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Deserts

Spadefoot Toads

Spadefoot Toads
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 6 to 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   6.58

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    semi-arid, spade-shaped, spadefoot, subterranean, ticking, unthinkable, arid, housing, watertight, metamorphosis, encase, hence, year-round, undergo, dwell, elsewhere

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Spadefoot Toads
By Vickie Chao 		  
1     Amphibians -- such as frogs, toads, salamanders, and newts -- cannot live without water for a very practical reason. If they don't keep their moist skin damp at all times, they die! Thus, for most amphibians, rivers, lakes, and ponds are the natural housing choices. To them, settling elsewhere is unthinkable.
 
2     Spadefoot toads, however, are not most amphibians. They dwell in arid or semi-arid places. They even thrive in deserts!
 
3     Why do spadefoot toads survive in habitats that their other relatives shun? The answer lies in their feet and skin.

Paragraphs 4 to 7:
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