Ecology for Kids Study Guide

Comprehension Skill: Main Idea and Details

-the main idea is the key point that the author wants to make about a topic
-supporting details are facts and examples that support the main idea
-the main idea is often in the beginning of the paragraph or essay
Vocab Strategy: Multiple-Meaning Words
-some words have more than one meaning, depending on the context that they are in
-context is the group of words or sentences that surround an unfamiliar word and give clues to its meaning
-examples:
bat (noun, something you hit a baseball with)
bat (verb, the act of hitting a baseball)
bat (verb, to quickly blink your eyelashes)
bat (noun, flying animal that comes out at night)
Other examples include: drive, right, traces
Vocab Words:
Habitats
Directly

species
affect

organisms
variety

traces
radiation

vast
banned

Grammar: Irregular Verbs

-irregular verbs do not use -ed to show that an action has already happened (examples: know--knew, grow--grew,
tell--told, take--took, bring--brought)
-many irregular verbs change spelling when they're used with helping verbs. Often, this new spelling uses -n or -en to
show past tense.
Examples:
had (hide)---had hidden
have (grow)---have grown
have (drive)---have driven
had (speak)---had spoken
-the verb "be" does not show action; it tells what something or someone is like
Examples:
Subject
Present
Past
I
am
was
He/she/it
is
was
We/you/they
are
were
Past participle with helping verb
I/we/you/they
have been
He/she/it
has been