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Mudskippers Walk on Mud with Fins

4th grade nonfiction passage about fish that live on land: 222 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction fish that live on land 222 words

Mudskippers Walk on Mud with Fins

Fish live in water, and most die quickly if they are taken out of it. Mudskippers are different. They spend a lot of their time on land.

Mudskippers live on muddy shores in warm parts of the world. When the tide goes out, they leave the water and move across the mud in search of insects and small crabs. Their front fins are strong and bend like elbows. A mudskipper props itself up on them and drags itself forward. It can also flick its tail and jump, which is how it got its name.

How can a fish breathe on land? A mudskipper takes in air through its skin and the lining of its mouth, but these parts must stay wet. So it keeps its skin damp by rolling in puddles. It also holds water in its gill chambers, almost like carrying a small tank of water around with it.

Its eyes sit high on its head like periscopes, so it can look around while most of its body rests low on the mud. These eyes can also be pulled down when needed.

Mudskippers dig burrows in the mud, where they can wait out high tide and stay safe. In every part of their lives, they are fish that have found a way to be at home both in water and out.

Questions

  1. Where do mudskippers live? in the text

  2. How does a mudskipper move across the mud? in the text

  3. How can a mudskipper breathe on land? in the text

  4. What does a mudskipper carry in its gill chambers? in the text

  5. Why do mudskippers dig burrows? in the text

  6. Why would a mudskipper roll in puddles? think about it

Words to know

tide
the daily rise and fall of the sea along the shore
props
holds something up so it does not fall
damp
a little bit wet
periscopes
tubes with a lookout on top, used to see over things
burrows
holes or tunnels that animals dig to live in
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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 · 160 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.5

Fish live in water. Most die quickly if they leave it. Mudskippers are different. They spend a lot of time on land.

Mudskippers live on muddy shores in warm parts of the world. When the tide goes out, they leave the water. They crawl on the mud to look for bugs and small crabs. Their front fins are strong and bend like elbows. A mudskipper props itself up on them and drags itself forward. It can also flick its tail and jump.

How can a fish breathe on land? A mudskipper takes in air through its skin and its mouth. These parts must stay wet. So it rolls in puddles. It also holds water in its gill chambers. It is like a small tank of water.

Its eyes sit high on its head. It can look around while its body rests low on the mud.

Mudskippers dig burrows in the mud. They stay safe there when the tide is high.

▲ This passage · 222 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4

Fish live in water, and most die quickly if they are taken out of it. Mudskippers are different. They spend a lot of their time on land.

Mudskippers live on muddy shores in warm parts of the world. When the tide goes out, they leave the water and move across the mud in search of insects and small crabs. Their front fins are strong and bend like elbows. A mudskipper props itself up on them and drags itself forward. It can also flick its tail and jump, which is how it got its name.

How can a fish breathe on land? A mudskipper takes in air through its skin and the lining of its mouth, but these parts must stay wet. So it keeps its skin damp by rolling in puddles. It also holds water in its gill chambers, almost like carrying a small tank of water around with it.

Its eyes sit high on its head like periscopes, so it can look around while most of its body rests low on the mud. These eyes can also be pulled down when needed.

Mudskippers dig burrows in the mud, where they can wait out high tide and stay safe. In every part of their lives, they are fish that have found a way to be at home both in water and out.

■ Harder · 228 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.5

Fish are creatures of the water, and most perish quickly if they are removed from it. Mudskippers, however, are a remarkable exception, because they spend a substantial portion of their lives on land.

Mudskippers inhabit muddy shores in warm regions of the world. When the tide recedes, they leave the water and travel across the mud in search of insects and small crabs. Their front fins are powerful and bend much like elbows, so a mudskipper can prop itself upright on them and drag its body forward. It can also flick its tail and leap into the air, which is how the fish earned its name.

How can a fish breathe out of water? A mudskipper absorbs air through its skin and the lining of its mouth, although these surfaces must remain moist. To keep its skin damp, it rolls in puddles, and it also stores water in its gill chambers, almost as if it were carrying a small tank with it.

Its eyes are set high on its head like periscopes, allowing it to survey its surroundings while most of its body rests low on the mud.

Mudskippers also dig burrows in the mud, where they can wait out high tide in safety. In every part of their lives, they are fish that have learned to be at home both in the water and out of it.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put tide, props, damp, periscopes and burrows 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 6 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.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Mudskippers Walk on Mud with Fins"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 222 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.0. 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. 5 ask for something the text says directly and 1 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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