Ocean Pals · Rays in Their World · Grades 6–8 · Page 1 of 3
Compare three animals
Name:
Evidence cards
A. Giant manta ray. It filters small drifting animals from water while swimming. Two flexible parts near its mouth help guide water and food inward.
B. Southern stingray. It can stir sand with its broad fins and uncover prey, including small fish and crustaceans, at the seabed.
C. Clearnose skate. This relative of the two rays is a skate, not a stingray. It eats mollusks, shrimp, crabs and small fish, and lays eggs in cases. A similar prey list does not establish identical feeding behavior.
D. A threat and a limit. NOAA identifies commercial fishing as a main threat to giant manta rays. They may be targeted or caught while fishers seek other species; the latter is called bycatch. NOAA says their global population size is unknown. This assessment does not establish the status of every ray or skate.
Sources: A and D — NOAA Fisheries; B — Florida Museum: Southern Stingray; C — Florida Museum: Clearnose Skate.
Read the worked row, then complete two rows
| Animal | Feeding detail | Card and source |
|---|---|---|
| Giant manta ray | Filters drifting food from water. | A · NOAA Fisheries |
| Southern stingray | ||
| Clearnose skate |
What can a still photograph show? What does the reading add?
Grades 6–8 · Page 2 of 3
Test a claim
For each statement, choose supported, contradicted or not established by these cards. Name the card and explain why. “Not established” means the cards do not settle the question; it does not mean false.
- Fishing can threaten giant manta rays.
- Some giant manta rays are caught while fishers seek other species.
- Every ray and skate is disappearing.
- We know exactly how many giant manta rays live worldwide.
| Statement | Classification | Card and reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Worked example | Supported | D: NOAA names fishing as a threat to giant mantas. |
| 2 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 4 |
Make statement 3 more precise
Write a claim the cards support. Name the species and the source.
What remains unknown? Does “unknown” mean that the animal is safe? Explain.
Grades 6–8 · Page 3 of 3
Make a field card
Draw and label a giant manta ray. Include a feeding fact from A, a threat statement from D, the source and one unknown. Make clear which species your claim describes.
My claim and source:
What remains unknown:
Ask a partner whether the picture or words suggest more than the cards support. What did you revise, and why?
If someone says a southern stingray population is vanishing, what evidence would you request?