The Life Cycle of a Salmon — Reading Comprehension
Perfect For:
- • Reading comprehension practice
- • Auto-graded assessments
- • Literacy skill development
- • Reading practice at home
- • Comprehension improvement
- • Educational reading time
- • Reading curriculum support
- • Independent reading practice
- • Progress monitoring
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About This Reader
Salmon have a fascinating life cycle that takes them from freshwater rivers to the ocean and back again. It all begins when female salmon lay their eggs in gravel nests called redds in rivers or streams. These eggs are fertilized by male salmon and then covered with gravel to protect them.
After a few months, the eggs hatch into tiny fish called alevin. Alevin stay in the gravel, feeding on a yolk sac attached to their bodies. Once they've used up the yolk sac, they become fry and swim up out of the gravel to find food on their own.
As the young salmon grow, they become parr. Parr have distinctive markings on their sides that help them hide from predators. They spend one to three years in the river, growing and preparing for their journey to the ocean.
When they're ready, the parr go through another change. They become smolt, and their bodies adapt to salt water. Smolt travel downstream to the ocean, where they'll spend most of their adult lives. In the ocean, salmon grow much larger, feeding on smaller fish and shrimp.
After spending one to five years in the ocean, adult salmon make an incredible journey. They swim back to the exact river where they were born. This trip is called a salmon run. The salmon stop eating and use all their energy to swim upstream, sometimes jumping up waterfalls! When they reach their spawning grounds, they lay their eggs, and the cycle begins again.
Sadly, most salmon die after spawning. But their bodies provide important nutrients for the river ecosystem, helping to support the next generation of salmon and other wildlife.
What is the main idea of this text?
Salmon only live in the oceanSalmon die after laying eggsSalmon are good at jumpingSalmon have a complex life cycle involving both rivers and oceansWhich detail supports the main idea that salmon have a complex life cycle?
Salmon eat smaller fishSalmon lay eggs in gravel nestsSalmon change from freshwater to saltwater fish and back againSalmon die after spawningWhat does the word "spawning" mean in the text?
Swimming in the oceanJumping up waterfallsLaying and fertilizing eggsEating smaller fishHow does the text explain the importance of salmon to their ecosystem?
By describing how they eat other fishBy mentioning their ability to jumpBy discussing their color changesBy explaining how their bodies provide nutrients after they dieAccording to the text, what happens after salmon eggs hatch?
The young salmon immediately swim to the oceanThe alevin stay in the gravel and feed on a yolk sacThe salmon lay more eggsThe salmon dieHow does the author summarize the salmon's life journey at the end of the text?
As an incredible journey from river to ocean and backAs a simple process that happens quicklyAs something that only happens in the oceanAs less important than other fish life cycles
