Written by Lee Anne Martin

www.readinga-z.com

Turtle! Tortoise!A Reading A–Z Shared Reading Book

Word Count: 150

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Home Connection: L-blendsYour reader is learning to recognize words that begin with the L-blends cl and fl, as in the words claw and flat. As you read the book together, find words that have these beginning blends on pages 4, 7, 8, and 14. Then think of and write down two other words that start with each blend. Your reader will share their words with the class.

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Turtle! Tortoise!Shared Reading BookLevel 1© Learning A–ZWritten by Lee Anne Martin

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Photo Credits:Front cover: © Masa Ushioda/Alamy; back cover: © B. Trapp/Blickwinkel/age fotostock; title page: © Pete Oxford/Minden Pictures; copyright page and throughout: © imagebroker/Alamy; pages 3 (top), 14 (left): © Zoonar GmbH/Alamy; pages 3 (center), 14 (right): © Vivid Photo Visual/Alamy; page 3 (bottom and throughout): © iStockphoto.com/Mark Stay; page 4 (main): © Jason Isley-Scubazoo/Science Faction/Corbis; page 5 (main): © Sabena Jane Blackbird/Alamy; page 6 (main): © Christine Taddeo; page 7: © Pixel 8/Alamy; page 8 (top): © ZSSD/Minden Pictures; page 8 (bottom): © Pete Oxford/Minden Pictures; page 9 (main): © Tetra Images/Alamy; page 10 (main): © Attila Balazs/epa/Corbis; page 11 (main): © Tui De Roy/Minden Pictures; page 11 (inset): © Joel Sartore/National Geographic Stock; page 12 (main): © Michael Patrick O’Neill/Alamy; page 12 (inset): © Joseph T. Collins/Photo Researchers, Inc.; page 13 (top): © G. Ronald Austing/Photo Researchers, Inc.; page 13 (bottom): © John Cancalosi/Alamy; page 14 (background): © iStockphoto.com/Patrick Ellis

www.readinga-z.com

Written by Lee Anne Martin

Turtle! Tortoise! | Shared Reading

43

Turtle! Tortoise!

Can you tell?

Which one are you inside that shell?

A turtle’s shell can be flat and smooth.

Some turtle shells are as hard as rock.

Some can bend, like leather.

Turtles and tortoises belong to the same animal family.

Tortoise

Turtle

Turtle

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Turtle! Tortoise! | Shared Reading

65

A tortoise’s shell can be thick and hard.

Turtle! Tortoise!

Can you tell?

Which one are you inside that shell?

rounded.It can be tall and

5 6

Turtles and tortoises don’t have teeth. They have beaks.

Tortoise

Tortoise

Turtle! Tortoise! | Shared Reading

87

Turtles have webbed toes

or flippers for swimming.

They have long claws for digging.

Tortoises have strong legs.

Their claws are short, and their feet are stumpy.

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Tortoises

Turtles

Turtle! Tortoise! | Shared Reading

109

Many tortoises and turtles

can pull their legs into their shells.

But some turtles cannot do this.

Turtle! Tortoise!

Can you tell?

Which one are you inside that shell?

10

Turtles and tortoises can feel through their shells. It’s the same feeling you get when someone taps on your fingernail. Tap! Tap!

Turtles and tortoises cannot take off their shells. When they grow, their shells grow too.

Tortoise

Tortoises

Turtle! Tortoise! | Shared Reading

1211

Tortoises live on dry land.

They cannot swim.

Turtles can swim.

They live near water.

They can live near ponds,

lakes, or the sea.

The largest tortoise is the Galapagos tortoise. It is about 5 feet long and weighs about 500 pounds. The smallest tortoise is the Speckled

Cape padloper. It grows to less than 3 inches long.

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The largest turtle is the Leatherback sea turtle. It can be up to 6 feet long and weigh 2,000 pounds. The smallest

turtle is the Bog turtle. It’s about 4 inches long.

Galapagos tortoiseLeatherback

sea turtle

Turtle! Tortoise! | Shared Reading

1413

Turtles and tortoises have been on Earth since the time of the dinosaurs.

Turtle! Tortoise!

Now we can tell which one you are inside that shell.

Characteristics

Turtle Tortoise

Animal type reptile reptile

Live where? near or in water dry land

Legs, feet, and toes

long claws, webbed toes or flippers

strong legs, short claws, hard, stumpy feet

Shelllighter, hard or like leather, flatter shape

heavier, hard, tall, often rounded shape

Turtle or Tortoise?This chart shows some ways that turtles and tortoises are alike and different.