AMAZING BIRDS NESTS

Amazing Words!
Amazing Words-Day 1

disguise

Some animals protect themselves from predators by wearing a disguise. An arctic

fox’s fur turns white in winter. How does this change act as a disguise?

A disguise is

What things could a person use as a disguise? Why might someone want to wear a
disguise?

What other animals use a disguise to hide?

disguise dis—guise
vital

When something is vital, it is very important or necessary.

It is vital that you put your names on top of your papers.

Talk about a time when you did something that was vital.

vital vi-tal

ARIZONA STATE
STANDARDS
burrow

To burrow means “to dig a hole in the ground.”

Many animals burrow in the fall.

Name some animals that burrow.

burrow bur—row meerkats

m

wombats
dormant

Dormant means “not active, asleep.”

Name some animals that are dormant in the winter.

dormant dor—mant
Amazing Words Day 2

extreme

To what kind of extreme climate conditions have Arctic animals adapted?

What wintertime animal behavior might be considered extreme to humans?

Extreme means “very great or severe.”

Are the temperatures where you live sometimes extreme? Give an example of a place
with extreme conditions. What makes it difficult to live there?

What word is an antonym for extreme?

extreme ex—treme
spine

Spines are stiff, hard points that grow on plants or animals.

Cactuses have spines?

Why do you think some plants have spines?

spine has a long i spelled i_e

hedgehog
Amazing Words Day 3

moisture

Yesterday, we learned that birds’ nests shelter them from extreme moisture, such as
rainfall.

Moisture is water or other liquid in the air.

Why do plants and animals need moisture? Why can too much or too little moisture be
a problem?

Would you prefer to live in a place with very little moisture or a lot of moisture? Why?

Moisture has the /oi/ sound spelled oi. What other words have the same sound vowel
sound?
evaporate

To evaporate means “to turn into vapor or gas.”

On a hot, dry day, water will evaporate.

What do you know about how water evaporates?

evaporate e-vap-o-rate
Amazing Words Day 4

concoction

We read about how a bird’s nest can be a concoction of many different kinds of materials.

A concoction is a mixture of things.

Why do you think some city birds’ nest are made of such an unusual concoction of
materials?

Describe a concoction you have made.

con- coc-tion
nutrient

Nutrients are things we get from foods that we need for energy and growth.

All living things need nutrients to survive.

What kinds of foods are filled with nutrients?

nu—tri—ents