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Animal Themes
Endangered Animals Theme Unit
Mammals

Manatees

Manatees
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   8.67

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    existence, grazing, mythical, repeated, commercial, extensive, opening, lifetime, coastal, hence, species, accidental, vegetation, actually, loss, mermaid
     content words:    West Indian, West African, United States, South America, Amazon River, West Africa

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Other Languages
     Spanish: Los Manatíes

Manatees   
1     Long ago, sailors claimed that they encountered a marine animal that was half human and half fish. They gave this mythical animal a beautiful name - mermaid.
 
2     Do mermaids really exist? Oh, yes! However, the real image of a mermaid is very different from that described by ancient sailors! The mermaid that sailors came across is actually the manatee!
 
3     Manatees are gentle, slow-moving, gray-colored aquatic giants. They can grow to more than 10 feet long and weigh over 1,200 pounds. Cruising in shallow rivers, estuaries, and coastal waters, manatees are actually mammals that have adapted to live in both fresh and salt-water environments.

Paragraphs 4 to 8:
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