© 2016 by Vicki Whiting, Editor Jeff Schinkel, Graphics Vol. 32, No. 33
While the 2016 Olympics
are called the
Summer Games,
s,
nter in
it is actually winter
Brazil where the e games
are being held.
Most of Brazil is located south
of the equator. Because the earth
rotates around the
he sun on a small tilt,
seasons are
different north
and d south
th of f
the equator.
Brazilian
Winter:
Tilted
away from
the sun
the sun, but because
be
where it is
summer, the planet
p
is tilted towards
the sun.
th
Macaws, a kind of parrot, live
in the Amazonian rainforest.
Their big, strong beaks can
crack open the hard Brazil nut.
Brazilian
Summer:
Tilted
toward
the sun
In Brazil, June, July and August are the
winter months, while summer is in
December, January and February.
Can you find the answer to all
of these questions? (Hint–they
can all be found on today’s
Kid Scoop page!) Have a
parent check your answers.
1. It is summer in Brazil
during the 2016 Olympics.
Summer is the warmest time of the
year. Not because the planet is closer to
TRUE
FALSE
2. Most of Brazil is located
south of the
_________________ .
The land around the Amazon and
its tributaries make up the largest
rainforest in the world. Like its
name says, it rains a lot there.
3. The largest rainforest in the
world is found along the
_____________ River.
The western Amazon region
gets about 160 inches (400 cm)
per year. Add up the numbers on
this tree to find out how much
New York City gets on average.
4. New York City gets an
average of _____ inches
of rain a year.
inches (107 cm)
5. T
The Amazon Rainforest
Amazonian Indians were the first people
to make rubber. They found a tree in the
rainforest with a white sap that could be
used as an insect repellent and they
made their feather robes waterproof.
The Indians learned that when heated
over a fire, the sap thickened to make
rubber. They used this rubber to
make shoes and balls.
25% of
the world’s
medicine
comes
from the
rainforest!
gets an average of ____
ge
cm of rain in a year.
6. A
As the earth rotates around
the sun, it _________
th
towards and away from
to
the
h sun.
7. Amazonian Indians were
the first people to make
____________.
Brazil’s forests have millions of insects. The leaf-cutter ants
cut leaves into tiny pieces and carry them back to their underground
colonies. There they chew the leaves into a mush that they
feed to a fungus that they then eat.
Look through the
n
newspaper
for signs
of summer. Cut
them out and make
a “Summer Where
I Live” poster.
Unscramble the letters on the leaves to
discover the name of a rainforest snake that
can grow up to 40 feet (12m) long.
The green on Brazil’s
flag stands for its forests
and fields. Yellow is for
the country’s rich
deposits of gold. The
blue circle represents
the night sky and its
twenty-seven stars are
for Brazil’s 26 states.
The stars are arranged in the constellations that were visible the
day Brazil became independent from Portugal. The phrase
ORDEM E PROGRESSO is also on the Brazilian flag.
TODRBDNEKRLATNVDQPTRJOWGHRLERSMS
Standards Link: Reading Comprehension: Follow simple written directions.
Standards Link: Research:
Use the newspaper to locate
information.
WATERPROOF
OLYMPICS
EQUATOR
WINTER
PLANET
BRAZIL
TILTED
FUNGUS
RUBBER
AMAZON
LEAVES
SHOES
RAINS
FIRE
SAP
8. The yellow on the
Brazilian flag represents
this metal which can be
found there. ______
9. How many states are in the
country of Brazil? ____
10. Rubber is made from the
______ of a ______.
Standards Link: Reading Comprehension:
Identify answers from text.
E W A D E T L I T R
M Q W P I I N W S T
A R U L Z E I R C F
M U R A I N S S I S
This week’s word:
A B R N T A E R P U
TRIBUTARY
Z B G E P O E A M G
The noun tributary
means a stream flowing
into a larger river.
O E R T H M R E Y N
N R S S E V A E L U
W A T E R P R O O F
The Amazon River basin has
about 15,000 tributaries.
Try to use the word
tributary in a sentence
today when talking with your
friends and family members.
Describe Brazil
After reading today’s Kid Scoop page, look
through the newspaper for five or more
adjectives that describe Brazil. Cut them
out, paste them on a piece of construction
paper you have cut into the shape of Brazil.
Standards Link: Language Arts: Identify adjectives.
Tell about a time you did
something really great—
something you didn’t think
you could do, but you tried
it anyway and succeeded.