Informational

Text

by Rachel Tandy

PAIRED
Working With Animals
READ
 STRATEGIES & SKILLS
Comprehension Vocabulary
Strategy: Ask and Answer allowed, care, excited,
Questions needs, roam, safe,
Skill: Key Details wandered, wild

Phonics Content Standards

Short a, long a: a_e Science: Life Science

Vocabulary Strategy
Root Words

Word count: 280**

Photography Credit: Ron Sanford/Terra/CORBIS

**The total word count is based on words in the running text and headings only. Numerals and words
in captions, labels, diagrams, charts, and sidebars are not included.

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by
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Send all inquiries to:

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ISBN: 978-0-02-118929-8
MHID: 0-02-118929-3

Printed in the United States.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 DOC 17 16 15 14 13 12
A
 Genre Informational Text

Essential Question
How do we care for animals?

by Rachel Tandy
TONY BARTLETT/epa/CORBIS

PAIRED
Together
Working with . . . . . . . . . .17
Animals
READ
Whales come in different
sizes. The blue whale

David B Fleetham/Oxford Scientific/Getty Images

is the biggest.

Blue whales can weigh

more than 200 tons.

2
 Orca whales swim very
fast. They hunt fish,
seals, and birds.
Royalty-Free/CORBIS

Orcas are also called

killer whales.

3
Whales have fat under
their skin. It is called
blubber. It keeps the
whale warm.

Royalty-Free/CORBIS

4
 This whale is breathing out.

Whales breathe air.

They breathe through a
blowhole. It is on the top
Fotosearch/Getty Images

of the whale’s head.

5
Whales live in groups.
They are called pods.

Ron Sanford/Terra/CORBIS

6
Whales roam the oceans.
In the summer, they live in
cold oceans. Then winter
comes. They swim to
warmer oceans.

This is a pod of orca whales.

7
Whales cannot live on
the beach for long.

Sometimes whales may

have wandered too close
to the shore. They become
stranded. They get stuck
Gallo Images/Alamy

on the beach.
8
 The whales need help.
People work together. They
try to save the whale.
Gallo Images/Alamy

9
A stranded whale must be
kept cool and wet. People
pour cold water on it.
They must be careful. The
water cannot go into the
whale’s blowhole.

Water helps keep whales

cool in the sun.

Tim Cuff/Alamy

10
 The whale must be kept
safe. People dig away
the sand around it. Then
the air blows around it.
TONY BARTLETT/epa/CORBIS

That keeps it cool.

11
 How can people move
a whale? It takes many
Alexandro Auler/LatinContent/Getty Images

people. They use a raft.

That is a special kind
of boat.
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 They also use a crane.
It lifts the whale onto the
raft. A boat tows the raft
to deep water.
Paul Brown/Alamy (top); Presselect/Alamy (bottom)

13
14
to sea.
The whale swims back out

Barrett & MacKay/All Canada Photos/Getty Images

The people are excited.
They watch it go.

15
 Summarize
Use the chart to help you
summarize People Detail Detail

Helping Whales.

Text Evidence
1. Is People Helping Whales
fiction or nonfiction? Genre
2. Look at the pictures on pages
10 and 11. How can people
help whales? Key Details
3. What is the root word in
warmer on page 7? Root Words
4. Write about how people help
stranded whales. Write About Reading
16
 Genre Informational Text

Compare Texts
Read about how people work to care
for animals.

Working
with
Animals
Gabriel Blaj/Alamy

17
 Would you like to work
with animals? You might
want one of these jobs.

Vets are animal doctors.

They help animals. They
make sick animals better.

Zoo workers care for

animals. They are
allowed to feed
the animals.
They clean
their cages.
Royalty-Free/CORBIS

18
 Some people help wild
animals. They understand
animals’ needs. They look
after the places where the
animals live.

Make Connections
How do people help wild animals?
Essential Question
Eric and David Hosking/CORBIS

What things can people do to help

both small and large animals?
Text to Text

19
 Purpose To compare the needs
of animals

What to Do
Step 1 With a partner, choose two
animals from this book.
Step 2 Draw a chart. Write the
name of each animal in the
first two boxes.
—— needs —— needs Both animals need

Step 3 Write about what each

animal needs from people.

Conclusion Talk about what

you learned about animals’ needs.

20
 Literature Circles

Nonfiction

The Topic
What is People Helping Whales about?

Vocabulary
What words in this book tell about
the topic?

Author’s Purpose
Why do you think the author wrote
People Helping Whales?

Make Connections
What else do you know about whales
or helping animals?