Teacher Guide for FAST-R Passage: Hippopotamus
FAST-R: Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading
At a Glance
Approximate
Grade Range:
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Genre: Nonfiction
Topic: Encyclopedia article on the body, habits, and life of hippopotamuses.
Source: The World Book Encyclopedia (2001)
Special Note: used on G3 MCAS 2006
Nonfiction
Difficulty Index: Considerate . . . . . . . . . . . . Challenging
Structure:
Purpose:
Richness:
Relationships:
Vocabulary:
Style:
Lexile Measure: 720L
When you see a hippopotamus at the zoo, you know it is large. Just
how large is it? What does it eat? Does it have unusual habits? Read
the article “Hippopotamus” to find out. Answer the questions that
follow.
Hippopotamus
from The World Book Encyclopedia
1 Hippopotamus, HIHP uh PAHT uh muhs, is the third largest animal that lives on land. Only the elephant and rhinoceros
are larger. A large, wild river hippopotamus may weigh as much
as 5,800 pounds.
2
Hippopotamuses live in central, southern, and western
Africa. They live close to water and spend much time in it. The
word hippopotamus comes from two Greek words meaning river
horse. However, the hippopotamus is more closely related to the
whale than to the horse. There are two kinds of hippopotamuses:
(1) the river hippopotamus, also called the common hippopotamus, and (2) the pygmy hippopotamus. The pygmy hippopotamus
is much smaller than the river hippopotamus. It is also rarer.
3
The body of a river hippopotamus. The river hippopotamus has a large, barrelshaped body; short legs; and a huge head.
It generally weighs from 2,500 to 3,000 pounds and stands
about 5 feet tall. It ranges from 12 to 15 feet long, not including the tail, which measures about 22 inches long. Each foot has
four webbed toes
4
The eyes of the river hippopotamus stick out from its head.
The position of the ears, eyes, and nostrils enables the animal
to hear, see, and breathe with most of its head underwater. The
hippopotamus can also close its nostrils and ears when it swims
or dives. Hippopotamuses have a good sense of smell, but their
vision is only fair.
5
River hippopotamuses have thick, brownish-gray skin.
They have no hair except for a few bristles on the head and tail.
Special glands in the skin give off a clear, oily fluid that is either
Structure: Although the text has only two clearly defined
subheadings, the paragraphs within subheadings are
further organized by topic. (For instance, ¶4 is under the
“Body of a River Hippopotamus” heading, but focuses
specifically on the animal’s sensory organs.)
It may help students to make notes in the margins to
further organize the text for themselves as they read.
See especially: Referential questions 1, 2, 3, 7, 9
Purpose: As is typical for encyclopedia articles, the
purpose is straightforward: to present basic information
about the hippopotamus.
See especially: Question 10
Richness: Students will be better able to process the
density of facts about hippopotamuses if they have a
sense of the text structure (see “Structure,” above).
See especially: Questions 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9
Relationships: Several details (especially in ¶4-5)
emphasize the relationship between the hippopotamus
and its environment.
See especially: Question 6
Continued on next page
FAST-R: Formative Assessment in Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by - is from The World Book Encyclopedia (2001). Copyright © 2001 World Book, Inc. Some questions were drawn or
adapted from the G3 MCAS Spring 2006 test. Photos by Tom Meyers Photography and Mark Barlton Photo Researchers. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan for Excellence.
pink or red. This fluid keeps the animal’s skin from getting too
dry.
6
A hippopotamus has long, curved front teeth. Its canines
(side teeth) are even longer. All the teeth grow throughout the
animal’s life. But they seldom become too long, because the
teeth of the upper and lower jaws grind together and wear each
other away. The canines of a hippopotamus may grow more than
2 feet long, but only about half of the tooth sticks out above the
gum line.
Vocabulary: Two content-specific words that are likely
to be unfamilar to students, “canines” and “calves,” are
defined in the text. Be sure students recognize and are
taking advantage of the considerate nature of the text.
7 The life of a river hippopotamus. River hippopotamuses
are good swimmers and live in lakes, rivers, and streams near
grasslands. They sometimes walk along the bottom of a body of
water and can stay underwater for as long as six minutes. On
land, they can run as fast as a human being—about 20 miles per
hour.
8 River hippopotamuses live in herds of from 5 to 30 animals.
They spend the day resting in the water, eating water plants,
and sunning themselves on sandbanks. At night, the herd goes
on land to feed. The animals eat fruit, grass, leaves, vegetables.
