Image of a cheetah and a sloth
Suzi Eszterhas/Minden Pictures (Cheetah); Lukas Kovarik/Shutterstock.com (Sloth)
Alike and Different,

The Fastest and Slowest Animals

The cheetah is the fastest animal on land. The sloth is the slowest. Find out about these two extreme animals.

By Laine Falk
From the February 2024 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will compare and contrast cheetahs and sloths using information gathered from text and images.

Lexile: 480L
Featured Skill: Comparing Texts,
Vocabulary: extreme, prey, strides, forages
Common Core Standards
  • RI.1.3 Describe the connection between two ideas or pieces of information in a text RI.1.5 Know and use various text features to locate information in a text RI.1.6 Distinguish between information from words and information from images RI.1.7 Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas RI.1.9 Identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic RI.1.10 Read informational texts appropriately complex for grade 1 SL.1.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade-1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups L.1.4.A Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase
TEKS Standards
  • Science (10) Organisms and environments. The student knows that organisms resemble their parents and have structures and processes that help them survive within their environments. The student is expected to: (A) investigate how the external characteristics of an animal are related to where it lives, how it moves, and what it eats; (C) compare ways that young animals resemble their parents.

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Cheetah

Super Speedy

Viju Jose/Shutterstock.com

jackal (left)

The cheetah is one speedy cat. It can go as fast as a car. It chases its prey. It has to be fast to catch a meal.


Built to Run

Winfried Wisniewski/Getty Images

Look at those legs!

The cheetah’s body helps it run fast. It has a long body and long legs. It takes huge strides as it runs. 


Quick Cubs

Marion Vollborn/BIA/Minden Pictures

Baby cheetahs are not fast when they are just born. They crawl, walk, and play. A little later, they start to run. By 6 months old, they are super speedy!


Sloth

Super Slow

iStockPhoto/Getty Images

The sloth has no need for speed. It lives up in trees. It goes very slowly from branch to branch. It forages for leaves and fruits to eat.


Built to Hang 

Rob Jansen/Shutterstock.com

Sloths may be slow, but they are strong. They can hang from branches for hours. They can even sleep that way!


Slow Babies 

Suzi Eszterhas/Minden Pictures

baby sloth

Baby sloths hold on to their moms. They go slowly together. By 6 months old, baby sloths start to climb on their own. And guess what? They are still super slow!


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Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
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Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)

More About the Article

English Language Arts Focus

Compare and contrast

Science Focus

Animal behaviors

Vocabulary

extreme, prey, strides, forages

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Implementation

Small Group

Pairings and Text Connections

  • In this issue: “Picture This: Giddy Up, Horse and Pup”
  • From the Storyworks archive: “Silly Story: Get Set and Go Slow!,”December 2022 /January 2023
  • Suggested books: Who Would Win? Ultimate Jungle Rumble by Jerry Pallotta; National Geographic Kids: Cheetahs by Laura Marsh; Sloth Slept On by Frann Preston-Gannon

Before-Reading Resources

  • Video: Skill Power: Compare and Contrast (7 minutes) Build understanding of this literacy skill.
  • Video: Extreme Animals (7 minutes) Generate excitement and build background knowledge.
  • Vocabulary Slideshow: (5 minutes) extreme, prey, strides, forages

Suggested Reading Focus

Compare and contrast (20 minutes)
  • Tell children that they will be learning about two animals— cheetahs and sloths—and seeing how they are alike and different. Ask children to share anything they know about the animals.
  • Starting with the first category, discuss how the animals are similar and different.
  • Compare the cheetah and sloth photos. What can you learn by looking at the photos?
  • To finish, ask students to turn and talk to a partner about ways cheetahs and sloths are the same. Have volunteers share their answers. Then ask for ways cheetahs and sloths are different.

After-Reading Skills Practice

  • Skills: Compare/contrast; key details (15 minutes)

Extension Activity

Skills: Map reading/geography (20 minutes)

  • Help students locate the Sahara Desert on a world map. Tell them that is where cheetahs live! Show pictures and discuss what it is like there. Then help students locate Costa Rica on the map—that is where sloths live! Show pictures of the rainforest, and discuss what it is like there. Finally, ask students to list similarities and differences of the two habitats.

Text-to-Speech