Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Animal Themes
Insects
Invertebrates
Mantids

Animal Themes
Animal Themes


Mantids
Print Mantids Reading Comprehension with Sixth Grade Work

Print Mantids Reading Comprehension


Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 6 to 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   7.01

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    ootheca, fully-formed, merciless, mantis, predatory, deceitful, mantid, beetle, outer, relentless, natural, therefore, powerful, mantids, strike, instance
     content words:    Southeast Asia, In Greek

Other Languages
     Spanish: La Mantis Religiosa


Mantids   

1     Have you ever seen mantids on a hunt? At first glance, they seemed to be very inactive. Then, with lightning speed, mantids strike and take a hold of a beetle with their two front legs that look more like two blades! Mantids rarely miss their target. Aside from their unusually long and powerful front legs, mantids have two other advantages that make them superb predators!
 
2     Mantids are the only insects that can turn their heads more than 180 degrees. This ability allows them to scan for prey from one side to the other. To the horror of their victims, mantids' attacks always appear to come out of nowhere. Thanks to their camouflage, mantids are often mistaken for twigs, leaves, or even flowers! Mantids are great at disguising themselves. For instance, two identical flower mantids of Southeast Asia grow up on two different plants. The one living on a plant with white flowers becomes white when it is fully-grown. The one living on a plant with pink flowers becomes pink in its adult stage.
 
3     Mantids are common insects in tropical and temperate regions. There are about 2,000 different species. Mantids are merciless hunters! They eat almost every living animal that comes near them, including other mantids! Mantids usually attack smaller insects (such as grasshoppers, flies, mosquitoes, and moths). But larger and more daring mantids also prey upon frogs, lizards, and hummingbirds.

Paragraphs 4 to 5:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable



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Animal Themes
             Animal Themes


Insects
             Insects


Invertebrates
             Invertebrates


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Animals
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    Birds  
 
    Deserts  
 
    Fish  
 
    Freshwater  
 
    Grasslands  
 
    Insects  
 
 
    Invertebrates  
 
    Mammals  
 
    Oceans  
 
    Polar Regions  
 
    Rain Forest  
 
    Reptiles  
 



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