edHelper.com Animal Themes Birds Polar Regions

African Penguins

---

African Penguins
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 4 to 6
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	5.53

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		black-footed, gray-blue, guano, jackass, vulnerable, breed, entire, estimate, droppings, ashore, shoreline, spills, easily, backs, bands, commercial
	content words:		When African, Baby African

---

Print African Penguins

Print African Penguins  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)

Quickly Print - PDF format

	Quickly Print: PDF (2 columns per page)
	Quickly Print: PDF (full page)

Quickly Print - HTML format

Quickly Print: HTML

Proofreading Activity

Print a proofreading activity

---

Feedback on African Penguins

Leave your feedback on African Penguins  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

---

African Penguins By Vickie Chao

---

¹     African penguins are very cute! They have black eyes, black backs, black wings, and black chins. On each side of their faces is a wide white band. These two bands start from the tips of their beaks. They circle around their eyes and run along their chins. African penguins have white bellies with black spots. They have a narrow black band across their chests and down their flanks toward their legs. African penguins' beaks are black with a single pale band. Their clawed, webbed feet are black with pink spots.
 
²     As their name suggests, African penguins live in Africa. They are mostly found on small islands off the coast of southern Africa. African penguins have two nicknames -- black-footed penguins and jackass penguins. The first name comes from their black feet. The second comes from the sound they make. When African penguins call out, they shriek like donkeys. Since donkeys are also known as jackasses, people nicknamed African penguins "jackass penguins."
 
³     African penguins do not have a specific breeding season. They breed all year round. When a pair of African penguins is ready to become parents, they come ashore and build their nest by digging into sand and guano (dried bird droppings.) The female African penguin lays 2 eggs. She and her husband take turns guarding the nest and incubating the eggs. Their babies hatch after about 37 days. Baby African penguins have gray down feathers covering their entire bodies when they first break out of the shells. Then, their backs turn gray-blue and their bellies white. They don't yet have white bands on their faces and black bands across their chests like their parents. Baby African penguins are helpless, so their parents do not leave them alone. There is always one parent staying home to take care of the young. The other goes out to catch fish and squid. Baby African penguins grow fast. In about 8-18 weeks, they are ready to bid their parents goodbye and live by themselves.

Paragraphs 4 to 5:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

---

Weekly Reading Books

Create Weekly Reading Books Prepare for an entire week at once!

---

Animal Themes

Animal Themes

---

Birds

Birds

---

Polar Regions

Polar Regions

---

More Lessons

Penguins

---

Animals

Amphibians         Birds         Deserts         Fish         Freshwater         Grasslands         Insects

Invertebrates         Mammals         Oceans         Polar Regions         Rain Forest         Reptiles

---

More Activities, Lesson Plans, and Worksheets

Back to School Graphic Organizers Alphabet Worksheets Sight Words Math Worksheets Mazes 50 States Education Teaching Monthly Themes January February March April May June July August September October November December

Fractions Place Value Time and Calendar Money Earth Day Solar System Analogies Nouns Following Directions Listening Capitalization Cursive Writing Patterns and Sequencing Dinosaurs All About Me Kindergarten First Grade Second Grade Third Grade Fourth Grade Fifth Grade Sixth Grade

Multiplication Division Main Idea Cause and Effect Measurement Decimals Rounding Order of Operations Verbs Community Helpers Adjectives Plants Grammar Addition and Subtraction Contractions Bulletin Board Ideas Word Searches Crossword Puzzles Printable Puzzles Reading Comprehension Reading Skills English Language Arts

Copyright © 2013 edHelper