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The Sloth's Green Fur Garden

4th grade nonfiction passage about sloths and algae: 186 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction sloths and algae 186 words

The Sloth's Green Fur Garden

A sloth spends almost its whole life hanging in a rainforest tree. It moves so slowly that something surprising grows on it. Tiny plants called algae live in its fur.

The fur of a sloth is built in a special way. Its hairs have small grooves that catch water and hold it. Algae love damp places, so they settle into the hairs and grow. After a while, the sloth's brown coat takes on a green tint.

The green color helps the sloth. When it hangs still among the leaves, it looks like part of the tree. A hungry eagle or big cat has a hard time spotting it.

The algae may help in another way. Sloths eat leaves, which are not very nourishing. Some scientists think a sloth may sometimes lick or nibble its fur and gain a little extra food from the algae.

Other tiny creatures move in as well. Special moths and beetles live in sloth fur. This means one sloth can be a walking, very slow neighborhood.

Every sloth is its own small garden, and the whole thing travels at a snail's pace.

Questions

  1. What lives in a sloth's fur and makes it look green? in the text

  2. Why do algae grow so well in sloth fur? in the text

  3. How does the green color help the sloth? in the text

  4. What do sloths eat? in the text

  5. Which other creatures live in sloth fur? in the text

  6. Why does the writer call a sloth a walking neighborhood? think about it

Words to know

algae
very small plant-like living things that grow in damp places
tint
a light touch of color
nourishing
full of what a body needs to grow and stay healthy
rainforest
a thick, wet forest with tall trees and heavy rain
predators
animals that hunt other animals for food
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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 · 130 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9

A sloth spends most of its life hanging in a rainforest tree. It moves so slowly that plants grow on it. Tiny plants called algae live in its fur.

A sloth's hairs have small grooves. The grooves hold water. Algae like damp places, so they grow in the hairs. Soon the sloth's brown coat looks green.

The green color helps. When the sloth hangs still in the leaves, it looks like part of the tree. An eagle or a big cat has a hard time seeing it.

Sloths eat leaves, and leaves are not very nourishing. Some scientists think a sloth may nibble its fur and get a little extra food from the algae.

Moths and beetles live in sloth fur too. One sloth is like a very slow neighborhood.

▲ This passage · 186 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9

A sloth spends almost its whole life hanging in a rainforest tree. It moves so slowly that something surprising grows on it. Tiny plants called algae live in its fur.

The fur of a sloth is built in a special way. Its hairs have small grooves that catch water and hold it. Algae love damp places, so they settle into the hairs and grow. After a while, the sloth's brown coat takes on a green tint.

The green color helps the sloth. When it hangs still among the leaves, it looks like part of the tree. A hungry eagle or big cat has a hard time spotting it.

The algae may help in another way. Sloths eat leaves, which are not very nourishing. Some scientists think a sloth may sometimes lick or nibble its fur and gain a little extra food from the algae.

Other tiny creatures move in as well. Special moths and beetles live in sloth fur. This means one sloth can be a walking, very slow neighborhood.

Every sloth is its own small garden, and the whole thing travels at a snail's pace.

■ Harder · 180 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.4

A sloth spends nearly its entire life suspended in the branches of a rainforest tree, and it moves so slowly that something astonishing grows on it. Tiny plant-like organisms called algae make their home in its fur.

The fur of a sloth is constructed in an unusual way. Each hair has small grooves that trap and hold water, and since algae flourish in damp places, they settle into the hairs and multiply. Gradually, the sloth's brown coat takes on a greenish tint.

This color is a real advantage. When the sloth hangs motionless among the leaves, it blends in so well with the tree that a hungry eagle or big cat can scarcely spot it.

The algae may be useful in another way. Sloths eat leaves, which are not especially nourishing, and some scientists believe a sloth may sometimes nibble its fur and gain a little extra food from the algae.

Other tiny creatures move in as well. Special moths and beetles live in sloth fur, so a single sloth can be a slow-moving neighborhood of its own.

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 algae, tint, nourishing, rainforest and predators 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 "The Sloth's Green Fur Garden"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 186 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.9. 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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