Image of elephant and whale
Art Wolfe/Getty Images (elephant);SCIEPRO/Science Photo Library RF/Getty Images (whale)
Paired Texts,

Giants of the Earth

This is the world’s largest land animal. This is the world’s largest ocean animal. Turn the page to see what they have in common—and what sets them apart.

By Alex Winnick
From the September 2025 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will compare and contrast information from texts about two enormous animals.

Complexity Factors
  • Structure
    Each text is set up as an interview with the animal, consisting of four brief informational sections. Each section begins with a question.
  • Language
    There are some challenging domain-specific words that are defined on the page.
  • Knowledge Demands
    No prior knowledge is required, although familiarity with the size of a T. rex will aid comprehension.
Lexiles: 500L-600L, Easier Level
Featured Skill: Compare and Contrast,
Other Key Skills: synthesizing, main idea, supporting details, key details, text features, cause and effect, problem and solution, author’s purpose, vocabulary, interpreting text, summarizing, explanatory writing, supporting an opinion
Standards
  • Common Core
    RI.3.1, RI.3.2, RI.3.3, RI.3.4, RI.3.6, RI.3.7, RI.3.8, RI.3.9, W.3.1, W.3.2, SL.3.1, SL.3.2, L.3.6
  • TEKS Grade 3
    1a, 1c, 3a, 3b, 4, 6a, 6c, 6e, 6g, 6i, 7a, 7b, 7c, 7g, 9di, 9dii, 9diii, 10b, 10c, 12b

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Lexile® measure

  • On Level
  • Easier Level
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Easier Level
Think and Read: Compare and Contrast

As you read, think about how these two animals are similar and how they are different.

Enormous Elephant

Buena Vista Images/Getty Images

An African savanna elephant can weigh up to 13,000 pounds. That’s about as much as a Tyrannosaurus rex!

We live for about 70 years!

You’re huge! Just how big are you?

You’re huge! Just how big are you?

Shutterstock.com

My favorite foods are fruit and grass. I can gobble up 350 pounds of food a day!

I’m 24 feet long and weigh three times as much as a car! As an African savanna elephant, I’m the largest land animal in the world. My habitat includes the savannas, forests, deserts, and grasslands that spread across countries in Africa.

I’m 24 feet long. I weigh three times as much as a car! I’m an African savanna elephant. I’m the largest land animal in the world. My habitat includes savannas, forests, deserts, and grasslands. I live in many countries in Africa.

Wow! Who are those elephants nearby?

Wow! Who are those elephants nearby?

They’re my herd! We all live together and keep each other safe. My grandmother is our leader. 

They’re my herd! We all live together. We keep each other safe. My grandmother is our leader.

Do you ever talk to other herds?

Do you ever talk to other herds?

You bet! First, I let out a low call. It’s so powerful that it shakes the ground! Other elephants feel the ground rumble. They figure out what my message means based on how long the shaking lasts. Sometimes I warn them that danger is coming. Other times, I invite them to come join me!

Yes! I let out a low call. It’s so powerful that it shakes the ground! Other elephants feel the ground shake. They figure out what my message means by how long the shaking lasts. Sometimes I warn them that danger is coming. Other times, I invite them to come join me!

Why do you have such a long nose?

Why do you have such a long nose?

It’s called a trunk, and it’s a powerful tool. I use it to drink water and stay cool on a hot day. First I suck water into my trunk. Then I spray it into my mouth or over my body. My trunk also helps me grab food and hug other elephants!

It’s called a trunk. It’s a powerful tool. I use it to drink water. I use it to stay cool on a hot day. I suck water into my trunk. I spray it into my mouth or over my body. My trunk also helps me grab food and hug other elephants! 

Big Blue Whale 

SCIEPRO/Science Photo Library RF/Getty Images 

A blue whale can weigh up to 400,000 pounds. That’s about as much as 30 T. rexes!

We live for about 85 years!

*The two animals pictured are not shown to scale.

*The two animals pictured are not shown to scale.

You’re also huge! How big are you?

You’re also huge! How big are you?

Picture a baseball field. The distance from my mouth to my tail is about the same as the distance between first and second base. (That’s 90 feet!) My heart alone is taller than a third-grader!

Picture a baseball field. The distance from my mouth to my tail is about the same as the distance between first and second base. (That’s 90 feet!) My heart is taller than a third-grader!

So you’re bigger than an elephant?

So you’re bigger than an elephant?

Design Pics/Offset

I mostly eat shrimplike creatures called krill. I eat 8,000 pounds of them each day!

I’m much bigger. I weigh about the same as 30 African savanna elephants! I’m the world’s largest ocean animal. I’m also the largest animal to live on Earth—ever. (That includes the dinosaurs!)

I’m much bigger. I weigh about the same as 30 African savanna elephants! I’m the world’s largest ocean animal. I’m also the biggest animal to ever live on Earth. (That includes the dinosaurs!)

Wow! Where do you live?

Wow! Where do you live?

I swim in almost all of the world’s oceans. When the seasons change, I travel from one ocean to another to stay warm. Traveling like this is called migrating. Sometimes I tag along with another whale, but I mostly swim solo.

I swim in almost all of the world’s oceans. I travel from one ocean to another to stay warm. I do this when the seasons change. Traveling like this is called migrating. Sometimes I swim with other whales. But I mostly swim solo.

Do you ever talk with other whales?

Do you ever talk with other whales?

I sure do! I let out a low booming call that’s louder than a jet plane. It travels through the water. It can reach blue whales up to 1,000 miles away. I’m one of the loudest animals on Earth!

