How Do Penguins Keep Warm?

3rd Grade Common Core RI.3.1 Fact text 165 words ⏱ 20 minESL A1–A2

A short fact text explaining how penguins stay warm with fat, feathers and standing close together in a group.

Name: ______________________ Date: ____________

Many people think that all penguins live in very cold places, but that is not true. Some penguins live on warm beaches in Africa and South America. However, the emperor penguin lives in Antarctica, one of the coldest places on Earth. How does it stay warm?

First, penguins have a thick layer of fat under their skin. This fat works like a warm blanket. Penguins also have many short feathers that are very close together. The feathers keep the cold air and the cold water away from their bodies.

Penguins also take care of their feathers. They spread a special oil on them with their beaks. The oil helps the feathers stay dry in the sea.

When the weather is very bad, emperor penguins stand together in a big group. The penguins in the middle are warm, and the penguins on the outside are cold. So they move slowly and take turns. This way, every penguin gets a chance to be in the warm middle.

📘 Word bank

layer: a thickness of something that covers a surface
fat: the soft material under the skin that keeps animals warm
skin: the outside covering of a body
feathers: the light parts that cover a bird's body
spread: to put something over a surface
beaks: the hard mouths of birds
take turns: to do something one after the other

✏️ Questions

Key details
Where does the emperor penguin live?
Inference
The writer says that the fat "works like a warm blanket". This means that the fat…
Key details
What do the feathers keep away from the penguin's body?
Reference words
What does the word "them" in paragraph 3 refer to?
Key details
Why do penguins put oil on their feathers?
Word meaning
Copy the words from paragraph 4 that mean "do something one after the other".
Inference
Why do the penguins in the group move slowly all the time?
Main idea
What is the text mainly about?

Questions

Where does the emperor penguin live?
1. On warm beaches in Africa.
2. In South America.
3. In Antarctica.
4. In the sea near Florida.
The writer says that the fat "works like a warm blanket". This means that the fat…
1. keeps the penguin warm.
2. makes the penguin heavy.
3. helps the penguin swim fast.
4. is soft to sleep on.
What do the feathers keep away from the penguin's body?
______________________________________________________________
What does the word "them" in paragraph 3 refer to?
1. The beaches.
2. The feathers.
3. The penguins' eggs.
4. The beaks.
Why do penguins put oil on their feathers?
1. To make them shine.
2. To clean the sand off them.
3. To keep them dry in the sea.
4. To make them grow longer.
Copy the words from paragraph 4 that mean "do something one after the other".
______________________________________________________________
Why do the penguins in the group move slowly all the time?
1. Because they are hungry.
2. So that every penguin can be warm for some time.
3. Because they want to go back to the sea.
4. So that they can find their families.
What is the text mainly about?
1. Where penguins find their food.
2. Why penguins cannot fly.
3. Penguins that live in Africa.
4. Different ways penguins stay warm.

Answer key

c) In Antarctica.
a) keeps the penguin warm.
The cold air and the cold water.
b) The feathers.
c) To keep them dry in the sea.
take turns
b) So that every penguin can be warm for some time.
d) Different ways penguins stay warm.

How Do Penguins Keep Warm?

✏️ Questions

Questions

Answer key

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