Image of a cheetah and image of a sloth
Suzi Eszterhas/Minden Pictures (Cheetah); Lukas Kovarik/Shutterstock.com (Sloth)
Paired Texts,

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
  • 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 versions of the same story 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 (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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Lexile® measure

  • On Level
Think and Read

As you read, think about how the cheetah and the sloth are alike and different.  

Cheetah

Super Speedy

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!


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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Slideshows (1)
Activities (3)
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
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Slideshows (1)
Activities (3) Download All Quizzes and Activities
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)

More About the Article

Implementation

Small group; whole group; independent reading

Science Focus

Animal Adaptations

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the 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

Text-to-Speech