Lesson 58: Reading short articles about animals

📖 READING (40 Lessons) • 🟡 C. Reading for Information

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Objective

Read short informational articles about animals, tell the main idea in simple words, and remember two or three key facts.

Materials

Mini-lesson — Reading short articles about animals

Sometimes we read a story with characters, feelings, and a beginning, middle, and end.

Other times, we read a short piece of writing that gives us facts and information. This is called an article.

In this lesson, you will read short articles about animals. Each one is like a tiny page of facts.

Most animal articles have:

  • a title or heading that tells what the article is about (for example, “Penguins” or “All About Giraffes”)
  • a picture of the animal
  • short fact sentences in little chunks or paragraphs

Good readers know how to use each part:

  • Look at the title and say: “This article is about ____.”
  • Look at the picture and think: “What do I already know about this animal?”
  • Read the fact sentences and ask: “What new thing did I learn?”

Articles are different from stories:

  • Stories are mostly for fun and feelings.
  • Articles are mostly for learning and facts.

You can use these frames when you read an animal article:

  • “The article is about ____.”
  • “One fact I learned is ____.”
  • “Another fact I learned is ____.”

Today, you will practice reading short animal articles and telling what they are about and two facts you learned.

Picture strip: Three tiny animal articles with titles and pictures

Guided Practice — Mini-book: Little animal articles

How to use this mini-book:

  • Read each page as if it is a tiny animal article.
  • Ask: “What is this mostly about?” and “What facts did we learn?”
  • Have your child tell 1 main idea sentence and 2 facts.

On your chart, write the animal name, then the main idea and facts you say together.

Helpful phrases
main idea facts article about lives eats

Frames: “This article is about ___.” “One fact is ___.” “Another fact is ___.”

Mini-Book: Little animal articles

1

Penguins

Penguins are birds that cannot fly. They have short wings that help them swim. Penguins live in cold places and stay warm together in a group.

What is this article mostly about? What facts did you learn?

2

Giraffes

Giraffes are tall animals with long necks. They use their necks to reach leaves high in trees. Each giraffe has its own pattern of spots.

Can you say one main idea and two facts?

3

Dolphins

Dolphins live in the ocean and breathe air. They are good swimmers and can jump out of the water. Dolphins use sounds to “talk” to each other.

What is this article teaching you about dolphins?

4

Ants

Ants are tiny insects that work together. They carry food that is bigger than their own bodies. Ants live in large homes called colonies.

What facts can you remember about ants?

Reading Practice — Main idea and facts

Read each short animal article. Choose the best main idea or fact. Then press “Check answers”.

1) Article: “Koalas spend most of their time in trees. They hold on with their strong claws and eat leaves. Koalas rest for many hours each day.”
What is the main idea of this article?
2) Article: “Cheetahs are very fast animals. They can run faster than most cars in a city street for a short time. Their long legs help them move quickly.”
What is this article mostly about?
3) Article: “Penguins use their wings like flippers. They move their wings to push through the water and swim.”
Which sentence is a fact from this article?
4) Article: “Red pandas live in forests with many trees and bamboo plants. They like to climb and spend time in the branches.”
Where do red pandas live, according to this article?
5) Article: “Bats sleep upside down. They hang by their feet in dark, quiet places. When it is time to fly, they let go and drop, then open their wings.”
Which title fits this article best?
6) You read an article about owls. It says: “Owls can see well at night. They turn their heads to look around.”
What is a good way to talk about what you learned?
7) How can you find the main idea of a short animal article?
8) After you read, what is the best thing to share?

Quick Check (10 questions)

1) What is a short animal article?

2) Which one is a fact you might read in an animal article?

3) The main idea of an article is…

4) An article title says “Animals That Live in Cold Places.” Which main idea fits best?

5) After reading an article on turtles, which sentence shows you understood it?

6) When you read a short animal article, you should…

7) Which question helps you find facts in an article?

8) Which sentence is a good way to talk about an article you read?

9) If you forget a fact from the article, you should…

10) To become stronger at reading animal articles, you can…

Assessment (parent/teacher)

Exit ticket (student)

I will practice…

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