They sometimes wander for miles near the riverbank, grazing as
they go. Each hippopotamus eats about 130 pounds of vegetable
matter a day.
9 A female hippopotamus almost always has one baby at a
time, but sometimes she bears twins. A baby hippopotamus,
called a calf, weighs about 100 pounds at birth. It can swim
almost immediately. It begins to eat grass at the age of 4 to 6
months. A young hippopotamus often climbs on its mother’s
back and suns itself as she fl oats on the water. On land, the
mother hippopotamus keeps her calf close by.
10 A female hippopotamus gives birth to her first baby when
she is 5 or 6 years old. Hippopotamuses live about 30 years in
their natural surroundings and 50 years in a zoo.
FAST-R: Formative Assessment in Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by - is from The World Book Encyclopedia (2001). Copyright © 2001 World Book, Inc. Some questions were drawn or
adapted from the G3 MCAS Spring 2006 test. Photos by Tom Meyers Photography and Mark Barlton Photo Researchers. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan for Excellence.
Teacher Guide for FAST-R Passage: Hippopotamus
FAST-R: Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading
Nonfiction
The annotated answer key below highlights common reasons students might choose each answer, and the sidebar gives more
insight into the question types, to help you understand patterns of student responses. Always make time to follow up with students
in conferences or small groups to probe their thinking, teach in response to patterns, and help them apply effective reading and
thinking strategies to their everyday reading.
Note: You may find it helpful to refer to the “Types and Levels of Questions on FAST-R” sheet from your teacher resource
folder as you examine your students’ responses. The icon in the right-hand column, below, corresponds to that sheet’s more
detailed explanations of the kinds of thinking each type of question asks of readers.
1. According to this article, on which of the following continents can hippopotamuses be found?
 A. Africa
B. Antarctica (OOB)
C. Asia (OOB)
D. Australia (OOB)
FE1: Identify evidence
explicitly stated in the text
2. According to paragraph 2, hippopotamus means “river horse” in Greek. Why is
this not a good name for this animal?
A. They live near water. (OOP2, ¶2)
B. They run slower than a horse. (OOP1, ¶7)
C. They do not live in Greece. (OOB)
 D. They are more like a whale than a horse. (Students must recognize that
the word “however” signals that the name is inapt, and why.)
FE2: Recognize the explicit
meaning from varied
wording in the text
3. What is the difference between the river hippopotamus and the pygmy hippopotamus?
A. One is a horse, but the other is not. (OOP2, ¶2)
 B. One is common, but the other is rare.
C. One lives in the water, but the other lives on land. (OOP2, ¶2)
D. One eats plants, but the other eats animals. (OOP2, ¶8)
FE1: Identify evidence
explicitly stated in the text
4. Re-read this sentence from paragraph 5:
MI1: Determine implicit
meaning from words in
context
They have no hair except for a few bristles on the head and tail.
Which word from the sentence helps the reader know what bristles are?
A. few (OOP1, ¶5)
 B. hair
C. head (OOP1, ¶5)
D. tail (OOP1, ¶5)
5. The purpose of paragraph 6 is to
A. explain how hippopotamuses eat. (OOB)
 B. describe the size and shape of a hippopotamus’s teeth.
C. describe a hippopotamus’s jaw. (OOP1, ¶6)
D. explain why hippopotamuses have teeth. (OOP2, ¶6)
MI2: Determine a singular
meaning from the sum total
of a particular paragraph
FAST-R: Formative Assessment in Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by - is from The World Book Encyclopedia (2001). Copyright © 2001 World Book, Inc. Some questions were drawn or
adapted from the G3 MCAS Spring 2006 test. Photos by Tom Meyers Photography and Mark Barlton Photo Researchers. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan for Excellence.
Grade 3 • Nonfiction • “Hippopotamus”
6. Which of the following details supports the idea that hippopotamuses are
adapted to life in the water?
A. Their canine teeth grow two feet long. (OOP1, ¶6)
 B. They can close their nose and ear openings.
C. They can run 20 miles per hour on land. (OOP1, ¶7)
D. They eat 130 pounds of vegetable matter each day. (OOP1, ¶8)
MI2: Determine a single
implicit meaning from
words in context
7. According to the article, what do hippopotamuses do at night?
A. They lie on the sandbanks near the river. (OOP2, ¶7)
B. They float on the water to rest and sleep. (OOP2, ¶7)
C. They eat water plants along the bottom of the river. (OOP1, ¶8)
 D. They walk on land and eat the plants that grow there.
FE2: Recognize the explicit
meaning from varied
wording in the text
8. According to the passage, which of the following would a hippopotamus
most likely eat?
