Year 2 Guided Reading Level H - How Animals Stay Warm (with Lesson Plan)

Book Snapshot
• Title: How Animals Stay Warm
• Genre: Nonfiction (informational)
• Subject: Life Science
• Primary Topic: Animal ways to stay warm in cold places
• Estimated Guided Reading Level (A–Z): H

What This Book Teaches Best
• Animals must stay warm to live in places with snow and ice.
• Body coverings can help animals stay warm (thick fur and feathers that trap heat).
• Some animals use body fat for warmth (blubber acts like a “warm blanket” and keeps cold water from reaching the body).
• Animals can use behaviors to stay warm (penguins huddle close and share body heat; some animals go underground; some sit in the sun).

Learning Goals
• Explain why animals must stay warm to live in snow and ice.
• Describe how thick fur helps keep warm air near an animal’s skin.
• Describe how blubber helps animals stay warm, including in icy water.
• Describe how feathers help birds stay warm by trapping heat.
• Identify actions animals take to stay warm (huddling, going into a burrow, sitting in the sun).

Key Vocabulary From the Text
• arctic — very cold, snowy place.
• blubber — thick fat under skin that helps keep warm.
• feathers — soft bird covering that helps trap heat.
• huddle — stand very close together in a group.
• burrow — a deep hole an animal digs to go underground.

Discussion Prompts
• Pre-reading question: What are some ways animals might stay warm when it is very cold?
• Comprehension questions: Why must animals stay warm to live in snow and ice?
• Comprehension questions: How does blubber help a seal swim in the icy ocean?
• Comprehension questions: What do penguins do in a group to stay warm?

Printing Tips

1. Best Printing Method (Recommended)
   “Booklet” Printing (Best if Available)
   If your printer or PDF viewer supports Booklet Printing, use this.
   Settings to use:
   • Print mode: Booklet
   • Paper size: Letter or A4 (either works)
   • Orientation: Landscape
   • Print on both sides: Yes
   • Flip on: Short edge
   • Scaling: Fit to printable area
   • Booklet subset:
   o First test: Front sides only
   o Then: Back sides only
   This will automatically:
   • Pair pages correctly
   • Put the cover on the outside
   • Align everything for folding
   After printing, fold in half and staple along the spine.

2. If “Booklet” Printing Is NOT Available
   You can still print this correctly with manual duplex printing.
   Step-by-step:

3. Open the PDF.

4. Choose Print.

5. Set:
   o Orientation: Landscape
   o Pages per sheet: 1
   o Print on both sides: Yes
   o Flip on: Short edge

6. Print all pages.
   Because each PDF page already contains two facing book pages, the result will still fold cleanly into a book.