Viju Jose/Shutterstock.com
Jackal
The cheetah is the fastest land animal. It can go as fast as a car. When it sees an animal it wants to eat, it sprints to catch it!
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Suzi Eszterhas/Minden Pictures (Cheetah); Lukas Kovarik/Shutterstock.com (Sloth)
The Fastest and Slowest Animals
The cheetah is the fastest animal on land. The sloth is the slowest. It is so slow that you can probably turn the page faster than a sloth will move an inch.
By Laine Falk
From the September 2023 Issue
Learning Objective: Children compare and contrast two short, parallel nonfiction articles.
Lexiles: 480L
Guided Reading Level: I
DRA Level: 16
Featured Skill:
Compare Two Texts,
Vocabulary: sprints, sleek, camouflage
Common Core Standards
TEKS Standards
Cheetah
Super Speedy
Built to Run
Winfried Wisniewski/Getty Images
Look at those legs!
The cheetah’s body helps it run fast. It has a long, sleek body. It has long legs too. It can take huge steps as it runs.
Secret Power
imageBROKER/Alamy Stock Photo
Can you see how the cheetah blends in?
The cheetah has the power to hide. Its home has yellow grass with shady areas. The cheetah’s yellow fur and black spots blend in. To hide like this is to camouflage.
Sloth
Super Slow
iStockPhoto/Getty Images
The sloth is the slowest land animal. It hangs from branches. It climbs very slowly from branch to branch.
It doesn’t need to be speedy! It doesn’t chase animals to eat. It eats leaves and fruits.
Built to Hang
Suzi Eszterhas/Minden Pictures
Baby sloth
Sloths may not be fast, but they are strong. Their super strong arms hold on to branches. Their arms won’t let go even if a jaguar tries to pull them down!
Secret Power
Johner Images/Alamy Stock Photo
The sloth can hide too. Tiny green plants grow in its brown fur. The green color matches the leaves. This lets it camouflage in the trees.
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Multimedia
video
(1)
Extreme Animals
Watch a video to learn about the biggest, smallest, and other extreme animals.
Extreme Animals
Watch a video to learn about the biggest, smallest, and other extreme animals.
Slideshows
(1)
Vocabulary Slideshow: The Fastest and Slowest Animals
<p>Our interactive vocabulary slideshows help unlock challenging vocabulary words and build listening-comprehension skills for all learners.</p>
Vocabulary Slideshow: The Fastest and Slowest Animals
Our interactive vocabulary slideshows help unlock challenging vocabulary words and build listening-comprehension skills for all learners.
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More About the Article
Implementation
Small group; whole group; independent reading
Science Focus
Animal Adaptations
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Pairings and Text Connections
From the Storyworks 2 archive:
- One Cat, Five Facts (September 2020)
Before-Reading Resources
Text Preview Bookmarks (10 minutes)
- Kids can cut out the nonfiction bookmark and use it to preview the text.
Suggested Reading Focus
Comprehension, nonfiction text features (30 minutes)
- Ask the Think and Read question: Think about how the cheetah and the sloth are alike and different.
- Read the cheetah side. Note how the subheads tell what the text will be about. Ask Nosey’s question: Can you see how the cheetah blends in? Why might it help the cheetah to hide? (It can hide from animals it wants to hunt.)
After-Reading Skills Practice (15 minutes for each activity)
- Quiz: Comprehension check
-
Mini Read
Go, Lego Car!This race car was made with LEGO bricks.
-
Debate
Should There Be Assigned Seats at Lunch?What do you think? Go online to write what you think!
-
Fiction
Lost in the HallwayHugo doesn’t want help. Then he gets completely lost. What will he do?
Text-to-Speech