ARTICLE-A-DAY™
Amphibians and Reptiles
6 Articles
Check articles you have read:
Frog or Toad?
82 words
Meet a Rattlesnake
101 words
A Sea Turtle's Life Story
116 words
Rain Forest Animals
89 words
Meet Some Desert Animals
99 words
The American Crocodile
180 words
Page 1 of 7
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Frog or Toad?
Frog or Toad?
By Rachelle Kreisman
Can you te ll a frog from a toad?
Frog s and toads are alike in many ways. The y both start the ir live s in wate r. Late r, both can live
on land or in wate r. Grown frog s and toads use lung s to bre athe .
Frog s and toads are also diffe re nt. Frog s have narrow bodie s. Toads have wide bodie s. Most frog s
have smooth, we t skin. Most toads have dry, bumpy skin.
Frog s jump using the ir long back le g s. Toads walk and hop using the ir short back le g s.
Page 2 of 7
© 2016 ReadWorks®, Inc.
© 2014 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved.
Meet a Rattlesnake
Meet a Rattlesnake
By ReadWo rks
Photo Credit: Clinton and Charles Robertson
A re ptile is a kind of animal. A re ptile has scale s on its body. A snake is a re ptile .
One kind of snake is a rattle snake . A rattle snake e ats small animals such as mice . The snake kills
the mouse . The n it swallows the mouse whole .
A rattle snake has a rattle on its tail. The rattle is made of pie ce s of hard skin. The snake move s its
tail. The n the pie ce s rattle tog e the r. The noise the pie ce s make is a little like a baby’ s rattle . But
a rattle snake is a lot more dang e rous than a baby!
Page 3 of 7
© 2016 ReadWorks®, Inc.
© 2013 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved.
A Sea Turtle's Life Story
A Sea Turtle's Life Story
By Kate Paixao
A fe male se a turtle crawls along the be ach. She finds a safe spot. She dig s a hole and lays e g g s
inside it.
This se a turtle mothe r cove rs the e g g s with sand. She doe s it to prote ct the e g g s. Othe rwise ,
raccoons and othe r pre dators may e at the e g g s. Afte rward, the se a turtle mothe r re turns to the
se a.
Two months late r, the e g g s hatch. Baby turtle s dig out of the sand. The y cross the be ach to the
oce an.
In the oce an, the little turtle s e at and g row. The y may live for more than e ig hty ye ars. Male se a
turtle s ne ve r re turn to land. Fe male se a turtle s come back only to lay e g g s. The n the cycle of life
be g ins ag ain.
Page 4 of 7
© 2016 ReadWorks®, Inc.
© 2014 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved.
Rain Forest Animals
Rain Forest Animals
By Susan LaBella
Rain fore sts are warm, we t place s. Many tre e s and plants g row the re . Many animals live the re .
Macaws live in rain fore st tre e s. Macaws have brig ht colors. The se birds use the ir be aks to ope n
the nuts the y e at.
Colorful poison dart frog s live in rain fore sts. The se frog s have a spe cial skin. It g ive s off a
poisonous juice whe n e ne mie s g e t ne ar.
Spide r monke ys live hig h in rain fore st tre e s. The y swing quickly from branch to branch. Spide r
monke ys e at fruits and se e ds.
Rain fore sts are full of amazing animals!
Page 5 of 7
© 2016 ReadWorks®, Inc.
© 2014 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved.
Meet Some Desert Animals
Meet Some Desert Animals
By Susan LaBella
De se rts are ve ry dry place s. The y g e t almost no rain. Inte re sting animals live in Earth’ s de se rts.
He re are a fe w of the m.
Jackrabbits have long e ars. The ir e ars he lp the m g e t rid of body he at and stay cool in the
de se rt. Jackrabbits e at twig s and cactus plants.
The de se rt tortoise dig s hole s, calle d burrows, unde r the g round. Staying in its burrows he lps the
tortoise ke e p cool whe n the de se rt sun is ve ry hot.
Prairie dog s are fast runne rs. The y run quickly from de se rt e ne mie s such as coyote s and e ag le s.
Prairie dog s call to one anothe r whe n dang e r is ne ar.
Page 6 of 7
© 2016 ReadWorks®, Inc.
© 2014 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved.
The American Crocodile
The American Crocodile
By Susan LaBella
Ame rican crocodile s are long , scaly re ptile s. The y live in wate ry are as known as we tlands. In the
Unite d State s, this kind of crocodile live s in the Eve rg lade s. That is a swampy se ction in the state
of Florida.
The Eve rg lade s is an e cosyste m. An e cosyste m is a place whe re living thing s, like animals and
plants, e xist with nonliving thing s, such as wate r and soil. Any chang e to an e cosyste m may affe ct
all the wildlife that live in it.
In 1975, the Ame rican crocodile was liste d as an e ndang e re d animal. Endang e re d animals are
close to disappe aring fore ve r. One re ason why the Ame rican crocodile s we re in dang e r was that
pe ople we re moving into the re ptile s’ e cosyste m. Pe ople built home s and busine sse s on
Eve rg lade s land. That made it harde r for the crocodile s to find food and lay e g g s.
Pe ople who we re worrie d about the crocodile s and othe r wildlife in the Eve rg lade s worke d to
pass laws to prote ct the e cosyste m. Today, the re is g ood ne ws. Scie ntists say the re are more than
a thousand Ame rican crocodile s living in southe rn Florida. The laws are he lping the crocodile s
survive .
Page 7 of 7
© 2016 ReadWorks®, Inc.
© 2014 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved.