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Salamanders Animal Themes

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Salamanders
Print Salamanders Reading Comprehension with Sixth Grade Work

Print Salamanders Reading Comprehension


Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 6 to 8
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	8.49

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		housing, burning, cannibalistic, distasteful, lizard-like, lungless, mudpuppy, pre-occupied, red-spotted, tamper, unharmed, untrue, defy, scale-less, terrestrial, unfounded
	content words:		In Greek

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Salamanders

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¹     Back in ancient times, people believed that there was a lizard-like creature that could defy fire. Indeed, as they threw a log onto a fire, they often found a mysterious animal crawling out from the burning log unharmed. Amazed, they gave this unknown animal a Greek name – "salamander." In Greek, the word literally means "fire lizard."
 
²     But this legend has two unfounded facts. The first is that salamanders are not lizards. Related to frogs and toads, salamanders belong to the group of amphibians. Like their hopping relatives, salamanders have moist, scale-less skin. This physical feature marks the biggest difference between amphibians and reptiles. Reptiles (lizards, crocodiles, turtles, and snakes) have dry, tough, scaled skins.
 
³     As for salamanders' rumored ability to defy fire, it is also untrue. Salamanders prefer damp, protected places. Logs are definitely high on their list of housing options! When we see them emerging from flaming logs, they are really running for their lives, not trying to tamper with fire.

Paragraphs 4 to 7:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

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Animal Themes

Animal Themes

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Amphibians

Amphibians

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Animals

Amphibians         Birds         Deserts         Fish         Freshwater         Grasslands         Insects

Invertebrates         Mammals         Oceans         Polar Regions         Rain Forest         Reptiles

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