 A. grasses and plants that grow near the water
B. fish that swim in the ocean (OOB)
C. a baby hippo or calf (OOB)
D. frogs along the riverbank (OOP2 ¶9)
MI4: Determine new
meaning and apply it
beyond the passage
9. What can a calf do almost immediately after being born?
A. eat grass (OOP1, ¶8)
B. grow hair (OOP1, ¶5)
 C. swim
D. play (OOB)
FE1: Identify evidence
explicitly stated in the text
10. What other information about hippopotamuses would you expect to see
included in an encyclopedia?
A. jokes and riddles about hippopotamuses (OOB)
B. a diagram of the parts of a hippopotamus’s body
C. fable about a hippopotamus (OOB)
D. a list of zoos where people can see a hippopotamus (OOB)
MI4: Determine new
meaning and apply it
beyond the passage
FAST-R: Formative Assessment in Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by - is from The World Book Encyclopedia (2001). Copyright © 2001 World Book, Inc. Some questions were drawn or
adapted from the G3 MCAS Spring 2006 test. Photos by Tom Meyers Photography and Mark Barlton Photo Researchers. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan for Excellence.
FAST-R
+
Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading
Name
“Hippopotamus” • Nonfiction
Date
Teacher/Class
When you see a hippopotamus at the zoo, you know it is large. Just how large is it? What does it eat?
Does it have unusual habits? Read the article “Hippopotamus” to find out. Answer the questions that
follow.
Hippopotamus
from The World Book Encyclopedia
1 Hippopotamus, [HIHP uh PAHT uh muhs], is the third-largest animal that lives on
land. Only the elephant and rhinoceros are larger. A large, wild river hippopotamus may
weigh as much as 5,800 pounds.
2 Hippopotamuses live in central, southern, and western Africa. They live close to
water and spend much time in it. The word hippopotamus comes from two Greek words
meaning river horse. However, the hippopotamus is more closely related to the whale than
to the horse. There are two kinds of hippopotamuses: (1) the river hippopotamus, also
called the common hippopotamus, and (2) the pygmy hippopotamus. The pygmy hippopotamus is much smaller than the river hippopotamus. It is also rarer.
3 The body of a river hippopotamus. The river hippopotamus has a large, barrelshaped body; short legs; and a huge head. It generally weighs from 2,500 to 3,000 pounds
and stands about 5 feet tall. It ranges from 12 to 15 feet long, not including the tail, which
measures about 22 inches long. Each foot has four webbed toes.
FAST-R: Formative Assessment in Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by - is from The World Book Encyclopedia (2001). Copyright © 2001 World Book, Inc. Some questions were
drawn or adapted from the G3 MCAS Spring 2006 test. Photos by Tom Meyers Photography and Mark Barlton Photo Researchers. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan
4 The eyes of the river hippopotamus stick out from its head. The position of the ears, eyes, and
nostrils enables the animal to hear, see, and breathe with most of its head underwater. The hippopotamus can also close its nostrils and ears when it swims or dives. Hippopotamuses have a good
sense of smell, but their vision is only fair.
5 River hippopotamuses have thick, brownish-gray skin. They have no hair except for a few
bristles on the head and tail. Special glands in the skin give off a clear, oily fluid that is either
pink or red. This fluid keeps the animal’s skin from getting too dry.
6 A hippopotamus has long, curved front teeth. Its canines (side teeth) are even longer. All the
teeth grow throughout the animal’s life. But they seldom become too long, because the teeth of
the upper and lower jaws grind together and wear each other away. The canines of a hippopotamus may grow more than 2 feet long, but only about half of the tooth sticks out above the gum
line.
7 The life of a river hippopotamus. River hippopotamuses are good swimmers and live in lakes,
rivers, and streams near grasslands. They sometimes walk along the bottom of a body of water
and can stay underwater for as long as six minutes. On land, they can run as fast as a human being—about 20 miles per hour.
8 River hippopotamuses live in herds of 5 to 30 animals. They spend the day resting in the water,
eating water plants, and sunning themselves on sandbanks. At night, the herd goes on land to
feed. The animals eat fruit, grass, leaves, vegetables. They sometimes wander for miles near the
riverbank, grazing as they go. Each hippopotamus eats about 130 pounds of vegetable matter a
day.
9 A female hippopotamus almost always has one baby at a time, but sometimes she bears twins.
A baby hippopotamus, called a calf, weighs about 100 pounds at birth. It can swim almost immediately. It begins to eat grass at the age of 4 to 6 months. A young hippopotamus often climbs
on its mother’s back and suns itself as she floats on the water. On land, the mother hippopotamus
keeps her calf close by.
