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Owls: Hunters of the Night

2nd Grade Common Core RI.2.1 Fact text 119 words ⏱ 15 minESL A1

A fact text about owls: why they see and hear so well in the dark and how they fly silently.

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Name: ______________________   Date: ____________

Owls are birds that are usually awake at night. They sleep in the day and hunt in the dark. Most owls eat mice and other small animals.

Owls have very big eyes, so they can see well when there is little light. But an owl cannot move its eyes like we do. Instead, it turns its head. An owl can turn its head a long way around, much more than a person can.

Owls also have excellent hearing. Some owls can find a mouse under the snow only by its sound. Their soft feathers help them to fly without noise, so the mouse does not hear them coming.

Farmers often like owls, because owls catch mice in their fields.

📘 Word bank
awake
not asleep
hunt
to chase and catch animals for food
instead
in place of something else
excellent
very good
hearing
the ability to hear
feathers
the soft light parts that cover a bird

✏️ Questions

  1. Key details

    When do owls usually sleep?

  2. Key details

    Why can owls see well in the dark?

  3. Key details

    An owl cannot move its eyes. What does it do instead?

  4. Key details

    How can some owls find a mouse under the snow?

  5. Inference

    Why is it important that owls fly without noise?

  6. Key details

    Why do farmers often like owls?

  7. Main idea

    What is the best title for paragraph 3?

Questions

  1. When do owls usually sleep?

    1. At night.
    2. In the day.
    3. Only in winter.
    4. They never sleep.

  2. Why can owls see well in the dark?

    1. They have very big eyes.
    2. They have a light on their head.
    3. They fly very high.
    4. They have long feathers.

  3. An owl cannot move its eyes. What does it do instead?

    ______________________________________________________________

  4. How can some owls find a mouse under the snow?

    1. By its smell.
    2. By its color.
    3. By its sound.
    4. By its footprints.

  5. Why is it important that owls fly without noise?

    1. So they do not wake up people.
    2. So other owls cannot find them.
    3. So they can sleep while flying.
    4. So the mouse does not hear them coming.

  6. Why do farmers often like owls?

    ______________________________________________________________

  7. What is the best title for paragraph 3?

    1. What owls eat.
    2. Where owls live.
    3. Owls' hearing and quiet flying.
    4. Owls and farmers.

Answer key

  1. b) In the day.
  2. a) They have very big eyes.
  3. It turns its head.
  4. c) By its sound.
  5. d) So the mouse does not hear them coming.
  6. Because owls catch mice in their fields.
  7. c) Owls' hearing and quiet flying.

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