Date: March 11, 2003

Grade Level: 3, 4, 5

Subject(s):

• Information Literacy
• Language Arts/Reading
• Language Arts/Writing
• Science/Animals
• Science/Oceanography

Duration: Several 45-minute sessions, depending on the time available in the schedule

Description: Through this unit, students explore a variety of nonfiction and fiction texts to learn how to use these books' elements to research and browse for information, as well as organize and apply what is collected. "Endangered Ocean Life" was chosen because the unit's duration can be tailored according to factors such as a teacher's available time to spend on the subject and the students' stamina for reading about ocean creatures. The teacher can allow the unit to naturally grow into a project-based learning experience with students moving beyond simple research to more extended projects such as specifically studying a certain breed of whale or shark, as well as pursuing an endangered species advocacy project. The unit's base animals include whales and sharks. A natural extension to dolphins, manatees, and more can easily be made. Nonfiction texts written in a question-and-answer format serve as the unit's building blocks. They chunk information into easily digested bits of information that students can work with for reading and writing projects. The writing projects start small, with paragraph writing about information students collect, as well as creative writing about a fictional baby whale who is released into the ocean after being born and raised in captivity. The projects can become more sophisticated, such as creating whale or shark trading cards or a whale or shark alphabet book, again depending on the stamina and interest level of the class. When possible, subject books by the same authors were selected. Keeping the format and look of the texts more consistent as students move between stations to read and research increases their chances for success in both comprehension and research. Additional texts with stories of researchers studying whales and sharks are included. Their realistic fiction and nonfiction stories increase students' knowledge of the subject and promote their interest in endangered ocean life. Again, they can interest students in pursuing independent research and writing projects, as well as creative story writing.

Goals: Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks :

• Language Arts Curriculum Framework
  • General Standard 13: Nonfiction, p. 50.
    • 13.6—Identify and use knowledge of common textual features.
    • 13.7—Identify and use knowledge of common graphic features.
    • 13.8—Identify and use knowledge of common organizational structures.
    • 13.9—Locate facts that answer the reader’s questions.
    • 13.10—Distinguish fact from opinion or fiction.
    • 13.12—Summarize main ideas and supporting details.
  • General Standard 19: Writing, p. 72.
    • 19.11—Write brief summaries of information gathered through research.
    • 19.12—Write a brief interpretation or explanation of a literary or informational text using evidence from the text as support.
• Science Curriculum Framework Strand 2: Life Science (Biology)
  • Standard 1—Characteristics of Plants and Animals, p. 41.
  • Standard 8—Adaptations of Living Things, p. 43.

1. Students will be able to identify general characteristics of whales and sharks.
2. Students will be able to identify at least three different types of whales and sharks.
3. Students will compare and contrast the similarities and differences between a whale and a shark.
4. Students will explain at least three behaviors that are unique to whales and to sharks.

• Do Whales Have Belly Buttons?: Questions and Answers About Whales and Dolphins , by Melvin and Gilda Berger
• I Didn't Know That Sharks Keep Losing Their Teeth: and Other Amazing Facts about Sharks by Claire Llewellyn
• pencils
• crayons or markers
• construction paper
• scissors
• Whales vs. Fish Venn Worksheet (from Enchanted Learning web site)
• KWL handouts for dolphins, sharks, and whales (teacher-created or see Internet resource below)
• Venn diagram handouts for sharks and whales (teacher-created or see Internet resource below)
• Sample Acrostic Poems
• Sample "I Didn't Know That Fact" Page
• Sample Alphabet Book Pages
• Annotated Bibliography

Sample Items and Annotated Bibliography in .pdf format; requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Click the icon to obtain the free Reader.

