Interactive Guide Grade 3

Third Grade Core Subjects : : Reading Comprehension (How to Dress a Duck: Excerpts from Chapter Two)

14

Zoology

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2. How to

Dress a Duck

H ave you ever gone wading in a creek or pond in the winter time? Brrr! The water is so cold, it almost makes your teeth rattle, doesn’t it? But if you have ever seen a flock of ducks paddling about in that same frigid water, they seem quite happy. How can they be so comfortable in such COLD water? Do you suppose that God knows how to “dress a duck”? Let’s find out! If you want to stay toasty warm, what is the first article of clothing that you put on? Why, long underwear, of course! And that is what God did with ducks, too. He began with soft, cozy “long under wear” called down. Down is a fluffy layer

of fine feathers with tiny air pockets, to keep warmth right next to the duck’s skin. But what good does long underwear do if it gets all wet and soggy? God has planned for that, too. Over the down, God placed a shiny “raincoat” of outer feathers, smooth and well-oiled. Preening spreads oil from a large gland next to the tail. During preening the duck uses his bill to take oil from the gland and spread it carefully up and down each outer feather. The oil from preening waterproofs the feathers, which are very closely fitted together to help keep the water out, also.

4 How to Dress a Duck and Other Stories from Science