READ THIS PLZDear Sam, I hope you are enjoying North Carolina. How is the weather there? It has been pretty foggy and cool here. I sure miss you here in Newport, Oregon. Now that you have moved,
I have been fishing alone. Just like we used to do, I head down to the mud flats before I go fishing to dig for shrimp to use as bait. But it is getting harder and harder to find shrimp! I have been spending more time finding bait than I have been fishing. The other strange thing is that every once and a while the mud flats have the strangest odor. They smell kind of like rotten eggs. We’ve had an unusually warm summer…I wonder if that has anything to do with it.
Michelle and I traveled to Portland last weekend to have a nice dinner, but salmon prices have gone through the roof! So, we ended up ordering chicken instead! Not exactly Michelle’s idea of a nice dinner!
Yaquina Bay is getting really busy with deep port ships coming and going all the time. It is getting harder for us commercial fisherman to compete with all the traffic. I saw in the news that one of those ships had an oil spill off the coast two weeks ago. That sure made a lot of people up here very upset!
Things sure have changed since you moved. I hope you can come visit soon, and then we’ll have a good time out on the boat just like old times! Just maybe, we’ll find some fish!
Your friend,
Allen
The QUSTION:
Blue Mud Shrimp Mystery

Directions: Follow the steps below, and complete the questions.

Step 1: Read this letter.

What do you think caused the shrimp population to decline? Why?

Step 2: Read this presentation.

Predict the effects of the disappearance of the Blue Mud Shrimp on the ecosystem/food web. Please use at least three complete sentences.

Step 3: Watch this video.

What are some other possible ways invasive species can be introduced to an area? Please explain.

Explain at least one way that an invasive species affects humans? (‘It doesn’t” is not a correct answer!)

Step 4: Explore these websites to learn about other invasive species.

Choose 1 invasive species to read about. Why is this species considered to be invasive? How does it cause harm to its environment?

Fifteen-year-old kwan sat on a large boulder on the rocky shore and watched her seven-year-old brother, min, race along the beach close to the water’s edge. the handmade kite, streaming high in the air behind him, created a striking image against the vivid blue sky. occasionally, min called out, “kwan, look at me! i’m flying! i’m flying! ” she beamed and waved at him, urging him on in his glee. she recalled the day her parents first brought home the little bundle from the hospital, the first boy in the family, making her the happiest big sister ever. the family had had a new baby to care for and cherish, and she had a precious little brother to shower with love and attention. min brought joy and delight to the whole household, and his presence completed the family. kwan smiled again as she watched him run along, and she felt great contentment at the pleasure he took in flying the kite they had made together. ever since father had taken min to the korean kite festival, he had begged for a kite of his own. the multicolored dragons, birds, and box kites with their colorful tails and plumes appeared to enchant min as he watched them soar and race in the clear blue sky. he stood mesmerized by the panoply of colors. “someday, i will race a kite in the festival! ” min stated with determination. when min made up his mind that a kite would be the perfect summer project for him and kwan, she was surprised. “i don’t want a kite-making kit,” he informed their father. “i want to build it myself—with kwan’s .” kwan initially wondered why min included her in his quest for a kite, but she quickly realized that her clever brother had correctly surmised that their father would more likely approve the request if min’s big sister were there to him. how could kwan refuse? kwan gazed out at her brother and heard his shrieks of delight as he tried to direct their marvelous flying creation. she watched it wheel, spin, and dive—a wild, colorful bird putting on an aerial display. its gold and red crepe-paper wings fluttered in the air, mimicking the flight of a predatory bird surveying the landscape for prey. it swooped and dived, perhaps discovering a possible meal, and then went airborne again to avoid the rocky terrain below. min was the falconer, guiding his bird on its path through the sky, not yet ready to call it back to the ground. but kwan grew concerned when she looked out at the dark, threatening clouds beginning to roll in off the water. when she saw the streaks of lightning within the cloud formation, she pointed to the distant storm and called out to her little brother to bring in the kite. min nodded and rolled in the kite string, bringing his bird home. “let’s go,” kwan told her brother and put her arm around him to fold him safely under her wing as they both held onto the kite. “it’s time to go home.”how does the author best develop the theme that with determination, one can achieve a goal? a-the author uses an extended metaphor to show how min successfully builds a kite that flies like a colorful bird. b-the author uses a metaphor to compare kwan to a mother bird, protecting her young one from the thunderstorm. c-the author uses imagery to show how the kite mimics a predatory bird under min's careful direction. d-the author uses personification to show how min's kite swoops and dives in the air to avoid the rocks below it.