Bird Garden

What other living creatures might be attracted to a garden?

1 Olivia and Jaya sat at a table in the library with books spread out around them. They each had a notebook and a pen for recording interesting information about hummingbirds. Jaya’s mom had allotted a portion of her garden for the girls to use as a hummingbird garden that summer. They couldn’t wait to start planting, but they wanted to make sure they knew as much as possible about the tiny creatures before they began.

2 “Have you found anything yet that says how many species of hummingbirds there are?” asked Jaya.

3 Olivia nodded. “There are more than 300 species,” she marveled. “The smallest one is the bee hummingbird, which lives in Cuba. It’s just a little over two inches long and weighs only about a tenth of an ounce!”

4 “I’d love to see one,” replied Jaya, “but I don’t think there is much chance of us attracting one here in Colorado. How big are the ones that we might see in this area?”

5 “They’re actually not too much bigger,” said Olivia, turning the page in her book. “They only measure about four inches long. Their wings beat about 80 times per minute. The beating of their wings makes a humming noise, which is how they got their name. Their hearts beat more than 1,200 times per minute. Do you have any idea how that compares to the human heartbeat?” asked Olivia.

6 “Well, we took our heart rates in gym a few weeks ago. I think mine was about 65 beats per minute,” said Jaya. 7 “Unbelievable,” said Olivia shaking her head. “Okay, have we figured out how to attract these little hummers to our garden?”

8 It took Jaya a moment to locate the book she was searching for. “This one seems to have the most detailed information,” she said, picking up a colorful paperback book. “It’s called Planting Your Hummingbird Garden. ”

9 “I think I saw somewhere that hummingbirds are attracted to red flowers. Is that right?” asked Olivia.

10 Jaya nodded. “That’s why hummingbird feeders are usually red. We should be able to find a simple, inexpensive one at a garden center. We just fill it with a mixture of four parts water to one part sugar. The book says that it’s easiest to dissolve the sugar in hot or boiling water. ”

11 “I’m going to start a list of plants that hummingbirds like,” said Olivia. “We know that red flowers appeal to them, and I remember reading that they like long, tubeshaped flowers too,” she added. “I wonder if that’s because of how long and thin their beaks are. ”

12 “You’re right,” said Jaya. “Other birds can’t reach the sweet nectar in long, thin flowers. Neither can bees. That means that hummingbirds don’t have much competition for the meals they get from those flowers. That’s pretty important because they need to eat about every 10 minutes or so. They use up a lot of energy hovering over flowers, so they need to replenish it often. ”

13 “Do you think we’re ready to ask my dad to take us to the nursery?” asked Olivia, beginning to gather up the books on the table.

14 “I think we’re as ready as we’re going to be,” replied Jaya, her eyes dancing with excitement. “We’ll just have to learn the rest from experience!”

Spectrum Reading Grade 6

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1. Check the phrase that best describes the author’s purpose.

to entertain to instruct to persuade

2. Number the events below to show the order in which they happened.

_____ Jaya says they’ll have to learn the rest from experience.

Olivia began to gather up the books on the table.

_____ Jaya’s gym class took their heart rates.

Olivia tells Jaya that there are more than 300 species of hummingbird.

Olivia said she would start a list of plants that hummingbirds like.

3. How did hummingbirds get their name?

4. Why were Jaya and Olivia researching hummingbirds?

5. Why are hummingbird feeders usually red?

6. If you added one-quarter cup of sugar to a hummingbird feeder, how much water would you need to add?

7. How often do hummingbirds need to eat?

8. From whose point of view is this story told?

9. What kinds of birds would you most like to attract and observe? Why?

Spectrum Reading Grade 6

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