Image of lemurs in library
xavierarnau/Getty Images (Library); Shutterstock.com (All Other Images)
Mini Read,

Lemurs in the Library!

By Meg Richardson
From the September 2025 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will identify three key details in a short informational text about lemurs.

Lexile® measure: 460L
Featured Skill: Key Details,
Topic: Social Studies,
Common Core Standards
  • Social Studies Focus
    Communities
  • Skill Focus
    Key details
  • Common Core Standards
    RI.2.1 Key details RI.2.4 Vocabulary RI.2.5 Nonfiction text features RI.2.9 Compare two texts on a similar topic RI.2.10 Read grade-2-appropriate informational texts SL.2 Participate in conversations about grade-2 texts
TEKS Standards
  • Science
    (13) Organisms and environments. The student knows that organisms have structures and undergo processes that help them interact and survive within their environments. The student is expected to: (B) record and compare how the structures and behaviors of animals help them find and take in food, water, and air

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 The Duke Lemur Center reminds us not to touch or feed wild animals.

What would you do if you saw lemurs at your school? That is what happened to two kids in North Carolina in 2010. They saw two lemurs sitting outside their school.

The kids told a teacher. The school called the lemur center that was nearby. The people there were looking for the lemurs. They had escaped! 

The people from the lemur center said they were on the way. But how could the school get the lemurs to stay put?

A Lunch Lady’s Idea

A lunch lady had an idea. She made a path with fruit. It led to the school library. 

The lemurs followed it. They ate the fruit in the library. Then people from the center took them home.

Since then, the center has worked to make sure no lemurs will escape again. They take great care of lemurs!

video (1)
Activities (3)
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
video (1)
Activities (3) Download All Quizzes and Activities
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Implementation

  • Small group; whole group; independent reading

1. Use the Before-Reading Resources

  • Watch a Short Video of Lemurs (5 minutes)
    Students can watch a short, fun video with footage of ring-tailed lemurs to get an understanding of the animals they will be reading about.

2. Read the Article

Reading Focus: Find key details (30 minutes)

  • As students read, ask them to pay attention to details about the story. What kind of animals escaped? Where did they escape from? Where did they go? What did they do there? Students can underline these key details in the text. 

2. Read the Article

(All pages below can be printed from the resources page.)

  • Nosey’s Fact File: (15 minutes)
    Students will fill in three key details about the article. 

You can use these skills pages to practice other skills. (15 minutes each)

  • Quiz: Comprehension check
  • Amazing Animal Tales Chart: Compare the animal tale-themed texts in the issue.

Text-to-Speech