Article
Ray Hems/Getty Images
Grammar,

Earth Got a New Ocean!

Can you list all five?

From the March 2022 Issue
Featured Skill: Commonly Confused Words,
Common Core Standards
  • Anchor Standards
    L.3
  • Grade 6
    L.6.3
  • Grade 7
    L.7.3
  • Grade 8
    L.8.3
TEKS Standards
  • Grades 6, 7, 8
    2b, 10c, 10d (ix)

Presentation View
See Student View

Directions

Read the blurbs below. Determine which word is correct in each bolded word pair.

Hint

Number or Amount?

Use number when the noun you’re referring to is countable: pencils, days, pieces of popcorn. Use amount for things that cannot be counted: snow, excitement, time.

David Merron Photography/Getty Images

Mega-Ocean

How many oceans are there on Earth? Technically, the correct number/amount is one! That’s right. One big body of saltwater covers 71 percent of our planet.

But this mega-ocean is divided into regions. For a long time, there were four: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic oceans. Then last year, the National Geographic Society officially recognized a fifth: the Southern Ocean, which circles Antarctica. Scientists hope the change will increase the number/amount of attention given to this part of the world.

iStockPhoto/Getty Images
You might be surprised by the amount of life in the frigid Southern Ocean. Species from tiny Antarctic krill to giant Antarctic blue whales live there.

Enormous Waves

The Southern Ocean is a place of wild storms, giant icebergs, and enormous waves. In spite of the extreme environment, a large number/amount of species live there. Scientists are studying how climate change is impacting the region and all the creatures that live there.

Alexey Seafarer/Shutterstock.com
There are 12 million penguins in Antarctica. That’s almost four times the number of people in Connecticut!

Brrrrr!

If you want to visit the Southern Ocean, you’ll need a large number/amount of money. An expedition can cost many thousands of dollars.

Or perhaps you could become a scientist. During the summer, about 5,000 researchers live in Antarctica. That number/amount drops to about 1,000 during the winter, when the average temperature plummets to -76°F! Brrrrr.

This article was originally published in the March 2022 issue.

Activities (1)
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
Activities (1)
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan

Close Reading, Critical Thinking, Skill Building

1. INTRODUCE AND PRACTICE GRAMMAR SKILL

  • As a class, read Grammar’s HINT (found in the upper right corner of the second page) to introduce or review the commonly confused words addressed in the feature. Then read the annotations, which model the correct usage.
  • Have students practice the grammar skill by completing the activity as a class, in groups, or individually. In the activity, students choose which of the commonly confused words to use at several points within three short boxes of text.

2. REINFORCE SKILL

  • Use the “Number or Amount” activity.
  • Have students observe the commonly confused words in context by searching for examples of their use in the magazine or in other reading material.

EDITOR’S TIP

Challenge students to come up with their own “number” or “amount” sentences. Have them trade their sentences with a partner. What words do your students confuse? We’d love your suggestions for future grammar activities.

E-mail us at [email protected].

Text-to-Speech