LEAP 2025 ELA Grade 3 Post Test

1. Penguins are birds. They can’t fly because where most birds grow wings, penguins have flippers. They need flippers to swim. Penguins love to eat fish and squid, and the flippers help them swim. They spend half of their time in the water and half on land. They get their fish from the ocean and drink the salt water. Then, their bodies filter out the salt from the ocean water and expels it from their noses.

2. Many people think penguins only live at the South Pole, but many penguins live in temperate zones that have temperatures like the United States only in the Southern Hemisphere below the equator.

3. Scientists identify about 18 different kinds of penguins. Penguins come in different sizes. The largest penguins are found in Antarctica. They are the emperor penguins. They grow between 3 and 4 feet tall and weigh 75 pounds or more.

4. The smallest penguin is the little blue penguin. Adults are only 16 inches tall and weigh between 2 and 3 pounds. These smaller penguins are found in warmer climates.

5. Smaller penguins dive in the ocean for their food, but they stay near the surface because they can only stay under water for one or two minutes. Larger emperor penguins can dive much deeper and stay under the water for as long as 22 minutes.

6. On land, penguins stand upright and either waddle on their feet or slide on their bellies. They also jump with both feet together if they want to move more quickly.

7. The penguin’s feathers keep it warm in the cold winters near the South Pole. When winter comes at the South Pole, while the mothers dive in the ocean looking for food, the fathers gather in a group and huddle together to keep warm. They take turns standing on the outside and then going to the middle to warm up.

8. Most kinds of penguins have only one brood of baby penguins a year. Most penguins lay two eggs, but the emperor penguin and king penguin lay only one. The little blue penguin will raise two or three broods in a season, but the other kinds of penguins only raise one brood in a season.

9. Most penguin mothers and fathers both sit on the eggs taking turns, but with emperor penguins, the father is the only one to sit on the egg.

10. Penguins are on display at many zoos across the country. In Antarctica, you can see different kinds of penguins in their home environment. They are not afraid of people unless you get closer than three feet. If you get closer than three feet, they start to get nervous.

11. Because they are such an interesting bird, they will always be popular. There have been many children’s books and movies about penguins. The way they slide on their bellies and waddle when they walk make them a funny bird to watch.

1. Most penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere.

2. The Galapagos penguin is the only kind of penguin that lives at the equator.

3. Large penguin populations can be found in countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Argentina, and South Africa.

4. No penguins live at the North Pole.

5. Penguins eat a range of fish and other sea life that they catch underwater.

6. Penguins spend around half their time in water and the other half on land.

7. The Emperor penguin is the tallest of all penguin species, reaching as tall as 47 inches in height.

8. Emperor penguins can stay underwater for around 20 minutes at a time.

9. Emperor penguins often huddle together to keep warm in the cold temperatures of Antarctica.

10. King penguins are the second largest penguin. They have four layers of feathers to help keep them warm on the cold subantarctic islands where they breed.

11. Chinstrap penguins get their name from the thin black band under their head. At times it looks like they’re wearing a black helmet.

12. Crested penguins have yellow crests, as well as red bills and eyes.

13. Yellow eyed penguins are endangered penguins native to New Zealand. Their population is believed to be around 4,000.

14. Little Blue penguins are the smallest type of penguin, averaging around 13 inches in height.

15. A penguin’s black and white feathers serve as camouflage while swimming. The black feathers on its back is hard to see from above, while the white feathers on its front looks like the Sun reflecting off the surface of the water when seen from below.

16. Penguins in Antarctica have no land-based predators.

17. Penguins have an oil gland that makes waterproofing oil. Penguins spread this oil across their feathers to insulate their bodies and reduce friction when they glide through the water.

18. Once a year, penguins lose all of their feathers. Most birds lose feathers and regrow them a few at a time throughout the year. But penguins lose them all at once. They can’t swim and fish without feathers. So they fatten themselves up beforehand to survive the 2–3 weeks it takes for the feathers to grow back.

19. Male and female penguins take turns sitting on the eggs and taking care of the babies.

20. Penguins that eat krill have pink poop. Penguins that eat fish have white poop.

21. Penguins are excellent swimmers, but they can’t fly.

22. Penguins appear the most often in movies. Of all the seabirds, they might be the most lovable.

23. Emperor penguins are the deepest divers. They can reach depths of 870 feet.