I sure do! I let out a low booming call. It’s louder than a jet plane. It travels through the water. It can reach blue whales 1,000 miles away. I’m one of the loudest animals on Earth!

THINK AND WRITE

How are these two animals alike? How are they different? Answer in a well-organized paragraph. 

THINK AND WRITE

How are these two animals alike? How are they different? Answer in a well-organized paragraph. 

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Can't-Miss Teaching Extras

Compare and contrast another pair of fascinating animals in “The Speedy and the Slow,” a Paired Texts feature about the fastest animal and the slowest animal on Earth.

Meet another giant animal (and compare it with a tiny one!) in “The Biggest and Smallest Birds in the World,” which compares an ostrich and a bee hummingbird.

After learning about the Blue Whale, meet other deep-sea animals in “Saving the Great White Monster,” “Are Jellyfish Taking Over the World?,” and “Saving the Dolphins.

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Table of Contents

1. Preparing to Read

2. Close Reading

3. Skill Building and Writing

4. Differentiate and Customize

Striving Readers, Multilingual Learners, Advanced Readers

1. Preparing to Read

Introduce the Text and Preview Text Features

  • Ask students to predict what these articles will be about based on the titles, subtitles, and artwork on pages 16-17. Review the predictions after reading.

Set a Purpose for Reading

  • Call on volunteers to read aloud the Think and Read box on page 17 and the Think and Write box on page 19. 

  • Remind students to keep these prompts in mind while reading the texts.

Introduce Featured Skill

  • Build on the Think and Read prompt by explaining these articles’ featured skill: Compare and Contrast. Encourage students to look for details from both texts that explain how African savanna elephants and blue whales are similar and how they are different.

Introduce Vocabulary

  • Show or assign the Vocabulary Slideshow to preview challenging words. Then assign the Vocabulary Skill Builder before or after reading.

2. Close Reading

Reading and Unpacking the Text

  • Read the story as a class or have students follow along as they listen to the Read-Aloud. 

  • Project or assign the Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions.

Close-Reading Questions

  • Look at the photograph on page 18.  Then read the first section of “Enormous Elephant.” Where does the African savanna elephant live? The African savanna elephant lives in the savannas, forests, deserts, and grasslands across countries in Africa. (key detail, text features)
  • Read “Wow! Who are those elephants nearby?” How does living in a herd help the African savanna elephant? Living in a herd helps the African savanna elephant because it helps elephants keep each other safe. (cause and effect)
  • Read “Do you ever talk to other herds?” What happens after an elephant calls to other elephants? An elephant’s powerful call shakes the ground. Other elephants feel the ground shake. They figure out the message based on how long the shaking lasts. (summarizing)
  • Read “Why do you have such a long nose?” How does an elephant use its trunk? An elephant uses its trunk to drink water, stay cool on a hot day, grab food, and hug other elephants. (supporting details)
  • Read the first section of “Big Blue Whale.” How long is the distance from the blue whale’s mouth to its tail? The distance from the blue whale’s mouth to its tail is 90 feet. (key detail)
  • Read “So you’re bigger than an elephant?” How does the weight of a blue whale compare with the weight of an African savanna elephant? The blue whale weighs about the same as 30 African savanna elephants. (compare and contrast)
  • Read “Wow! Where do you live?” Why does the blue whale travel from one ocean to another during the year? When the seasons change, the blue whale travels to other oceans to stay warm. (key detail)
  • Read “Do you ever talk with other whales?” Why does the blue whale describe itself as “one of the loudest animals on Earth!”? The blue whale lets out a booming call that’s louder than a jet plane. It’s so loud that other whales up to 1,000 miles away can hear it. (interpreting text)

Critical-Thinking Questions

  • The author includes several different details to describe the size of each animal, including facts about the animals’ lengths and weights, and a comparison with a T. rex. Why do you think he includes so many different details about the animals’ sizes? Answers will vary. Sample response: I think the author includes so many different details to show exactly how enormous these animals are. The detail about the car helps me imagine how heavy African savanna elephants are. The detail about the baseball field helps me understand how long blue whales are. The comparison with the T. rex helps me guess how big these animals are because I know the T. rex was a large creature. It also makes it clear that a blue whale is truly enormous, since it weighs as much as 30 T. rexes! (text features, compare and contrast)
  • Imagine you could turn into one of the animals described in these articles. Which one would you pick? Explain your answer with details from the texts. Answers may vary. (connecting to the text)

3. Skill Building and Writing

Featured Skill: Compare and Contrast

  • Distribute or digitally assign the Compare and Contrast Skill Builder.  

  • Ask students to write a response to the prompt in the Think and Write box on
    page 19.

 

Differentiate and Customize
For Striving Readers

Read the Easier-level version of the articles while students follow along. As they read, students should look for and highlight the ways in which the African savanna elephant and the blue whale are similar and different. Then work with students to complete the Compare and Contrast Skill Builder as a group. Tip: When students read the articles online in Presentation View, they can use the highlighter tool to mark the text.

For Multilingual Learners

The paired texts contain domain-specific terms that might be unfamiliar to your multilingual learners. Before having students read the articles, call attention to the following terms: savanna, habitat, solo, and booming. With your students, go over the definition of each term. Showing images of the terms will aid understanding.

For Advanced Readers

Invite students to read another Paired Texts feature that compares two creatures, “Big Dino and Little Dino.” Then have students create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast information about either the African savanna elephant or the blue whale and the Apatosaurus.

Text-to-Speech