Which Way Is the Moonlight?

“Which Way Is the Moonlight?” · Ages 9-10 · kitapz.com

In this story, children help Daphne and her cousin Kieran find out why baby turtles crawled toward the dune instead of the sea, drawing the tracks and checking the volunteer team's records. It shows how hatchlings find the sea and why dark nights matter to wildlife. Readers' choices decide what Daphne investigates first and how she tackles the problem.

What will children learn from this story?

• Learns that sea turtle hatchlings head for the brightest part of the horizon, which on a natural beach is the sea.
• Practises ruling out an explanation with evidence by drawing each track and seeing where they all meet.
• Learns how dated records, like the team's notebook and the date on a nest stake, help show when a problem began.
• Thinks about why it matters not to touch wild animals, to stay quiet and to keep lights low when watching them.

Curriculum links: Science, Environmental education

Fact Box

Reading Comprehension Questions (5W1H)

The questions cover the opening that every reader sees, whatever they choose. Tap a question to see the answer.

1. Who? Who tells the children that a hatchling walks toward the brightest part of the horizon?

   Answer: Dr. Ashley, the marine biologist who leads the team, tells them over the phone.

2. What? What do Daphne and her mom find in the sand beside the fourth nest?

   Answer: Tiny flipper tracks that lead back toward the sand dune instead of to the sea.

3. Where? Where do all the tracks come together?

   Answer: At a gap on the dune where the pink-flowered tamarisk bushes have just been cut down and the road behind can be seen.

4. When? When were the eggs in the fifth nest laid, and when should the nest hatch?

   Answer: They were laid on July 7, and since eggs hatch about two months later, the nest should open within a few nights.

5. Why? Why does Daphne think something new must have happened in the last few days?

   Answer: The team's notebook shows that the hatchlings from the first three nests all went to the sea.

6. How? How does Daphne work out that the streetlamp did not pull the babies?

   Answer: She draws every track and sees that they all meet at one spot on the dune, while the streetlamp is in a completely different direction.

Questions to Talk About After Reading

• At the first choice, did you have Daphne follow the branch trail right away, or wait for the night to catch the light? Why did you pick that path?
• Kieran talks excitedly and films on the beach, while Daphne signals him to be quiet. How do you think people should behave when they watch a wild animal?
• If someone was harming nature without realizing it, how would you tell them? Why might it help to listen to them first?
• What lights are on at night where you live? Could they be a problem for birds, insects or other animals?

Word List

hatchling

A baby animal that has just come out of its egg, like the little turtles in the story.

flipper

A flat, wide limb that a sea turtle uses to swim and to crawl across the sand.

dune

A hill of sand piled up by the wind, usually just behind a beach.

tamarisk

A shrub or small tree with slender branches and tiny pink or white flowers that can grow in salty soil; in the story, tamarisk bushes grow on the dune.

sawdust

The tiny crumbs of wood that fall off when wood is sawn.

stake

A pointed stick pushed into the ground; in the story, one marks a nest and shows the date the eggs were laid.

Activity Idea

On an evening walk with an adult around your home or school, list the lights that shine up into the sky, onto trees or across empty ground. Back home, talk about which ones are really needed and which animals they might disturb.