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Infographic,

This Animal Rhymes with Awesome

Opossums (also known as possums) help us and the environment—just by being themselves

By Gabby Bing
From the May/June 2025 Issue
Complexity Factors
  • Purpose
    This infographic presents interesting facts about opossums and how they are helpful to the environment.
  • Structure
    Information is presented with text and images in four sections arranged around a central image.
  • Language
    The language is familiar and straightforward.
  • Knowledge Demands
    No prior knowledge is required.
Featured Skill: Main Idea and Supporting Details,
Topics: Animals,
Standards
  • Common Core
    Anchor Standards: R.1, R.2, R.7, W.3, SL.1, SL.2 Grade 4: RL.4.1, RL.4.2, RL.4.7, W.4.3, SL.4.1, SL.4.2 Grade 5: RL.5.1, RL.5.2, RL.5.7, W.5.3, SL.5.1, SL.5.2 Grade 6: RL.6.1, RL.6.2, RL.6.7, W.6.3, SL.6.1, SL.6.2
  • TEKS
    Grade 4: 4.6; 4.7; 4.9d, f; 4.12a Grade 5: 5.6; 5.7; 5.9d, f; 5.12a Grade 6: 6.5; 6.6; 6.8d, f; 6.11a
  • NCSS
    1. Culture 2. Time, continuity, and change 3. Individuals, groups, and institutions 4. Science, technology, and society
  • NGSS
    LS1.A: Structure and Function LS1.D: Information Processing

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vector bucket/Alamy Stock Vector (Worried Emoji); Shutterstock.com (All Other Images)

I’m a marsupial— a mammal that carries its babies in a pouch on its belly.

I have thumbs on my back feet! They help me hold on to branches when I climb trees.

I use my tail to carry the sticks and leaves I need to make my nests.

Nature’s Cleanup Crew

Opossums help keep us safe by eating things like poisonous snakes and disease-carrying rats. They also clean up the environment by gobbling down rotten fruit and roadkill. 

By the Numbers

Opossums have been around for more than 70 million years. (At that time, dinosaurs still lived on Earth!)

Opossums usually grow to be about 26 inches long, as big as a house cat.

There is only 1 type of opossum in the U.S.: the Virginia opossum. (But it’s found across North America.)

Opossums: Fact or Fiction?

They play dead.

Fact! Opossums keep predators away by fainting, releasing a stinky smell, and looking like they have stopped breathing.


They are dangerous.

Fiction! Opossums are wild animals that like to stay away from humans. But if you bother them, they will hiss and growl to scare you off!


They come out only at night.

Fact! Opossums are nocturnal, or mostly active at night. (If you see an opossum during the day, it’s probably hungry and looking for food.)

Write to Win

Imagine you are an opossum. Write a journal entry, personal narrative, or poem about why you are proud to be yourself. Include details from the infographic. Entries must be submitted to “Opossum Contest” by a teacher, parent, or legal guardian.* Three winners will each receive a $25 gift card for the Scholastic Store Online.

Contest deadline: June 1, 2025

*Entries must be written by a student in grades 2-8 and submitted by their teacher, parent, or legal guardian, who will be the entrant and must be a legal resident of the U.S. age 18 or older. Visit the Storyworks Contests page for more information.

This infographic was originally published in the May/June 2025 issue.

Audio ()
Activities (4)
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
Audio ()
Activities (4) Download All Activities
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
Table of Contents
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
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1. Preparing to Read

  • Have students preview the infographic, including the headline, subhead, images, and the “Write to Win” box.
  • Ask: Is the purpose of the infographic to:
    • explain something to you?
    • convince you of something?
    • tell you how to do something?
  • If a video is included with the infographic, show it to the class.

2. Reading and Discussing the Infographic

  • Break students into groups to read each section of the infographic and discuss what they find interesting, surprising, convincing, or confusing.
  • Come back together as a class and ask volunteers to summarize the main idea and supporting details from the infographic.

3. Skill Building and Writing

  • Distribute the Guided Writing skill builder, which will help students identify key details in the infographic and respond to the writing prompt in the “Write to Win” box. If you’d like, you, a parent, or legal guardian can submit students’ entries to the writing contest. Find more details at storyworks.scholastic.com/pages/storyworks-contests.
  • Optional: Distribute the Make Your Own Infographic activity, which guides students to choose a topic, research it, and create an infographic to share information.
Can't-Miss Teaching Extras
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For more infographics about amazing animals, check out “Pick Your (Animal) Superpower,”  “Bats: Spooky or Sweet?,” “Superheroes of the Animal Kingdom,” “The Amazing Axolotl,” and “Save the Bees!”

Learn More About Opossums

Your students will enjoy  watching this charming and informative 8-minute video. You can also visit a  webpage to find out more about this often misunderstood animal. (Note: Video includes short ads. Nipples are mentioned during a discussion on how young opossums develop.)

Text-to-Speech