3rd grade nonfiction passage about octopus camouflage: 153 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradenonfictionoctopus camouflage153 words
The Octopus, Master of Disguise
An octopus has a soft body and no shell. It has no bones, either. That makes it an easy snack for a hungry fish, so it needs clever ways to stay safe.
One way is to hide. An octopus can squeeze into a tiny crack between rocks. Its soft body bends to fit almost any space.
Another way is to change its look. The skin of an octopus has tiny spots that can change color. When it sits on sand, it can turn sandy brown. When it rests on a red rock, it can turn red. Its skin can even change to look bumpy like the rock.
If an enemy still finds it, the octopus can squirt a cloud of dark ink. The enemy cannot see through the ink. The octopus swims away fast while the cloud floats in the water.
Hiding, changing color, and using ink all help an octopus stay alive.
Questions
What body parts does an octopus not have? in the text
How can an octopus fit into a tiny crack? in the text
What do the spots on an octopus's skin do? in the text
What does an octopus squirt when an enemy finds it? in the text
Why can the octopus swim away safely after it squirts ink? think about it
Why is a soft body a problem for an octopus? think about it
Words to know
shell
a hard cover that protects some animals
crack
a narrow gap in a rock
enemy
an animal that wants to eat another animal
ink
a dark liquid that some sea animals squirt
clever
smart and good at solving problems
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Octopus, Master of Disguise
3rd grade reading passage
An octopus has a soft body and no shell. It has no bones, either. That makes it an easy snack for a hungry fish, so it needs clever ways to stay safe.
One way is to hide. An octopus can squeeze into a tiny crack between rocks. Its soft body bends to fit almost any space.
Another way is to change its look. The skin of an octopus has tiny spots that can change color. When it sits on sand, it can turn sandy brown. When it rests on a red rock, it can turn red. Its skin can even change to look bumpy like the rock.
If an enemy still finds it, the octopus can squirt a cloud of dark ink. The enemy cannot see through the ink. The octopus swims away fast while the cloud floats in the water.
Hiding, changing color, and using ink all help an octopus stay alive.
Questions
What body parts does an octopus not have?
How can an octopus fit into a tiny crack?
What do the spots on an octopus's skin do?
What does an octopus squirt when an enemy finds it?
Why can the octopus swim away safely after it squirts ink?
Why is a soft body a problem for an octopus?
Words to know
shell: a hard cover that protects some animals
crack: a narrow gap in a rock
enemy: an animal that wants to eat another animal
ink: a dark liquid that some sea animals squirt
clever: smart and good at solving problems
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/octopus-master-of-disguise
Share
One passage, three levels
The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.
● Easier · 119 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.2
An octopus has a soft body. It has no shell and no bones. A hungry fish can eat it, so the octopus must stay safe.
One way is to hide. An octopus can squeeze into a small crack in the rocks. Its soft body bends to fit.
Another way is to change its look. Its skin has tiny spots that change color. On sand, it turns brown like the sand. On a red rock, it turns red. Its skin can even look bumpy like the rock.
An enemy may still find it. Then the octopus squirts dark ink. The enemy cannot see through the ink. The octopus swims away fast.
Hiding, changing color, and ink keep an octopus safe.
▲ This passage · 153 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.4
An octopus has a soft body and no shell. It has no bones, either. That makes it an easy snack for a hungry fish, so it needs clever ways to stay safe.
One way is to hide. An octopus can squeeze into a tiny crack between rocks. Its soft body bends to fit almost any space.
Another way is to change its look. The skin of an octopus has tiny spots that can change color. When it sits on sand, it can turn sandy brown. When it rests on a red rock, it can turn red. Its skin can even change to look bumpy like the rock.
If an enemy still finds it, the octopus can squirt a cloud of dark ink. The enemy cannot see through the ink. The octopus swims away fast while the cloud floats in the water.
Hiding, changing color, and using ink all help an octopus stay alive.
■ Harder · 178 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.8
An octopus has a soft body with no shell and no bones. Because of this, it is an easy meal for a hungry fish, so it has developed several clever ways to stay safe.
The first way is hiding. An octopus can squeeze its flexible body into a tiny crack between rocks, and it bends to fit almost any narrow space.
