Predator-Prey Relationship - Science Reading Article - Grades 5-7

Define predator, prey, and predation using the passage's explanations.

Explain the population cycle that predation creates between predator and prey species.

Describe how an invasive species (the Burmese python) can disrupt an established ecosystem's predator-prey balance.

Reason through a hypothetical ecological scenario involving a specific predator (the American crocodile).

Introduce the core vocabulary (prey, predator, predation, invasive species) before the reading, since the eight comprehension questions test those terms directly.

Use the Burmese python case study as the anchor example when discussing the extension questions, since question 9 specifically builds on it.

Treat the infographic extension question as an optional project extension rather than a required item, since it asks for a different format of response than the other questions.

Scientific reading comprehension — students answer eight questions about predation, population cycles, and invasive species.

Cause-and-effect reasoning — students explain how predator and prey population sizes rise and fall in relation to each other.

Applied ecological reasoning — an extension question asks students to predict what happens if a python predator's population suddenly grew.