Mommy Bird Feeds Her Chicks
Mommy Bird Feeds Her Chicks
A bunch of baby chicks hatch to a mommy bird. She knows her young ones are hungry and that they will need to eat. She knows she has to go out hunting for them. Big and strong and full of might, the mommy bird is a capable hunter. She is a hawk with sharp eyes and big talons. Talons are bird claws. The nest is up high in a towering oak tree. The chicks are hungry. The mommy bird takes off into the sky to find food. She soars through the air. The sun is out. There are no clouds, and the wind is blowing cool. The mommy bird enjoys the free feeling of flying. Down below on the ground she spots a little mouse. She makes her move. With incredible speed, she dips her wings and begins shooting toward the ground. She pounces on the mouse and eats it up. Now she has food and can feed her babies. © 2013 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved.
Mommy Bird Feeds Her Chicks
The mommy bird flies back to the nest. Her chicks are chirping away, ready to be fed. Their feathers are light and fluffy, and their little bird faces are cute. The mommy bird regurgitates the mouse that she ate. Regurgitate is another way of saying that she brings the food she swallowed back up to her mouth. The mommy bird opens her mouth and the little chicks peck at it, eating away and getting their fill. The mommy bird knows she has done her job. This is how the mommy bird ensures that her young ones will grow up to be big and strong. This is how she helps them survive. © 2013 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved.
Questions: Mommy Bird Feeds Her Chicks
Name:
Date:
1. What kind of bird is the mommy bird?
A hawk
B eagle
C robin
2. What main problem does the mommy bird face?
A she has lost her babies
B she needs to feed her babies
C she cannot fly
3. The mommy bird uses her sharp eyes to find food. What evidence from
the text supports this conclusion?
A “The mommy bird takes off into the sky to find food.”
B “With incredible speed, she dips her wings and begins shooting
toward the ground.”
C “Down below on the ground she spots a little mouse.”
4. How can the mommy bird use her talons?
A to capture her prey
B to build a nest
C to fly really fast
5. What is this passage mostly about?
A a mommy bird teaching her chicks to fly
B a mommy bird that cannot hunt
C a mommy bird feeding her babies
1
© 2013 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved.
Questions: Mommy Bird Feeds Her Chicks
6. Read the following sentence: “Big and strong and full of might, the
mommy bird is a capable hunter.”
What does “full of might” mean?
A weak
B powerful
C angry
7. Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below.
The mommy bird knows that her chicks are hungry, ____ she has to go
hunting.
A so
B but
C also
8. What does the mommy bird catch?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
2
© 2013 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved.
Questions: Mommy Bird Feeds Her Chicks
9. How does the mommy bird feed her chicks?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
10. What would happen if the mommy bird did not catch any prey to feed
her babies?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
3
© 2013 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved.
Teacher Guide & Answers: Mommy Bird Feeds Her Chicks
Teacher Guide & Answers
Passage Reading Level: Lexile 640
1. What kind of bird is the mommy bird?
A
B
C
hawk
eagle
robin
2. What main problem does the mommy bird face?
A
B
C
she has lost her babies
she needs to feed her babies
she cannot fly
3. The mommy bird uses her sharp eyes to find food. What evidence from the text supports this
conclusion?
A
B
C
“The mommy bird takes off into the sky to find food.”
“With incredible speed, she dips her wings and begins shooting toward the ground.”
“Down below on the ground she spots a little mouse.”
4. How can the mommy bird use her talons?
A
B
C
to capture her prey
to build a nest
to fly really fast
5. What is this passage mostly about?
A
B
C
a mommy bird teaching her chicks to fly
a mommy bird that cannot hunt
a mommy bird feeding her babies
1
© 2013 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved.
Teacher Guide & Answers: Mommy Bird Feeds Her Chicks
6. Read the following sentence: ”Big and strong and full of might, the mommy bird is a capable hunter.”
What does “full of might” mean?
A
B
C
weak
powerful
angry
7. Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below.
The mommy bird knows that her chicks are hungry, ____ she has to go hunting.
A
B
C
so
but
also
8. What does the mommy bird catch?
Suggested answer: a mouse
9. How does the mommy bird feed her chicks?
Suggested answer: She regurgitates her food so that the chicks can eat from her mouth.
10. What would happen if the mommy bird did not catch any prey to feed her babies?
Suggested answer: If the mommy bird did not catch any prey to feed her babies, they would not have
anything to eat. If they did not get enough to eat, they would not grow up to be big and strong, and they
might not survive.
2
© 2013 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved.