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Marmots

Marmots
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 3 to 5
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   4.63

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    chubby, fully-grown, gestation, Groundhogs, hibernators, hoary, marmot, mover, solely, spans, species, stout, vegetation, yellowish-white, entire, underground
     content words:    North America, Groundhog Day

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Marmots
By Vickie Chao 		  
1     When it comes to a squirrel, three things come to mind. It has a fluffy tail. It has a light body. And it is a quick mover. These typical images of a squirrel describe many that we see in parks and gardens. But they do not describe all the animals in the squirrel family. One exception is the marmot.
 
2     Marmots are big and chubby. Their bodies are stout. Their legs are short. Their ears are small and furred. Their tails are bushy. And their faces are wide with short muzzles. Marmots like to wear fur coats with colors ranging from dark gray to brown to yellowish-white. They are mostly active during the day. They eat grasses, flowers, herbs, and seeds. Unlike some of their relatives, marmots cannot climb trees. They cannot glide, either. So their only way of moving about is to walk or run on the ground.
 
3     Scientists have found fourteen different types of marmots on Earth. Most of them live right here in North America. Of the fourteen members, one is particularly famous. In fact, it even has a holiday named after it! That celebrated marmot is called the groundhog or the woodchuck. Every year on February 2nd, people flock to a small town in Pennsylvania to wait for a groundhog named Phil to predict how long the winter is going to last. That special day is called Groundhog Day.

Paragraphs 4 to 5:
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