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Life in an Elephant Herd: Word Clues worksheet preview

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Life in an Elephant Herd: Word Clues

Read a short article about elephant families and use sentence-level context clues to figure out words like matriarch, nimble and wallow.

Grade 3ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toL.3.4.a

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What’s included

  • Single worksheet
  • Auto-graded online
  • 1 Common Core standard
  • Printable answer key
  • 10 questions
  • Classroom-ready

Details

Format
Interactive · Printable
Grade
Grade 3
Subject
ELA
Question types
Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

  • Students use definitions and examples in a sentence to find the meaning of a new word.
  • Students identify the words in a sentence that act as a clue to a word's meaning.

How to use

Read the article aloud, pausing at each tricky word so students can find its clue, then let them finish the questions on their own.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

L.3.4.a

Use the rest of the sentence as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

Preview

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Name Date

Life in an Elephant Herd: Word Clues

Find the meaning of a word from the sentence around it.

Read the article

Life in an Elephant Herd

1Elephants live in family groups called herds. A herd is usually led by the matriarch, the oldest female, who guides the others to food and water. She remembers where to find water during dry times.

2An elephant's trunk is its nose and upper lip joined together. The trunk is so nimble that it can pick up a small fruit from the ground without squashing it. Elephants also drink with their trunks. They suck water up into the trunk and then squirt it into their mouths.

3On hot days, elephants like to wallow, rolling around in mud until their skin is covered. The mud acts like a shield, protecting their skin from the sun and biting insects. Elephants also flap their big ears to help them cool down.

4Elephants are herbivores, which means they are animals that eat only plants. An adult elephant can devour huge piles of grass, leaves and bark, eating for most of the day.

5A baby elephant is called a calf, and it stays close to its mother. If a calf is frightened, the adults huddle around it. They crowd together in a tight circle to keep it safe. Elephants also rumble to each other, making deep, low sounds that can travel a long way.

Clues in the article

Use the words around each new word to answer.

1.
In paragraph 1, what is a matriarch?
  • A. the youngest calf in a herd
  • B. the oldest female who leads a herd
  • C. a male elephant who lives alone
  • D. a pond where a herd drinks water
2.
In paragraph 2, the trunk is nimble. What does nimble mean?
  • A. too heavy to lift easily
  • B. covered in rough wrinkles
  • C. very loud when it blows
  • D. able to move carefully
3.
Read this sentence from paragraph 3: "The mud acts like a shield, protecting their skin from the sun and biting insects." Which words help you know what shield means?
  • A. The mud acts
  • B. biting insects
  • C. protecting their skin
  • D. from the sun and
4.
Use the article to match each word to its meaning.
  1. wallow
  2. devour
  3. calf
  4. rumble
  1. A. a baby elephant
  2. B. make a deep, low sound
  3. C. roll around in mud
  4. D. eat a lot of food
5.
Use the first sentence of paragraph 4. Write the missing word.

Herbivores are animals that eat only  .

6.
Read paragraph 5 again. Underline the sentence that tells what huddle means.

A baby elephant is called a calf, and it stays close to its mother.If a calf is frightened, the adults huddle around it.They crowd together in a tight circle to keep it safe.Elephants also rumble to each other, making deep, low sounds that can travel a long way.

More animal sentences

Read each new sentence. Use the rest of the sentence to work out the word.

7.
The giraffe stretched its long neck to reach the lofty leaves at the very top of the tree. What does lofty mean?
  • A. very high up
  • B. thin and bendy
  • C. low to the ground
  • D. sharp and prickly
8.
After its swim in the river, the hippo was drenched, soaking wet from head to toe. What does drenched mean?
  • A. very hungry
  • B. very sleepy
  • C. completely wet
  • D. covered in dust
9.
Use the clues in each sentence. Write the word from the word bank that completes it. Use each word once.
Word bank: refreshed · gigantic · timid

The lion cub was  , so it hid behind its mother whenever a stranger came near.
The old tree was  , so wide that five children holding hands could not reach around it.
After a long rest in the shade, the monkey felt   and ready to climb again.

10.
Paragraph 4 says an elephant can devour huge piles of plants. Which words in that sentence helped you know what devour means? Explain.

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