10 Nonfiction Reading Passages About Animal Heroes (with videos)

Animals are amazing in many ways — and it’s especially remarkable when they come to the rescue of their human friends. We’ve put together a collection of 10 engaging, nonfiction passages that include some incredible stories about animals who have saved humans that teachers can use in their classrooms.

A collection of ten engaging nonfiction passages teachers can use for close reading, class discussion, performance tasks/assessments, or writing prompts.

Download All 10 Texts Here

Here’s a list of 10 engaging passages from notable sources. All ten passages are united by the theme of Heroic Animals and are ideal for close reading, class discussion, performance tasks, or writing prompts. Each passage in the collection includes the reading level, word count, and image, ready to download and print for students:

1. Animal Heroes: True Rescue Stories

Capuchin monkeys help people with disabilities live independently Word Count: 340 | Lexile Level: 940

2. True Tales of Animal Heroes

A family cat attacks an escaped prisoner who breaks into a house where a child is home alone. Word Count: 370 | Lexile Level: 680

3. Kangaroo to the Rescue

A pet kangaroo rescues a man after a tree branch falls on him. Word Count: 341 | Lexile Level: 380

4. Balto and the Great Race

Balto leads his dogsled team through a harsh blizzard to deliver an antitoxin to stop the diphtheria epidemic in Nome, Alaska. Word Count: 345 | Lexile Level: 710

5. Animal Miracles: Inspirational and Heroic True Stories

A horse saves a girl by kicking a poisonous water moccasin snake. Word Count: 413| Lexile Level: 920

6. Animal Rescuers

A woman suffers a heart attack and her pot-bellied pig escapes from her house to find help. Word Count: 309 | Lexile Level: 620

7. Remarkable Military Animals

Military dogs play an important role in assisting soldiers in their missions. Word Count: 350 | Lexile Level: 860

8. Unlikely Heroes

A man begins to drown and one of his dogs rescues him from the raging water. Word Count: 388 | Lexile Level: 950

9. Partners: Everyday Working Dogs Being Heroes Every Day

A K9 police dog tracks down and apprehends a criminal. Word Count: 375 | Lexile Level: 1180

10. Courageous Canine! And More True Stories of Amazing Animal Heroes

A gorilla rescues a three-year-old boy after he falls 18 feet into the zoo’s gorilla exhibit. Word Count: 439 | Lexile Level: 460

Gorillas are known for being very territorial, so when a 3-year-old boy fell 25 feet into a gorilla den, all feared the worst. But a gentle gorilla named Binti came to the boy’s rescue, shielding him from the other gorillas until a zoo keeper was able to retrieve him.

Download All 10 Texts Here

If you like the resources we’ve included in this post, we invite you to follow us on Pinterest or Twitter, where we also post classroom-ready resources for teachers.