1. Harcourt Journeys: Story Selection
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2. “The Ever-Living Tree”
Unit 5: Lesson 23
“The Ever-Living Tree”
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3. Turn your Text Book to page 684.
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7. 1 2 3

8. Why do you think the author interrupts the story of the tree to talk about Alexander the Great?
Answer
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9. Answer:
To connect human history to the history of the tree; to show how long ago the tree began growing.
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10. What is the purpose of the small symbols at the beginning of the first paragraph on page 586 and 587?
Answer
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11. Answer:
The icons on the text correspond to the icons in the timeline at the top of the page. They help the reader locate information easily and to know when the text switches from information about the tree to information about world history.
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12. How might shallow roots be useful to a tree?
Answer
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13. Shallow roots are near the surface, so they can take up water more quickly from the soil.
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14. 4

15. What is happening in another part of the world while the redwood continues to grow?
Answer
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16. Answer: People in China are building the great stone wall.
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17. 5 6 7

18. On page 587, the author says, “the little tree kept growing bigger” and “the new tree grew quickly.” On page 588, she says the tree “just kept growing.” On page 589, the author says that “the little redwood tree grew and grew.” Why does the author keep repeating this idea?
Answer
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19. Answer:
To emphasize that the tree continues growing while empires come and go, as time marches on.
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20. How do you think the air would feel on your skin if it was full of moisture? What happens to the moisture at midday?
Answer
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21. Answer:
1. Moist and wet.
2. As the sun warms the air, the moisture in the air begins to evaporate.
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22. What might cause the Ohlone to consider the redwood forest as a sacred place?
Answer
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23. Answer:
It provided many types of food; there were dangerous animals there; the extremely tall trees inspired awe.
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24. 8

25. Why do you think the author describes life in the forest in great detail, but gives only a brief summary of the history of Rome?
Answer
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26. Answer:
The forest and redwood tree are the main subjects of the selection; while the human historical events are details used to show the passing of time.
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27. 9 10

28. What are some things that happen to the tree as the years go by?
Answer
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29. Answer:
Woodpeckers make holes in it. A squirrel hides an acorn in it. There is a forest fire. The tree is hardly affected by any of these. It keeps growing.
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30. Why isn’t the tree destroyed by the fire?
Answer
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31. Answer:
The heartwood is fire-resistant, so it stopped the fire. Then the cambium grew new bark over the opening.
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33. 11 12 13 14

34. Based on what Marco Polo found when he went to China, what could you say about life in China at the time?
Answer
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35. Answer:
China was probably more advanced than Europe. They had a postal system, paper money, and used coal and fuel.
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36. Would a dense forest have much sunlight reaching the ground
Would a dense forest have much sunlight reaching the ground? Why or why not?
Answer
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37. Answer: No, the trees and branches would keep the sunlight out.
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38. Why didn’t the small forest fire destroy the redwood forest?
Answer
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39. Answer: Dense fibers in the tree prevented the wood from burning.
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40. What happens to the cones after they fall to the ground
What happens to the cones after they fall to the ground? Why was it important that the cones burst open?
Answer
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41. Answer:
They burst open and release their seeds; some seeds sprout into trees. This released the seeds – otherwise the seeds wouldn’t grow into new trees.
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42. 15

43. How were Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus alike
How were Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus alike? How were they different?
Answer
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44. Alike- Both were explorers; both wanted to travel to China
Answer:
Alike- Both were explorers; both wanted to travel to China
Different- Polo’s voyage reached China; Columbus traveled an unknown route, didn’t reach China, landed in North America
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45. 16

46. What generalizations can you make about the tree’s importance for animals and insects in the forest? What examples are given in the text?
Answer
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47. Answer: It is an important shelter and food source.
Animals shelter in the hollow trunk.
Birds nest in the high branches and eat insects that live in the bark.
Some animals hide food in the trees.
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48. 17

49. What resources do you think hunters, loggers, tanners, and miners exploit?
Answer
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50. Answer:
Meat, hides, and fur from animals; woods from trees; gold, silver, and other metals from the ground
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51. 18 19

52. Use the details on pp. 596-597 to explain how the tree bark is turned into nutrients in the soil?
Answer
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53. Answer:
Lightning strikes the base of the tree; the tree falls; the trunk breaks into pieces; insects feed on the bark of the felled tree; the wood turns into dust organic elements which go into the soil
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54. Summarize what happened to the tree on pp. 596-597.
Answer
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55. Answer:
The tree was struck by lightning and fell. New trees sprang from its roots and truck. The bark of the old tree eventually returned to the soil as nutrients.
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58. How did you do?
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