Stopping the Desert. People cut much of the tall grass. Then, they brought in water from a far-away river. Farmers grew crops on the land.

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1 Page 1 of 7 Printed by: J Regan Stopping the Desert AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko LANZHOU, China (Achieve3000, June 28, 2007). China used to have many grasslands. Now, one-third of China is a desert. How did this happen? People cut much of the tall grass. Then, they brought in water from a far-away river. Farmers grew crops on the land. Much of the land was over-farmed. Most of the water was used up. The river nearly dried up. The land became a desert. It is covered with sand. What can be done? Leaders want farmers from 20 villages to vacate their farms. The farmers have three years to leave. Then, leaders will plant tall grass. They hope the grass brings life back to the desert. Information for this story came from AP. Dictionary desert (noun) a place that is very hot and has very little water over-farmed (adjective) when crops are grown on the same land year after year, using up the healthy parts of the dirt vacate (verb) to leave a place

2 Page 2 of 7 Instructions: Select the letter of the correct answer. Question 1: Which fits best in the empty box? The land became a desert. China bought more land nearby. The land was sold to another country. China started building some new villages. Question 2: What is the big idea in this news story? Some people in China brought water from a far-away river. Leaders in China hope to bring life back to the desert. China used to have many grasslands. Part of China is a desert. Question 3: Which is not in the news story? People cut much of the tall grass in China. Farmers in China grew crops on the land. China's leaders will plant some tall grass. Strong winds dried out China's land.

3 Page 3 of 7 Question 4: Which is a fact? Hint: A fact can be proven right or wrong. China should make new lakes. No one likes to grow crops in China. China used to have many grasslands. Farmers should stay on their land in China. Question 5: The news story says: Leaders want farmers from 20 villages to vacate their farms. To vacate means to. Open Know Leave Watch Question 6: Think about the news story. The reader can tell that. Leaders are worried about deserts in China. Most farmers only plant tall grass in China. Leaders do not want grasslands in China. Many farmers are moving into China. Question 7: The news story says: Leaders want farmers from 20 villages to vacate their farms. The farmers have three years to leave. Then, leaders will plant tall grass. They hope the grass brings life back to the desert. This helps the reader to know. What one farmer plans to do when he leaves Why leaders want some farmers to leave What one farmer thinks China should do Why one leader wants farmers to stay

4 Page 4 of 7 Question 8: The news story says: The farmers have three years to leave. Which must mean the same as leave? Go Lock Roll Write

5 Page 5 of 7 W rite a summary of the news story. A summary tells what the big idea of a story is. To write a summary you should: STEP 1: Read the news story. STEP 2: Look back at each paragraph. 1. Write down the big idea of each paragraph. 2. Take out any facts that are not needed. 3. Put everything into a few sentences. STEP 3: Read your summary again. STEP 4: Check it over. Then check it again.

6 Page 6 of 7 China is telling farmers to leave their land. Is this the right thing to do? Yes. Farmers use too much water. They are helping to turn the land into desert. No. Leaders should find another way to fix the problem.

7 Page 7 of 7 Instructions: Select the letter of the correct answer. Question 1: Sixteen families will move to new homes. Then another 27 families move. How many families move in all? 9 families 43 families 12 families 33 families