a small hummingbird next to a large ostrich
wang liqiang/shutterstock.com (bee hummingbird); eric isselee/shutterstock.com (ostrich)
Paired Texts,

The Biggest and Smallest Birds

Some birds are taller than people. Others are as small as your thumb! Birds come in all sizes.

By Meg Richardson
From the September 2022 Issue
Lexiles: 460L
Guided Reading Level: I
DRA Level: 16
Featured Skill: Compare Two Texts,
Vocabulary: hatch, pits
Common Core Standards
  • RI.2.1 Key details RI.2.4 Vocabulary RI.2.5 Nonfiction text features RI.2.7 Use visuals RI.2.9 Compare two texts on a similar topic RI.2.10 Read grade-2-appropriate informational text SL.2 Participate in conversations about grade-2 texts
TEKS Standards
  • Science
    (9) Organisms and environments. The student knows that living organisms have basic needs that must be met for them to survive within their environment. The student is expected to: (A) identify the basic needs of plants and animals; (B) identify factors in the environment, including temperature and precipitation, that affect growth and behavior such as migration, hibernation, and dormancy of living things; (10) Organisms and environments. The student knows that organisms resemble their parents and have structures and processes that help them survive within their environments. The student is expected to: (A) observe, record, and compare how the physical characteristics and behaviors of animals help them meet their basic needs;

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Think and Read

As you read, think about how the biggest and smallest birds are alike and different. 

Biggest Bird: Ostrich

Tall Bird

Jeff R Clow/Getty Images 

Look at that loonng neck!

Ostriches are tall. Who is the tallest person you know? An ostrich is taller than that person!

Ostriches are very tall. They are 9 feet tall. Who is the tallest person you know? An ostrich is taller than that person!

Giant Eggs

Shutterstock.com 

Ostriches hatch from huge eggs. Each egg is almost as big as your head.

Dad ostriches dig holes in the dirt. It is the nest. There can be 78 eggs in one nest!

Ostriches hatch from HUGE eggs. Each egg is almost as big as your head.

Dad ostriches dig wide pits in the dirt. That is the nest. There can be 78 eggs in one nest! 

On the Move

Shutterstock.com

Ostriches have wings. But they can’t fly. They can run really fast!

Ostriches have wings, but they can’t fly. They can run. An ostrich can run as fast as a car!

Smallest Bird: Bee Hummingbird

Teeny-Tiny Bird

Karine Aigner/NPL/Minden Pictures

That’s one itty-bitty bird!

Bee hummingbirds are so tiny! They are about as long as your thumb.

Bee hummingbirds are so tiny! They are only 2 inches long. 

That is about as long as your thumb.

Tiny Eggs

Yerandy1990/Wikipedia Creative Commons (Nest); Burwell and Burwell Photography Contractor/The United States Mint (Quarter)

The nest is the size of a quarter!

Bee hummingbirds hatch from tiny eggs. Their eggs are as small as peas!

Their nests are the size of a quarter.

Bee hummingbirds hatch from itty-bitty eggs. Their eggs are as small as peas! 

Their nests are the size of a quarter. They make their nests cozy. They use spider webs and soft plants.

On the Move

Kevin Schafer/Alamy Stock Photo

Look at those wings go!

Bee hummingbirds fly fast. Their wings flap really quickly!


video (1)
Slideshows (1)
Activities (4)
Skills Activities
Quizzes (2)
Quizzes (2)
Answer Key (1)
video (1)
Slideshows (1)
Activities (4) Download All Quizzes and Activities
Skills Activities
Quizzes (2)
Quizzes (2)
Answer Key (1)

More About the Article

Science Focus

Diversity of animals; Life cycles; Birds

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

1. BEFORE READING

Preview Vocabulary (2 minutes)

  • Play the online vocabulary slideshow. This article’s featured words are hatch and pits.

PText Preview Bookmarks (5-10 minutes)

  • Students can use these evergreen bookmarks to help them preview the text. Our skills page has both fiction and nonfiction options for kids to cut out. They can use the nonfiction bookmark for this story.

2. READ THE PAIRED TEXTS (10 MINUTES)

  • Now tell students they are going to read two texts. One is about the biggest bird in the world, and the other is about the smallest bird in the world.

3. AFTER READING

ELA Focus: Quiz (10 minutes)

  • Pass out the quiz for a quick comprehension check.
  • The quiz is available in multiple-choice and written-answer formats.

Science Focus: Birds (20 minutes)

  • The “Invent a Bird” printable teaches students features of birds and guides students through inventing their own.
  • Using this printable, students can create their own birds synthesizing what they learned in the article with new information from the printable.
  • These will be great to share on a bulletin board or in a class discussion!

ELA Focus: Compare and Contrast (15 minutes)

  • Pass out our Venn diagram to help kids compare and contrast the biggest bird in the world and the smallest bird in the world.

Show the Video “The Biggest Egg in the World”

  • Watch this video to learn about incredible (and huge!) ostrich eggs.

Whole Issue Scavenger Hunt (15 minutes)

We created a scavenger hunt for several stories in this month’s Storyworks 2, including the paired texts. The scavenger hunt can be done by students independently at home or during class time.

This is a self-contained group of slides that guide your students on a scavenger hunt through the whole issue. It’s not only fun, it also helps them make text-to-text connections. 

To find it, look in your Resources section. Scroll down to Activities. You will see it there.

Text-to-Speech