Sand Crabs

Sand Crabs

Sand Crabs

A Short Reader

Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 3 to 5
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	4.23

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		ecosystem, mating, recedes, swash, along, plentiful, shores, plankton, digest, zone, backside, mighty, interesting, waves, male, defend
	content words:		South American

Print Sand Crabs

Print Sand Crabs (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)

Quickly Print

Quickly print reading comprehension

Proofreading Activity

Print a proofreading activity

Feedback on Sand Crabs

Leave your feedback on Sand Crabs (use this link if you found an error in the story)

Sand Crabs
By Erin Horner

¹     All along the North and South American coasts you can find a very interesting animal. But you'll have to look closely, because it is very small! A grown female is between 1 1/2 to 2 inches. A male is only ž of an inch long. You'll also have to look very quickly, because this animal buries itself with each wave that washes in. And it buries itself backwards! This neat animal is a sand crab.

²     Sand crabs live on beaches or in sand dunes. They live in the "swash" zone. This is where the waves break on the shore. With each wave that breaks, many sand crabs scurry into the sand. They burrow down, backside first, leaving their eyes and antennae exposed. Then as the wave recedes back into the ocean, the sand crabs use their antennae to collect and eat plankton. They do this very quickly. They also do it a lot! With each wave, sand crabs repeat this routine.

³     Sand crabs' biggest predators are fish, sea birds, and shore birds. They are also used as bait by some fishermen. Unlike its crab cousins, a sand crab does not have claws on its first pair of legs. Sand crabs can't pinch, .....
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

Weekly Reading Books

Create Weekly Reading Books

Prepare for an entire week at once!

Invertebrates

Invertebrates

The Beach

The Beach

Animals

		Amphibians

		Birds

		Deserts

		Fish

		Freshwater

		Grasslands

		Insects

		Invertebrates

		Mammals

		Oceans

		Polar Regions

		Rain Forest

		Reptiles