10 A female hippopotamus gives birth to her first baby when she is 5 or 6 years old. Hippopotamuses live about 30 years in their natural surroundings and 50 years in a zoo.
FAST-R: Formative Assessment in Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by - is from The World Book Encyclopedia (2001). Copyright © 2001 World Book, Inc. Some questions were
drawn or adapted from the G3 MCAS Spring 2006 test. Photos by Tom Meyers Photography and Mark Barlton Photo Researchers. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan
FAST-R
+
Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading
Name
“Hippopotamus” • Nonfiction
Date
Teacher/Class
Directions: Answer the following multiple-choice questions by filling in the circle for the best answer.
1. According to this article, on which of the
following continents can hippopotamuses
be found?
A
Africa
B
Antarctica
C
Asia
D
Australia
2. According to paragraph 2, hippopotamus
means “river horse” in Greek. Why is this
not a good name for this animal?
A They live near water.
B
They run slower than a horse.
C
They don’t live in Greece.
D
They are more like a whale than a horse.
3. What is the difference between the
river hippopotamus and the pygmy
hippopotamus?
A One is a horse, but the other is not.
B
One is common, but the other is rare.
C
One lives in the water, but the other lives
on land.
D
One eats plants, but the other eats animals.
4. Re-read this sentence from paragraph 5:
They have no hair except for a few bristles
on the head and tail.
Which word from the sentence helps a reader
know what “bristles” are?
A few
B
hair
C
head
D
tail
5. The purpose of paragraph 6 is to
A explain how hippopotamuses eat.
B
describe the size and shape of a hippopotamus’s teeth.
C
describe a hippopotamus’s jaw.
D
explain why hippopotamuses have teeth.
6. Which of the following details supports the
idea that hippopotamuses are adapted to life
in the water?
A Their canine teeth grow two feet long.
B
They can close their nose and ear openings.
C
They can run 20 miles per hour on land.
D
They eat 130 pounds of vegetable matter
each day.
Continue on the next page
FAST-R: Formative Assessment in Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by - is from The World Book Encyclopedia (2001). Copyright © 2001 World Book, Inc. Some questions were
drawn or adapted from the G3 MCAS Spring 2006 test. Photos by Tom Meyers Photography and Mark Barlton Photo Researchers. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan
Name
School Date
Grade
Class
7. According to the article, what do hippopotamuses do at night?
A They lie on the sandbanks near the river.
9. What can a calf do almost immediately after
being born?
A eat grass
B
They float on the water to rest and sleep.
B
grow hair
C
They eat water plants along the bottom of
the river.
C
swim
D
play
D
They walk on land and eat the plants that
grow there.
8. According to the passage, which of the
following would a hippopotamus most likely
eat?
A grasses and plants that grow near the water
B
fish that swim in the ocean
C
a baby hippo or calf
D
frogs along the riverbank
10. What other information about hippopotamuses would you expect to see included in an
encyclopedia?
A jokes and riddles about hippopotamuses
B
a diagram of the parts of a hippopotamus’s
body
C
a fable about a hippopotamus
D
a list of zoos where people can see a hippopotamus
FAST-R: Formative Assessment in Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by - is from The World Book Encyclopedia (2001). Copyright © 2001 World Book, Inc. Some questions were
drawn or adapted from the G3 MCAS Spring 2006 test. Photos by Tom Meyers Photography and Mark Barlton Photo Researchers. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan
Teachers: Please duplicate and use this answer sheet only for students for whom you did not receive a pre-printed answer sheet!
FAST-R Answer Sheet
Name
School Date
Grade
Class
Teacher Name
Passage Title
Completely fill the circle
for the correct answer.
1.
A
B
C
D
2.
A
B
C
D
3.
A
B
C
D
4.
A
B
C
D
5.
A
B
C
D
6. A
B
C
D
7.
A
B
C
D
8.
A
B
C
D
9.
A
B
C
D
10.
A
B
C
D
Write your answer to the open response prompt in the lined space below
if your teacher directs you to do so.
OFFICE USE ONLY
RESEARCH:
Y
N
OPEN RESPONSE: 1 2 3
4
FAST-R: Formative Assessment in Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by - is from The World Book Encyclopedia (2001). Copyright © 2001 World Book, Inc. Some questions were
drawn or adapted from the G3 MCAS Spring 2006 test. Photos by Tom Meyers Photography and Mark Barlton Photo Researchers. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan