Short Stories

When do Hippos Play?

Note to parents & educators: downloadable & editable lesson sheet. First, please read the story here. Then, you can come back to do the tasks below:

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Post-Reading Task

1. Vocabulary

For each bolded word from in the story, write down its Part of Speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction) and its meaning in the following table. Some examples are shown.

Word	Part of Speech	Meaning
rhino (rhinoceros)	noun	A very large, thick-skinned animal from Africa that has one or two horns on its nose.
brave (had braved)	verb	To show courage.
shallow
sink (sank)
shiver
pelican
float
river bed
darkish	adjective	Something that is of dark or black color.
smidgen
stroll
weave (wove)
snout
shore
stomp (stomping)
feast
creep off (crept off)	phrasal verb	Go away.

2. Questions about the story

1) What did the hippos brave?

2) Where do hippos bathe?

3) Can hippos float?

4) What does a 'smidgen of red' mean?

5) What do hippos feed on?