HomeMy WebLinkAboutRead Aloud Book Gr. 1-Lesson 24There was a pond near Matt and Tasha’s school. Every year, the pond was
full of croaking frogs. Matt and Tasha wondered where the frogs came from.
This spring they decided it was time to fi nd out!
“We want to know how frogs grow up,” they told their teacher, Mr. Lindsay.
He laughed. Then he said, “That’s a great idea. I’ll make space on the
classroom bulletin board so you can share what you learn with the whole class.”
Over the next few days, the two friends watched the pond carefully. They
discovered that in spring, frogs lay hundreds and hundreds of eggs in the
water. They lay so many because animals like to eat these eggs! As they sat
there quietly, Matt and Tasha saw birds soar over the water and then dive
down, striking hungrily at the eggs. Sometimes the birds slammed their wings
against the water as they ate the eggs.
So far, Tasha and Matt had learned where frogs come from, but they knew
they would have to wait awhile to see one grow up. So they decided to go
to the library. There, they found a book about tadpoles. They learned that
tadpoles grow inside the eggs. If an egg doesn’t get eaten, it turns into a
tadpole. When the tadpoles get big enough, they blast out of the eggs and
into the water. But they’re not frogs just yet!
In the water, tadpoles develop gills and mouths. Matt and Tasha found out
that the tadpoles use their gills to breathe in the water. They use their mouths
to catch tiny plants for food. The tadpoles also grow long tails. These tails help
the tadpoles dart through the water quickly.
Now the tadpoles get ready to live out of the water. First they grow back
legs. Then they grow front legs. Then their tails shrink back to become much
smaller. Now they have become little frogs. They can leap out of the water
and onto the land!
Tasha and Matt went back to school and told their class everything they
learned. At the library, they had found a beautiful poster that showed how
a tadpole becomes a frog. They hung it on the bulletin board, in the space
Mr. Lindsey left for them. The class thanked Tasha and Matt for teaching
them something new!
COMPREHENSION How are a tadpole and a frog different from each
other? What words in the story tell about ways that animals move?
34
35
Martha Mallard was a duck who lived in a shallow pond. The pond was in the
middle of a big city. Every day, crowds of people walked around the pond. They
would admire Martha Mallard and the other ducks swimming through the water.
It was springtime, and Martha Mallard was getting ready to lay her eggs. One
morning, she said to her friend Marissa Mallard, “I don’t mind that all those people
will be able to see my babies after they are born. It’s fi ne with me if they’ll want to
watch my adorable babies glide through the water in an adorable little line. But I
don’t want anyone to see my eggs. I must keep them safe. I think I’ll fi nd a hiding
place to make my nest.”
So Martha Mallard went to fi nd the best place to lay her eggs. A small island in the
middle of the pond looked perfect! It was away from the crowds. It had high grasses
and plants that would help hide her and her nest from view.
Martha Mallard quickly got to work making a nest. First she scraped a little hole
in the ground and covered it with twigs and leaves. Then she lined the nest with soft
feathers. After that, she settled on her nest. A few hours later, Martha Mallard laid
fi ve cream-colored eggs.
For the next thirty days, she sat anxiously on the eggs. She couldn’t wait for her
babies to break out of their shells, but she knew she couldn’t rush them. She just had
to wait and sit still. And she certainly did a good job. Soon, fi ve adorable little chicks
broke out of their shells.
They grew rapidly, but for the next three months the chicks depended heavily upon
their mother. Every morning, she fondly folded them under her wings to keep them
warm.
Finally, the day came when she announced fi rmly, “Babies, it is time for us to let
the crowds of people see us.”
And off Martha Mallard swam with her adorable babies following her in an
adorable little line.
COMPREHENSION What are some of the things Martha Mallard does
before she lays her eggs? Which words help you understand the way she does
these things?
36
37