Name ______________________________ Comets and Meteors Visitors From Space By Jeanne Bendick Illustrated by David Schleinkofer Prediction ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ Author’s Purpose informpersuadeentertain

Comets and Meteors Visitors From Space Focus Skills: To use book parts to locate information and find answers to questions in text. To read and understand a nonfiction selection. Genre Expository Nonfiction: explains information and ideas Summary We see comets when the Sun’s gravity pulls them past Earth. Comets may look like bright, fuzzy balls or long-haired stars, but they are really made of rock, dust, and ice. Reading Strategy Use Text Structure and Format Good readers are active readers and they pay attention to how an author has organized information in a selection. Many nonfiction selections include headings and captions. Major ideas are organized under headings, and captions give information about illustrations or photographs.

Page 404 TodayLong Ago Define astronomer Where on these pages would you look to find out where comets come from? Explain Page 406 How does a comet begin its travels?

How does a comet change as it gets closer to the sun? What is solar wind? Where else in the book could you find the meaning of this term? DifferentAlike Why don’t comets glow when they are far from the sun? Page 408

cometplanet Why does the author compare the Moon’s movements to a comet’s movements?

Think and Respond 1.How are comets different from planets? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 2.What is the purpose of the words in red letters at the tops of some pages? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 3.What effect does the solar wind have on comets? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 4.If you could talk with the author, what question would you ask her? Why would you ask this question? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

Use the graphic organizer to answer the following questions. Highlight the answers on the organizer. 1.What is the main purpose of this selection? 2.Why is this selection most like an informational book? 3.What does a comet look like in the sky? 4.Why did people who lived long ago think a comet was a warning of something bad? 5.What can the gas in the comet’s coma be compared to? 6.What are scientists who study the planets and stars called? 7.Where do scientists think a huge cloud of comets might be? 8.What do you call the force that connects the solar system to the sun called? 9.What is the name for the “flying rocks” in our solar system? 10.What does a comet start out as? 11.What are the tails of comets made of? 12.What is the name for the orbits that comets take around the sun? 13.What is one thing that makes a comet glow? 14.What is a comet tail?