原版英语RAZ 教案(R) Elephants - Giant Mammals_DS.pdf
www.readinga-WritingImagine taking a trip to Africa to study African elephants.Write a friendly letter home to your family telling about the elephants.Include information from the book in your letter.ScienceOne of the closest living relatives to elephants is the hyrax.Research this animal and write a report explaining how it is related to elephants.ConnectionsGIANTS OF THEANIMAL WORLDVisit www.readinga- for thousands of books and materials.LEVELED BOOK RLEVELED BOOK RWritten by Pete RamirezElephants:Elephants:Elephants:Giant MammalsElephants:Giant MammalsA Reading AZ Level R Leveled BookWord Count:949Giant MammalsElephants:Elephants:Elephants:Giant MammalsGiants of the Animal World Level R Leveled Book Learning AZWritten by Pete RamirezAll rights reserved.www.readinga-CorrelationLEVEL RN3030Fountas&PinnellReading RecoveryDRAFront and back cover:A herd walking on the African savannaTitle page:An elephant trunk is similar to your nose,but its much more useful.Page 3:An elephant calf(baby elephant)drifts off to sleep at the foot of its mother.Photo Credits:Front cover,back cover:Stefan Meyers/;cover icon:Elena Belyakova/iStock/Thinkstock;title page:Philip de Villiers Steyn/iStock/Thinkstock;page 3:Karl Ammann/NPL/Minden Pictures;page 4:syntika/iStock/Thinkstock;page 5:Jonathan Heger/iStock/Thinkstock;page 6:Anup Shah/Digital Vision/Thinkstock;page 8(top):Robert Hardholt/Hemera/Thinkstock;pages 8(bottom),11:Jagdeep Rajput/;page 12(top):Mahouts/iStock/Thinkstock;page 12(center):M.Watson/;page 12(bottom):Charles R.Knight/National Geographic Creative;page 13:numxyz/iStock/Thinkstock;page 14:Nick Garbutt/Nature Picture Library/Corbis;page 15:dndavis/123RFwww.readinga-affectionappendagehabitatsherbivoresimmenseivorymaturenursetusksWords to KnowWritten by Pete RamirezHow do the unique features of elephants help them survive?Focus Question1516Giant FriendsIts hard not to feel a connection to natures king-sized elephants.We know theyre brainy and caring,and they like to have fun.Their awesome size and distinctive personalities make them impossible to ignore.If we all work to protect elephants,these giants of nature will roam the Earth for a long time to come.Glossaryaffection(n.)a caring or loving feeling(p.5)appendage(n.)an external body part that sticks out from the body,such as an arm or a leg(p.5)habitats(n.)the natural environments of a plant or animal(p.9)herbivores(n.)animals that only eat plants (p.11)immense(adj.)very large(p.4)ivory(n.)the white material that makes up the tusks of elephants and other tusked animals(p.9)mature(adj.)being developed in body or mind(p.14)nurse(v.)to feed a baby or young animal with milk from a mothers body(p.13)tusks(n.)big teeth that stick out from the closed mouth of certain mammals,such as elephants and wild boars(p.7)African Elephants on the Samburu National reserve in Kenya,AfricaElephants:Giant Mammals Level RGiant MammalsElephants:Elephants:Elephants:Giant MammalsGiants of the Animal World Level R Leveled Book Learning AZWritten by Pete RamirezAll rights reserved.www.readinga-CorrelationLEVEL RN3030Fountas&PinnellReading RecoveryDRAFront and back cover:A herd walking on the African savannaTitle page:An elephant trunk is similar to your nose,but its much more useful.Page 3:An elephant calf(baby elephant)drifts off to sleep at the foot of its mother.Photo Credits:Front cover,back cover:Stefan Meyers/;cover icon:Elena Belyakova/iStock/Thinkstock;title page:Philip de Villiers Steyn/iStock/Thinkstock;page 3:Karl Ammann/NPL/Minden Pictures;page 4:syntika/iStock/Thinkstock;page 5:Jonathan Heger/iStock/Thinkstock;page 6:Anup Shah/Digital Vision/Thinkstock;page 8(top):Robert Hardholt/Hemera/Thinkstock;pages 8(bottom),11:Jagdeep Rajput/;page 12(top):Mahouts/iStock/Thinkstock;page 12(center):M.Watson/;page 12(bottom):Charles R.Knight/National Geographic Creative;page 13:numxyz/iStock/Thinkstock;page 14:Nick Garbutt/Nature Picture Library/Corbis;page 15:dndavis/123RFwww.readinga-affectionappendagehabitatsherbivoresimmenseivorymaturenursetusksWords to KnowWritten by Pete RamirezHow do the unique features of elephants help them survive?Focus Question1516Giant FriendsIts hard not to feel a connection to natures king-sized elephants.We know theyre brainy and caring,and they like to have fun.Their awesome size and distinctive personalities make them impossible to ignore.If we all work to protect elephants,these giants of nature will roam the Earth for a long time to come.Glossaryaffection(n.)a caring or loving feeling(p.5)appendage(n.)an external body part that sticks out from the body,such as an arm or a leg(p.5)habitats(n.)the natural environments of a plant or animal(p.9)herbivores(n.)animals that only eat plants (p.11)immense(adj.)very large(p.4)ivory(n.)the white material that makes up the tusks of elephants and other tusked animals(p.9)mature(adj.)being developed in body or mind(p.14)nurse(v.)to feed a baby or young animal with milk from a mothers