Possessive Apostrophes: three-toed sloth
Learning Objective
We can use the apostrophe to indicate possession with both singular and plural nouns.
Context: three-toed sloth
Credit: BBC One - Animals Behaving Badly
Clip Description
Found in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America, sloths are well-known for being one of the world’s slowest moving creatures. They spend nearly all of their time hanging from branches with their long claws. Once a week, they make the long journey to the forest floor to go to the toilet. Here, they are at their most vulnerable, and they can easily fall prey to predators such as jaguars, snakes and birds of prey. Despite their sluggish movements on land, sloths are good swimmers. They perform a breaststroke, much like a human, using their long limbs to push themselves forwards.
In this fascinating clip, we will learn about the lethargic lifestyle of a sloth. In fact, it is so slow that algae actually grows on its fur. What do you think are the benefits of this for our three-toed friend?
Discuss the meaning of each word highlighted in bold.
Word Challenge
Can you list some words/phrases that best describe the sloth’s movement? See if you can include at least one simile.
e.g. sluggish, leisurely, as slow as the hour hand on a clock’s face, …