The second way is changing its appearance. The octopus has tiny spots in its skin that can change color in an instant. When it settles on sand, it can turn a sandy brown, and when it rests on a red rock, it can turn red. Its skin can even become bumpy so that it resembles the rock beneath it.
If an enemy still manages to find it, the octopus can squirt a cloud of dark ink. The enemy cannot see through the cloud, so the octopus swims away quickly while the ink drifts through the water.
By hiding, changing color, and using ink, an octopus is able to stay alive in a sea full of hungry hunters.
An octopus has a soft body. It has no shell and no bones. A hungry fish can eat it, so the octopus must stay safe.
One way is to hide. An octopus can squeeze into a small crack in the rocks. Its soft body bends to fit.
Another way is to change its look. Its skin has tiny spots that change color. On sand, it turns brown like the sand. On a red rock, it turns red. Its skin can even look bumpy like the rock.
An enemy may still find it. Then the octopus squirts dark ink. The enemy cannot see through the ink. The octopus swims away fast.
Hiding, changing color, and ink keep an octopus safe.
Questions
What body parts does an octopus not have?
How can an octopus fit into a small crack?
What do the spots on its skin do?
What does the octopus squirt at an enemy?
Why can the octopus swim away after it squirts ink?
Why is a soft body a problem for an octopus?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Octopus, Master of Disguise
An octopus has a soft body and no shell. It has no bones, either. That makes it an easy snack for a hungry fish, so it needs clever ways to stay safe.
One way is to hide. An octopus can squeeze into a tiny crack between rocks. Its soft body bends to fit almost any space.
Another way is to change its look. The skin of an octopus has tiny spots that can change color. When it sits on sand, it can turn sandy brown. When it rests on a red rock, it can turn red. Its skin can even change to look bumpy like the rock.
If an enemy still finds it, the octopus can squirt a cloud of dark ink. The enemy cannot see through the ink. The octopus swims away fast while the cloud floats in the water.
Hiding, changing color, and using ink all help an octopus stay alive.
Questions
What body parts does an octopus not have?
How can an octopus fit into a tiny crack?
What do the spots on an octopus's skin do?
What does an octopus squirt when an enemy finds it?
Why can the octopus swim away safely after it squirts ink?
Why is a soft body a problem for an octopus?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Octopus, Master of Disguise
An octopus has a soft body with no shell and no bones. Because of this, it is an easy meal for a hungry fish, so it has developed several clever ways to stay safe.
The first way is hiding. An octopus can squeeze its flexible body into a tiny crack between rocks, and it bends to fit almost any narrow space.
The second way is changing its appearance. The octopus has tiny spots in its skin that can change color in an instant. When it settles on sand, it can turn a sandy brown, and when it rests on a red rock, it can turn red. Its skin can even become bumpy so that it resembles the rock beneath it.
If an enemy still manages to find it, the octopus can squirt a cloud of dark ink. The enemy cannot see through the cloud, so the octopus swims away quickly while the ink drifts through the water.
By hiding, changing color, and using ink, an octopus is able to stay alive in a sea full of hungry hunters.
Questions
Which body parts does an octopus not have?
How is an octopus able to fit into a tiny crack between rocks?
What can the spots in an octopus's skin do?
What does an octopus squirt when an enemy finds it?
Why is the octopus able to escape safely after it squirts ink?
Why does having a soft body make an octopus an easy meal?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Octopus, Master of Disguise
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.2)
It has no shell and no bones.
Its soft body bends to fit.
They change color.
Dark ink.
The enemy cannot see through the ink.
A hungry fish can eat it.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.4)
It has no shell and no bones.
Its soft body bends to fit.
They can change color.
A cloud of dark ink.
The enemy cannot see through the ink cloud.
It makes the octopus easy for a hungry fish to eat.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.8)
It has no shell and no bones.
Its soft, flexible body bends to fit.
They can change color.
A cloud of dark ink.
The enemy cannot see through the ink cloud.
It has no shell or bones to protect it from a hungry fish.
Free at teach.peabody.kids
How to use it
Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.
Ideas for class
Before reading, put shell, crack, enemy, ink and clever on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 2 minutes to read aloud.
Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.
What reading level is "The Octopus, Master of Disguise"?
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 153 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.4. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.
What do the questions ask?
There are six. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.
How long does it take to read?
About 2 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.
Can I print it?
Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.
Is this passage from a published book?
No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.
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