body(p.13)tusks(n.)big teeth that stick out from the closed mouth of certain mammals,such as elephants and wild boars(p.7)African Elephants on the Samburu National reserve in Kenya,AfricaElephants:Giant Mammals Level R1314The Elephant FamilyElephants,especially female elephants,are social animals.Adult females live together in family groups,most often led by the oldest among them.The herd might be made up of a grandmother elephant,her grown-up daughters,and the daughters calves.They take care of each other and eat,bathe,and play together.From the moment an elephant is born,the whole herd helps the mother care for her 250-pound(110 kg)calf.Adult elephants work together to drive away predators.Other adults will even nurse the calf if its hungry.Young elephants have an extra-long childhood and nurse from their mothers for up to three years.During this time,and for several years later,elephants learn vital survival skills,including where to find food and water,and how to use their trunks.They arent mature adults until theyre ten to fifteen years old.Then,males and females go their separate ways,with males leaving the herd to live alone or with other male elephants.Females stay with the herd and eventually raise their own calves.If an adult elephant doesnt encounter serious trouble,it can live for sixty to seventy years.Sometimes an elephant lives so long that it runs out of teeth!It only grows six sets in its lifetime,and once theyre gone,the elephant cant chew its food well anymore.This Asian elephant mother uses her trunk to spray water during a dip.On hot days,she might then spray dust over her body to prevent sunburn.Older elephants often stay in marshes where they find softer plants to chew.Elephants:Giant Mammals Level R34Table of ContentsBig and Brainy .4Exploring the Elephant.5African and Asian Elephants.7Elephant Hangouts .9No Meat,Thanks.11The Elephant Family.13Giant Friends .15Glossary .16Big and BrainyWithout a doubt,elephants are the most gigantic land animals living on Earth today.To find a more immense walking creature,you would have to go back to the age of dinosaurs!Elephants arent just huge.Theyre also highly intelligent,have many ways to communicate with one another,and are clever enough to work together to get things done.How Big Are They?How Big Are They?Asian elephantshoulder height:10 feet(3 m)weight:11,000 pounds (5,000 kg)Humanheight:6 feet(1.8 m)weight:175 pounds (79.4 kg)African elephantshoulder height:13 feet(4 m)weight:14,000 pounds(6,350 kg)Elephants:Giant Mammals Level R34Table of ContentsBig and Brainy .4Exploring the Elephant.5African and Asian Elephants.7Elephant Hangouts .9No Meat,Thanks.11The Elephant Family.13Giant Friends .15Glossary .16Big and BrainyWithout a doubt,elephants are the most gigantic land animals living on Earth today.To find a more immense walking creature,you would have to go back to the age of dinosaurs!Elephants arent just huge.Theyre also highly intelligent,have many ways to communicate with one another,and are clever enough to work together to get things done.How Big Are They?How Big Are They?Asian elephantshoulder height:10 feet(3 m)weight:11,000 pounds (5,000 kg)Humanheight:6 feet(1.8 m)weight:175 pounds (79.4 kg)African elephantshoulder height:13 feet(4 m)weight:14,000 pounds(6,350 kg)Elephants:Giant Mammals Level R1314The Elephant FamilyElephants,especially female elephants,are social animals.Adult females live together in family groups,most often led by the oldest among them.The herd might be made up of a grandmother elephant,her grown-up daughters,and the daughters calves.They take care of each other and eat,bathe,and play together.From the moment an elephant is born,the whole herd helps the mother care for her 250-pound(110 kg)calf.Adult elephants work together to drive away predators.Other adults will even nurse the calf if its hungry.Young elephants have an extra-long childhood and nurse from their mothers for up to three years.During this time,and for several years later,elephants learn vital survival skills,including where to find food and water,and how to use their trunks.They arent mature adults until theyre ten to fifteen years old.Then,males and females go their separate ways,with males leaving the herd to live alone or with other male elephants.Females stay with the herd and eventually raise their own calves.If an adult elephant doesnt encounter serious trouble,it can live for sixty to seventy years.Sometimes an elephant lives so long that it runs out of teeth!It only grows six sets in its lifetime,and once theyre gone,the elephant cant chew its food well anymore.This Asian elephant mother uses her trunk to spray water during a dip.On hot days,she might then spray dust over her body to prevent sunburn.Older elephants often stay in marshes where they find softer plants to chew.Elephants:Giant Mammals Level R1112No Meat,ThanksElephants are herbivores and therefore only eat plants,but other than that,they arent picky.Theyll chow down on grass,leaves,branches,tree