These may contain seeds which will grow into new trees. Other trees have a tasty seed or nut.
Many of these are eaten by animals. The ones which are not may grow into trees.

In summary, a stick with leaves or needles on it is called a tree. The tree has to continually stretch to the sky to find
the life-giving sun it needs to grow. Its height also keeps animals and insects away from the leaves. Conifers and broad-
leaved are the two main types of trees.

1) Which of the following are the two main types of trees?

 A: Conifers and apple

B: Broad-leaved and pine

C: Conifers and Cone-bearing

D: Broad-leaved and Conifers

2) Which of the following heights must a tree reach to be officially called a tree?

A: Sixty feet

B: Twenty-five feet

C: Thirty-five feet

D: Twenty feet
3) Which of the following is the food of the tree called?

A: Sap

B: Bark

C: Pollen

D: None of the above

4) Which of the following best defines deciduous?

A: Feathery

B: Having cones

C: Losing leaves in the fall

D: Having blossoms
5) Which of the following statements is true?

A: Bees carry pollen from male to female flowers.

B: Male flowers produce seeds.

C: Bees carry pollen between the male and female cones.

D: All of the above

6) Which of the following tells how conifers save their energy?

A: They don't grow as tall as broad-leaved trees.

B: The cones last for three to four years.

C: They don't produce blossoms.

D: They have sharp spiky needles.

Key Answers: For Trees (Oral Reading)
1. D
2. D
3. A
4. C
5. A
6. A

Reading Level
6 – Independent
5 - Instructional
4- below - Frustration

Key Answer : For Solar Power (Silent Reading)

1.B
2. B
3. A.
4. C
5. C
6. D

Solar Power
 Solar power is energy from the Sun. The sun has been producing energy for billions of years, but it is only in the recent past that

this energy is being harnessed or collected and changed into heat and electricity across the world.

The energy that comes from the rays of the Sun that reach the Earth is called solar radiation. Without humans, animals, or other

living organisms needing to do anything, the energy from the Sun has given power to all living things through

photosynthesis. Photosynthesis takes place when plants use the Sun's energy to make its own food, and then of course, all other living

organisms eat the plants or animals receiving that energy indirectly from the Sun.

However, collecting solar power to create electricity and heat is not as easy as plants using the Sun's energy to make its own food.

Some people, like an astronomer named John Herschel, used a solar thermal (heat) collector box to cook food during an expedition to

Africa. The collector box is a device used to collect the heat from the Sun to cook food. This may not have been the first instance of

using the Sun's energy to cook food, but it was a preview of how much energy the Sun has that can be used if collected properly.

Today, the Sun's energy is converted to thermal energy, which can be used to heat water for homes, swimming pools, greenhouses,

and other buildings. It can also be used to heat the fluids to high temperatures to power turbines that make electricity. It is not as simple

as placing an item in sunlight however.

Solar energy is changed into electricity in two ways. Solar cells change sunlight into electricity which are grouped into panels used

in a variety of different ways. Sometimes these panels are called solar panels which collect, use and distribute the energy from the Sun.

This type of collection is also used to power small cells inside batteries or calculators, but mainly used for power single homes or large

power plants.

The second way solar power is used to generate electricity is by focusing the Sun's heat to a fluid that produces steam that is then

used to turn a generator.

Solar power systems are very beneficial. First, they do not cause pollution or carbon dioxide. And they have very little impact on

the environment. Overall as well, solar energy costs less once the equipment is in place. The energy and heat from the Sun is basically

free but it costs money to build the right equipment to collect the power of the Sun.

A couple problems with solar power includes the inconsistency of sunlight reaching the Earth's surface, because the amount of

sunlight will vary depending on location, time of day, year, and weather conditions. Also, since the Sun does not deliver much energy

to any single place at any one time, a large surface is needed to collect the Sun's energy for it to be useful.

Even though the amount of energy reaching the surface of the Earth throughout the world is greater than the total amount of energy

used or needed, the current limitations in collecting this energy will need to be overcome.

In summary, solar power is a useful source of heat and electricity for the world, but there are some obstacles to overcome before it

becomes the only source of energy for the world's needs.

1) The energy that comes from the rays of the Sun that reach the Earth is which of the following?

A: Solar power

B: Solar radiation

C: Solar cells

D: Solar electricity
2) Which of the following best describes photosynthesis?

A: The process of the Sun's energy used for electricity.

B: The process plants use to make food from the Sun's energy.

C: The process used by plants to take in oxygen.

D: The process of the Earth releasing energy into the air.

3) Which of the following did John Herschel use to collect heat from the Sun to be used for cooking?

A: Collector box

B: Solar panel

C: Solar cell

D: Solar box

4) Which of the following is used to heat water for homes, swimming pools, greenhouses, and other buildings?

A: Thermal power

B: Radiation energy

C: Thermal energy

D: Collector box

5) All of the following are ways in which solar power is very beneficial EXCEPT:

A: Does not cause pollution

B: Does not release carbon dioxide

C: Equipment is not expensive

D: Little impact on the environment

6) Which of the following is NOT a problem with solar power?

A: Inconsistency of sunlight reaching the Earth's surface

B: Sun does not deliver much energy to any single place

C: Weather conditions

D: The amount of energy released by the Sun