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Curriculum Connections Page
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Curriculum Connections Page
Line 1: When does a home have a home? Hundreds of moths, ticks and
beetles, not to mention algae and
fungi, live in the furry home of the sloth,
while the sloth, of course, takes
up residence in a tree. So the sloth is a
home and has a home.
Line 2: When does a clinger have
clingers? With its hook-like claws, the
sloth clings to the branches of its
home, while the insects in its fur cling to
it.
Line 3: How can something be gray
and look green at the same time? The
algae growing in its fur makes the
gray sloth look green.
Line 4: How can a coat be coated
and, if it's coated, how can it make the
wearer be 'unseen?' The sloth's fur
is coated with green algae which makes
the sloth blend in to its leafy environment.
Line 5: How can something be hooked
on limbs and hooked on leaves at
the same time? The sloth's claws
literally hook it to the branches from
which it hangs, and the (three-toed)
sloth eats leaves containing a
poisonous substance, which, while
neutralized by the sloth's slow digestive
process, may have an addictive effect
on the seemingly anesthetized
creature.
Line 6: How can one dangle comfortably?
The sloth makes a living of it,
hanging upside down practically its
whole life long.
What other rain forest creatures are almost inconceivably odd? Have
students research then write rhyming
paradoxes about these impossible
creatures.
Language Arts Connection: In addition to end rhymes, lines 6-12 contain
alliteration and internal rhymes,
making the poem more musical and more
fun. Have students identify instances
of both. Note that lines 7 and 8 have
three internally rhyming words each,
and lines 9 and 10 have five pairs of
matching internal or end rhymes.
Can students identify all five? Better yet,
can they define the words? If not,
have them predict the meanings based on
context, then check their predictions
with a dictionary.
Language Arts/Science Connection: Sloths' arms and legs are designed for
hanging upside down, which renders
them unable to walk if they ever have
cause to be right side up. Their
closest cousins, anteaters and armadillos,
however, while fine walkers, are
lousy hangers (armadillos are
floor-dwellers, while some species
of anteaters look for their creepy-crawly
prey on the ground and others climb
trees to find it. Have students write a
fictitious account of how the family
members went their separate ways and
how they got their particular talents.
While some species of sloth only eat leaves, anteaters predominantly eat,
well, ants (and termites), and armadillos
will eat almost anything they can
get their snouts on, including both
plants, insects and other animals
(preferably with the due date expired,
in the form of carrion). Have
students write another story explaining
how the 'family members' got their
different tastes.
Discuss scientific explanations for how other related animals got their
individuality. Students might be
interested to know that about 35 million
years ago, a variety of giant ground
sloth species roamed North and South
America. Most of them did not climb
trees - probably because they were so
huge! The largest was about the size
of an elephant, reaching 20 feet long
and weighing about three tons. Now
that's a lot of sloth!
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