Name: Endangered Species Reading Comprehension Article
SKU: 614bf65c4d8a7c2140d653ab
Price: 39.99 USD
Availability: InStock

About this resource

What's inside this resource

What makes a species endangered is explained in a one-page reading passage covering natural causes (volcanic eruptions, ice ages) and human causes (pollution, pesticides, habitat destruction, introduced species), then profiling two current examples — the Giant Panda and the Mountain Gorilla — alongside the Tasmanian tiger as a species that went fully extinct in 1936. Five vocabulary terms (species, extinct, pesticides, habitat, poaching) are defined in the margins. Five comprehension questions come with a full written answer key, and three extension questions ask students to research further and create a brochure or poster about another endangered animal. The article and questions are provided as both a Word document and a PDF, plus a link to a Google Doc version.

Product description

From the author

Endangered Species Reading Comprehension for Grades 5-7 explores why species become endangered and provides examples. This science article teaches about former endangered species now extinct and includes key terms for student reference. The reading comprehension questions develop knowledge, critical thinking, connecting ideas, and open-ended skills. This teaching resource works for in-person or distance learning, integrates with Google Classroom for easy assignment, and includes Word, PDF, and answer key files for flexibility. Use this engaging 40-60 minute supplemental science literacy activity to introduce endangered species, measure comprehension, provide an extension, or emergency substitute plan. The reading and varied questions help students gain insights, improve analysis abilities, and meet science standards.

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

Identify the natural and human causes that put an animal species at risk of becoming endangered.
Explain why a specific species (Giant Panda or Mountain Gorilla) is endangered, using evidence from the passage.
Describe how the Tasmanian tiger became extinct, based on the passage.
Research an additional endangered species not covered in the article and present findings in a poster or brochure.

Teaching tips

The five core comprehension questions come with a complete answer key, but the three extension questions are open research/creative tasks with no fixed answer — plan separate time or materials (poster paper, a brochure template) for those.
Both a Word document and a PDF version of the same article are included, so choose whichever format is easier to edit or distribute for your class.
Use the margin vocabulary definitions (species, extinct, pesticides, habitat, poaching) as a pre-reading vocabulary preview before assigning the full passage.

Skills covered

Informational reading comprehension — students answer 5 questions that require locating and restating causes and examples from the passage.
Cause-and-effect reasoning — questions ask students to explain why specific species (Mountain Gorilla, Tasmanian tiger) became endangered or extinct.
Vocabulary in context — five terms (species, extinct, pesticides, habitat, poaching) are defined alongside the passage in which they appear.
Independent research — the three extension questions require researching an animal not covered in the article and producing a poster or brochure.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

What do the three extension questions ask students to do, compared to the first five comprehension questions?

The three extension questions move beyond direct-recall comprehension into open research and creative tasks, asking students to research the effects of poaching and create a brochure and a poster.

What two living species does the article profile, and what extinct species does it also cover?

The Giant Panda and Mountain Gorilla are profiled as currently endangered, while the Tasmanian tiger is discussed as a species that went fully extinct in 1936.

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Curriculum

Standards, concepts & topics

Standards

CCSS.RI.5.3 — Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.
CCSS.RI.6.1 — Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.