Nonfiction

by Diane Furuichi

PAIRED
Poetry
READ
 STRATEGIES & SKILLS
Comprehension Phonics
Strategy: Ask and Answer long o: o, oa, ow, oe
Questions
Skill: Main Idea and Key Content Standards
Details Science
Life Science
Vocabulary
find, food, more, over,
search, seek, start, warm Word count: 272**

Photography Credit: Cover Image Source/Philippe Henry/Oxford Scientific/Getty Images

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

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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: 978-0-02-119674-6
MHID: 0-02-119674-5

Printed in the United States.

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

Essential Question
How do animals survive in nature?

by Diane Furuichi
Wayne Lynch/All Canada Photos/Getty Images

PAIRED
Poetry: Ducklings . . . . . . . . . . .13
READ
What is that over there? Is
Comstock Images/Getty Images

it a bumpy log? No, it’s an

alligator in a warm swamp.
2
 Alligators live in the
green parts of the U.S.

United
States
Atlantic
Ocean

Gulf of
Mexico

The alligator floats below the

water. Do you see the eyes
and the tip of the nose?
3
Look at the alligator’s skin. It’s
thick and bumpy. The little
spikes have hard bones inside.

Pat Canova/Photolibrary/Getty Images

4
Paul E. Tessier/Photodisc/Getty Images

Alligators search for food at

night. They have many sharp
teeth and strong jaws.

5
Alligators seek food when
they are hungry. Something
is moving! SNAP!

What did the alligator catch?

Was it a snake? Was it a
raccoon?

This is a raccoon.

Gregory MD./Photo Researchers/Getty Images

6
 If the animal is big, the
alligator won’t have to hunt
again soon.
Stan Osolinski/Oxford Scientific/Getty Images

A really big meal can last

for more than a year.
7
Look at the alligator’s feet.
The front feet have five toes.
The back feet have four.
Alligators can move fast if
they have to.

Alligators can’t run

very far.

(t) Philippe Henry/Oxford Scientific/Getty Images, (bl) fine art/Alamy

back foot

8
 Look at the long, flat tail. It
Paul Wayne Wilson/Alamy Images

helps the alligator swim fast.

Go, gator!
9
reptile
This baby alligator came hatch
from an egg. Its mom made
a nest. She stayed close by
to care for her eggs.

George Shelley/Corbis

10
 Baby alligators have
yellow stripes.

She keeps the babies safe

James H Robinson/Oxford Scientific/Getty Images

for two or three years. When

they are big and strong, they
start to find their own food.
They go off on their own.
11
 Retell
Use the chart to Main Idea

help you retell Detail Detail Detail

Go, Gator!
different
stange
Text Evidence
weird
1. Look at page 8. What is odd
about an alligator’s feet? Main
Idea and Key Details

2. Look at page 9. What is the

main idea? Main Idea and Key Details
3. Are the alligators in Go, Gator!
made up, or are they real?
How do you know? Genre

12
 Genre Poetry

Compare Texts
Read a poem about small,
soft animals.Duck is an adult.
Ducklings are baby ducks.
Digital Archive Japan/Alamy

Fuzzy little quacking puffs

All dressed up in yellow fluff
13
 Waddling as they cross
a street
Paddling with their big webbed
feet
Swimming down the stream
to play

Digital Vision/Getty Images

Downy ducklings on
their way.

14
 Mama duck will teach
her brood
How to dive to find
their food.
Mama duck will lead
her pack
All the way downstream
and back!
This busy day has been
the best.
Now the ducklings have
PhotoBliss/Alamy

to rest!

Make Connections
How are ducklings like baby
alligators? Text to Text
15
 Purpose To find out about wild
animals that live near you

What to Do
Step 1 Look for animals outside.
Step 2 Draw a chart like the one
below. Fill it in.
What I Saw Where I Saw It What It Was Doing

Step 3 Write a story about an

animal in your chart. Draw
a picture to go with your
story. Share with the class.

Conclusion What do some wild

animals do?
16
 Literature Circles

Nonfiction

The Topic
What is Go, Gator! mostly
about?
What did you learn about how
alligators survive?

Author’s Purpose
Why do you think the author
wrote Go, Gator!?

Make Connections
How are alligators like other
wild animals you have read
about?
How are they different?