edHelper.com
Animal Themes
Mammals


Flying Squirrels


Flying Squirrels
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 7
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   7.35

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    nighttime, troublesome, achievement, mid-air, entire, species, actually, easily, sequence, lower, opposite, steer, attack, upper, night, launch


Print Flying Squirrels
edHelper.com subscriber options:
     Print Flying Squirrels  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)

     Quickly print reading comprehension

     Print a proofreading activity


Feedback on Flying Squirrels
     Leave your feedback on Flying Squirrels  (use this link if you found an error in the story)



Flying Squirrels   

1     As night falls and darkness envelops the entire forest, flying squirrels venture out from their tree homes. They eagerly search for food - seeds, fruits, leaves, nuts, and insects - to fill their empty stomachs. When they move about, they don't climb down a tree, travel across the ground, and then climb up another tree. The whole sequence of acts are simply too time-consuming and troublesome for flying squirrels. To use their time more effectively, flying squirrels are able to accomplish an achievement that is unthinkable to almost all mammals - they "fly"!
 
2     Well, flying squirrels actually don't fly. They glide. Flying squirrels do not have wings like birds. What they have is a blanket-like fur skin stretched between their front and hind legs. As flying squirrels leap out of a treetop and spread out their four limbs, they look like Aladdin's magic carpet, gliding gracefully across the nighttime sky. Miraculously, flying squirrels are able to maneuver in mid-air and steer toward their desired destinations. When they are near their target, they push their lower bodies forward and pull their upper bodies backward. By doing so, flying squirrels are able to land on all four feet almost simultaneously. As soon as they touch down on a trunk, they often run to the opposite side of the trunk. They do this to avoid getting captured by owls that like to fly silently behind them and launch a surprise attack.
 
3     Of all the 40 or so species of flying squirrels, the giant flying squirrel of Asia is the most talented glider - it can easily glide over a distance of 1,500 feet!

Copyright © 2008 edHelper