Level 3 “The Amazing Octopus” The title names the main idea Adapted from a text by Anna Gratz Cockerille explicitly. f all the strange and wonderful creatures in the ocean, one stands out. It is the amazing octopus. There are over 300 different types of O octopus, and they can be found in every ocean in the world! Bodies Like No Other Subhead- ings and The octopus has a body unlike any other animal. Its body, called a mantle, The para- topic sen- graph is is soft and shaped like a bag. The octopus can squeeze into very small spaces tences pop organized because it has no bones in its body. Its eight rubbery arms are attached to out the main idea into a its head near its mouth. The octopus’s arms are covered with suckers. The clear list. of each Each point suckers help the octopus grab and taste things. The octopus can see very far section. is elabo- distances, but it cannot hear anything at all. rated upon equally. Academic vocabulary The octopus’s body is amazing on the inside, too. The octopus has three words are hearts. Two of its hearts send its blood, which is light blue, to its gills. Its explained when used. Level 3: “The Amazing Octopus” ◆ PAGE 1 May be photocopied for classroom use. © 2015 by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project from Units of Study for Teaching Reading (Heinemann: Portsmouth, NH). gills are organs for breathing, and they’re located on two of the octopus’s arms. The third heart sends blood to the rest of the octopus’s body. The phrase Talents Like No Other “the The octopus has amazing ways to defend itself. When an octopus wants amazing octopus” is to move quickly to escape a predator, it can shoot out water to push itself repeated to backwards. This is called jet propulsion. Using this skill, octopuses can The noun is show how travel many miles. An octopus can also protect itself by squirting ink at a used more this new frequently part relates predator. The ink makes the predator become blind and lose its sense of than a back to the smell temporarily. pronoun. main idea. This makes it difficult for the predator to track the octopus once it has darted away. The octopus can hide from predators by changing its colors to blend into its surroundings. The octopus can also escape a predator by breaking off its arm, swimming away, and then growing a new one later! The amazing octopus is also a predator. It hunts mainly at night. It has a There is a consistent varied diet, including snails, fish, turtles, small crustaceans, and even other structure octopuses. An octopus catches its prey by grabbing it with its arms. To kill it, throughout the octopus bites its food with its tough beak and injects it with a poison so the text. the animal can’t move. Text fea- tures are aligned to main idea of the text and help support what is being ex- plained in the text. The octopus uses jet propulsion to swim away from predators. Level 3: “The Amazing Octopus” ◆ PAGE 2 May be photocopied for classroom use. © 2015 by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project from Units of Study for Teaching Reading (Heinemann: Portsmouth, NH). Smarts Like No Other The octopus isn’t just amazing physically. It’s smart, too. Scientists have Examples taught octopuses to learn shapes and patterns. Some octopuses in tanks are used have been seen “playing” games. They throw objects into currents in the to dem- onstrate a water, then catch them again. Research shows that octopuses may have point. emotions, too. They can change color based on how they feel. Of all the animals in the sea, on land, or in the air, none is quite like the amazing octopus! *NBHFPOQBHFª+VOJPST#JMEBSDIJW"MBNZ)*1 *NBHFPOQBHFª:643"/"#%6-3")."/4IVUUFSTUPDL Level 3: “The Amazing Octopus” ◆ PAGE 3 May be photocopied for classroom use. © 2015 by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project from Units of Study for Teaching Reading (Heinemann: Portsmouth, NH)..