Cheetah worksheet for 3rd grade

Reading: The fastest runner on land

Name:

The cheetah is the fastest land animal. Scientists put special collars on wild cheetahs in Botswana, in Africa. The fastest cheetah ran about 93 kilometres per hour. That is as fast as a car on a highway!

A cheetah has a slim body and long legs. Its back can bend and stretch like a spring, so each jump forward is very long. Its claws stay partly out, like the spikes on running shoes, so it can grip the ground. Its long tail helps it balance when it turns quickly.

Cheetahs cannot run fast for long. Most chases are shorter than about 300 metres. After a chase, a cheetah must rest and catch its breath before it eats. Lions and hyenas sometimes steal its food while it rests.

You can tell a cheetah by its solid round black spots and the black lines that run from its eyes to its mouth, like tear marks. Cheetahs cannot roar. They purr and make chirping sounds, like a bird.

Questions

1. What is the fastest land animal?
2. How fast did the fastest wild cheetah run?
3. How do a cheetah's claws help it run?
4. What does the cheetah's long tail help it do?
5. Why do you think a cheetah has to rest after a chase?
6. Name two ways to tell a cheetah from other big cats.
7. Math: A chase is 300 metres long. A cheetah has already run 180 metres. How many metres are left?
8. Math: If a cheetah runs 25 metres every second, how far does it go in 3 seconds?

Draw and label

Draw a cheetah. Label its spots, tear marks, claws and tail.

Answer key

1. The cheetah.
2. About 93 kilometres per hour.
3. They stay partly out and grip the ground, like spikes on running shoes.
4. Balance when it turns quickly.
5. Running so fast takes a huge amount of energy, so it gets tired and must catch its breath (accept similar answers).
6. Any two: solid round black spots; black tear marks from eyes to mouth; slim body with long legs; it purrs and chirps instead of roaring.
7. 120 metres.
8. 75 metres.