bark,seeds,and fruits.The most important thing is that there is a lot of food to eat.An adult elephant can eat more than 300 pounds(136 kg)of food every day and slurp about 20 to 60 gallons(75.7227.1 L)of water,using its handy trunk like an enormous straw.Then,the elephant sprays the water from the end of its trunk into its mouth.Much of the food elephants eat passes right through them.Only about 44 percent of the food they eat is digested.hyraxwoolly mammothElephants:Giant Mammals Level R Elephant pregnancies last eighteen to twenty-two monthslonger than those of any other animal.One of the elephants closest living relatives is the hyraxa small,cute,furry animal.You would never know theyre related!Elephants are closely related to woolly mammoths,which have been extinct for more than ten thousand years.56Exploring the ElephantNo other animal quite compares to the stately elephant,with its giant body,thick gray or brown skin,and round,sturdy legs.Most unusual of all is its long,snakelike trunkan appendage that is the elephants all-in-one nose and upper lip.Elephants use their super-sized trunks for several significant purposes.They breathe through them,use them to pick up food and water,and blast air through them to make a deafening trumpeting sound.Elephants also touch other elephants with their trunks in different ways to communicate.Two elephants will often twist their trunks together to show affection.A mother elephant might use her trunk to gently stroke her calf and calm it downor to punish it with an elephant-sized smack!What Makes an Elephant a Mammal?What Makes an Elephant a Mammal?All mammals have a backbone have hair on their bodies at some time in their lives are warm-blooded produce milk to feed their babiesYoung elephants drink milk from their mothers for up to three years.An elephants big,round feet have soft pads on the bottom.An elephant uses its trunk to breathe,drink,pick up food,and more.An African elephants ears are twice as big as an Asian elephants.The tip of an elephants trunk is as sensitive as the tip of a persons finger.Elephants:Giant Mammals Level R56Exploring the ElephantNo other animal quite compares to the stately elephant,with its giant body,thick gray or brown skin,and round,sturdy legs.Most unusual of all is its long,snakelike trunkan appendage that is the elephants all-in-one nose and upper lip.Elephants use their super-sized trunks for several significant purposes.They breathe through them,use them to pick up food and water,and blast air through them to make a deafening trumpeting sound.Elephants also touch other elephants with their trunks in different ways to communicate.Two elephants will often twist their trunks together to show affection.A mother elephant might use her trunk to gently stroke her calf and calm it downor to punish it with an elephant-sized smack!What Makes an Elephant a Mammal?What Makes an Elephant a Mammal?All mammals have a backbone have hair on their bodies at some time in their lives are warm-blooded produce milk to feed their babiesYoung elephants drink milk from their mothers for up to three years.An elephants big,round feet have soft pads on the bottom.An elephant uses its trunk to breathe,drink,pick up food,and more.An African elephants ears are twice as big as an Asian elephants.The tip of an elephants trunk is as sensitive as the tip of a persons finger.Elephants:Giant Mammals Level R1112No Meat,ThanksElephants are herbivores and therefore only eat plants,but other than that,they arent picky.Theyll chow down on grass,leaves,branches,tree bark,seeds,and fruits.The most important thing is that there is a lot of food to eat.An adult elephant can eat more than 300 pounds(136 kg)of food every day and slurp about 20 to 60 gallons(75.7227.1 L)of water,using its handy trunk like an enormous straw.Then,the elephant sprays the water from the end of its trunk into its mouth.Much of the food elephants eat passes right through them.Only about 44 percent of the food they eat is digested.hyraxwoolly mammothElephants:Giant Mammals Level R Elephant pregnancies last eighteen to twenty-two monthslonger than those of any other animal.One of the elephants closest living relatives is the hyraxa small,cute,furry animal.You would never know theyre related!Elephants are closely related to woolly mammoths,which have been extinct for more than ten thousand years.910Elephant HangoutsElephants are adaptable enough to live in many different types of habitats,as long as they can find enough food and water.In Africa,elephants live in hot,dry grasslands,rainforests,and even deserts.They can live at sea level or high in the mountains.Asian elephants live in wet rainforests and swamps as well as in other more arid forests with long dry seasons.Because of elephants hulking size,even ferocious lions and tigers wont attack a healthy adult elephant.Humans,however,hunt them for their ivory tusks and shoot them for destroying crops.As human population increases,elephants natural habitats are di
