ACTIVITY 5J Differentiate Major from Minor Supporting Details The following pass

Question

ACTIVITY 5J Differentiate Major from Minor Supporting Details The following passage, Thanks for the Topsoil, should be familiar you read it when practicing with major supporting details in Activity 5 What are the minor supporting details?" As you try to differentiate between major and minor supporting details, ask yourself what each detail supports. Ifit directly supports the main idea, it is a major supporting detail- and you will have already identified it. If the detail supports the major detail, it is a minor supporting detail. Think of it this way: If the detail could be left out without the passage losing its main idea, it is probably a minor detail. A. Read it again, but this time, after you read it, ask yourself 1 Earthworms, the "intestines of the earth," as Aristotle called them, dramatically alter soil struc- ture, water movement, nutrient dynamics, and plant growth, according to the U.S. Department of griculture. These segmented vertebrates have been around for half a billion years, but they have no eyes, ears, or lungs. They digest organic material (such as dead leaves), soil, and even tiny stones which are excreted as castings that enrich and aerate the soil. Worms are pretty much responsible for all the rich soil on the planet. There can be as many as a million worms per acre in temperate regions. Some species are able to regenerate themselves: if one is cut in half, it can grow a new tail (but the pieces dont become two whole new worms.) 2 Source: Malesky, Kee. All Facts Considered. The Esential Library of Inesential Knowledgs. John Wiley and Sons, Inc.: New Jersey, 2010, p. 121. List all the minor supporting details, and explain why they are not major supporting details.

Explanation / Answer

Answer: Earthworms are very important soil organisms which are known to be as "intestines of the earth" because of it aids in the decomposition of plant litter, and promotes recycling of nutrients. They help to condition plant remnants by the breakdown of litter in their gut. The tunnels in the soil by earthworms help oxygen and water to enter the soil more easily and their waste promotes enrichment to the soil.

The minor supporting details are as follows:

1. "These segmented vertebrate have been around for half a billion years". Earthworms are the segmented vertebrate and they were present around for half billion years does not support the intestinal property of earth because the presence of earthworm makes the soil more fertile on the top layer of earth. Half billion years is the timescale which does not depict the decomposition of dead organisms and plant litter.

2. "They have no eye, ear, or lungs" is the minor detail in the first part because it does not correlate the segmentation aspect of vertebrates.

3. "Some species are able to regenerate: if one cuts in half, it can grow a new tail". This information does not seem to support the contribution of earthworm to make soli top layer fertile and healthy soil.

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