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The Giraffe's Long Blue Tongue

Kindergarten nonfiction passage about how a giraffe eats: 43 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

Kindergarten nonfiction how a giraffe eats 43 words

The Giraffe's Long Blue Tongue

A giraffe is very tall. It eats leaves from tall trees.

A giraffe has a long tongue. The tongue can reach out and grab a leaf. It is dark, like a plum.

The giraffe pulls the leaf into its mouth. Munch, munch, munch!

Questions

  1. What does a giraffe eat? in the text

  2. What does the giraffe use to grab a leaf? in the text

  3. What color is the tongue? in the text

  4. What sound does the giraffe make when it eats? in the text

  5. Why is a long tongue good for a giraffe? think about it

Words to know

giraffe
a very tall animal with a long neck
tongue
the part in your mouth that helps you taste
leaf
a flat green part of a plant
tall
a long way from bottom to top
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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 · 24 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.3

A giraffe is tall. It eats leaves.

The giraffe has a long tongue. The tongue grabs a leaf. It is dark.

Munch, munch, munch!

▲ This passage · 43 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.5

A giraffe is very tall. It eats leaves from tall trees.

A giraffe has a long tongue. The tongue can reach out and grab a leaf. It is dark, like a plum.

The giraffe pulls the leaf into its mouth. Munch, munch, munch!

■ Harder · 58 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6

A giraffe is one of the tallest animals. It eats the leaves that grow on tall trees.

Its tongue is very long, and it can stretch out to wrap around a leaf. The tongue is a dark color, almost like a purple plum.

Then the giraffe pulls the leaf into its mouth and chews it. Munch, munch, munch!

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 giraffe, tongue, leaf and tall 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 under a minute 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.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "The Giraffe's Long Blue Tongue"?

It was written for Kindergarten. It has 43 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 0.5. 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 five. 4 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?

Under a minute 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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