🧑‍🏫 For the Teacher

Give students 12 minutes to read the short text and answer the eight questions on their own. Check answers together by asking learners to read aloud the exact sentence that gave them each answer.

🌱 For the Learner

First, read the story about sunflowers two times and check the word meanings below it. Next, finish the 8 practice questions and look back at the text to prove your answers.

A bright field of young sunflowers facing east towards the warm morning golden sun, green stems and leaves, crisp photog

In a 2016 study, scientists watched how sunflowers grow. A young sunflower starts the day facing east. During the day it slowly turns to the west, and at night it turns back to the east. The east side of the stem grows more in the day, and this turns the flower to the west. When a sunflower is old, it stops moving and faces east. Flowers that face east get five times as many insects as other flowers. Plants that could not move stayed smaller and had a smaller leaf area.

stem

The long, thin green body of the plant that holds up the flower.

face (verb)

To look or turn directly toward a place or direction.

insects

Tiny creatures with six legs, such as bees, beetles, and flies.

leaf area

The total amount of flat space covered by the green leaves.

____ Starts facing east ____ Slowly turns to west ____ Turns back to east ____ Stops moving

____ Starts facing east ____ Slowly turns to west ____ Turns back to east ____ Stops moving

____ Starts facing east ____ Slowly turns to west ____ Turns back to east ____ Stops moving

____ Starts facing east ____ Slowly turns to west ____ Turns back to east ____ Stops moving