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Life Science
Animal and Biomes Basics Theme Unit

The Animal Kingdom

The Animal Kingdom
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 6 to 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   6.92

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    sperm, environment, itself, reproduce, absorb, similar, during, male, adult, become, release, join, species, within, eventually, life

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The Animal Kingdom
By Cindy Grigg 		  
1     All species of animals are similar in some important ways. Animals are many-celled (multicellular) organisms. Animals can't make their own food. They must get food by eating other organisms.
 
2     Animals must get water, food, and oxygen from their environment. Animals need water because the chemical reactions that keep them alive, like the breaking down of food, take place using water. Food gives animals energy for the activities that keep them alive, like breathing. Animals must get oxygen. Oxygen is used in the cells to release energy from food. Some animals get oxygen from the air; others absorb it from water.
 
3     In addition, most animals reproduce sexually. This means that a new organism results when a male sperm cell and a female egg cell join together. Some animals can reproduce asexually. In this process, an animal like the hydra can produce a new organism like itself. The adult hydra forms "buds" that eventually break off and become new hydras.

Paragraphs 4 to 5:
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