Introducing the Books / Reading and Discussion:
Ask the children to read the title and look closely at the cover picture. What can they tell about the book from its cover? (ex. It is nonfiction. It has whale facts.) Read the back cover. Ask the children if they are interested in whale and dolphin trivia. Do they want to read the book? Refer to the students' KWL charts and inform them that one reason for reading I Didn't Know That Sharks Keep Losing Their Teeth and Other Amazing Facts About Sharks? is to answer their questions and perhaps create more questions to research. Ask if anyone knows how to use the index or the contents. Can anyone explain the difference? Demonstrate ways of locating information in the book. Write answers that children find next to their questions. Introduce other features, such as the acknowledgement and headings. Explain why these are important features in a nonfiction book and why it is important to have accurate information from experts to help the authors and editors create the book. Take a walk through the book, drawing attention to important words, such as terms when looking at illustrations, as well as how the book is organized. Explain the terms labels and captions and draw attention to them on each page, relating their importance in nonfiction reading. Suggest that students should think about using labels and captions for their own diagrams in their nonfiction writing. Read a few pages from the book to model appropriate phrasing and fluency, pausing to also model active questioning in reading. Allow children to join in, comment, and question. Introduce difficult names of whales, such as Mako. When finished reading, students and teacher review the chart of details from before the reading and reclassify items in the chart. Students discuss any surprises from the information, as well as what they found interesting.

After Reading / Reflection and Assessment:
Talk with students about the facts they learned from I Didn't Know That Sharks Keep Losing Their Teeth and Other Amazing Facts About Sharks . Discuss how using the contents page and captions helped them to read. Ask children to volunteer other strategies they used when reading. Ask children about the strategies they use when they come to a word they do not know. Can they demonstrate how they work with the word? (reading on, reading back, thinking about what makes sense, checking to see if the word looks like a predicted word).

Part II:
Discuss how sharks and whales are different and similar. Model how to use a Venn diagram to record this kind of information. Explain that there will be centers in the room with bins of books. Students are to read books about sharks, whales and/or dolphins and use the Venn diagrams to record information that attracts their interest. Students may practice using Venn diagrams before beginning center work by cutting and pasting the "Whales vs. Fish" worksheet (see Materials ). Group students to use the centers to pick up books to read and record information from. Monitor the reading level that students choose and adjust it accordingly from the range available on the list and placement of books in the centers. When finished reading about a whale or shark, the group gathers to discuss which animal he/she preferred reading about. They each take turns sharing new facts they learned that interested them about the animal they read about. Students rotate through centers until they have completed reading for both whales and sharks (dolphins, too, if time permits).

Part III:
Students revisit their KWL charts and fill in the "L" portion for what they learned. Students then turn the new facts they learned into written pieces to share with others (see Literacy Centers below).

Literacy Centers (samples are listed in the Materials section):

• Acrostic Poems
  Students choose a fact they learned from the “W” section of their KWL charts. They then develop this into an acrostic poem from the core words "whales," "sharks," or "dolphin." Students can mount their poems on either a whale tale or shark fin cutout for display.

• “I Didn’t Know That…” Fact Statements
  Students choose an unusual fact from the "L" section of their KWL charts and write an "I didn’t know that…" statement using that fact. They can then illustrate it for classroom display or inclusion in a classroom book. Students may extend this activity by adding a short paragraph with more detail about their fact.

• Alphabet Book Writing—Endangered Ocean Life
  Students draw a letter from a container of alphabet letters. Then they write and illustrate an endangered ocean life page that corresponds with their letter for inclusion in a class alphabet book. Students can type the writing for each page before illustrating it if desired (to make it easier for everyone to read). This would be an excellent book for sharing with kindergarten or first grade partners when completed!

Wrap-up:
Discuss comparisons made and what the class learned as a result of their activities. Give positive feedback on the cooperative group activity observed during lesson.

Lesson Extensions:
Add dolphins and/or manatee information to the centers and provide bins of books for the students to read from. Allow them to create paragraphs about this research to share in group discussions and display in class. Add more books about specific whales or sharks, such as great white sharks or blue whales, to the centers. Allow additional reading and writing so that students may tailor their interest to read more specifically about whales, sharks and other endangered ocean life.

Assessment: Assess the Venn diagrams and paragraphs for appropriate grade-level performance. Also informally assess reading levels at the centers by checking in with students as they read.

Useful Internet Resources:
* Teach-nology: Graphic Organizer Makers
Teachers can use the tools on this web site to create Venn diagrams and KWL charts.
http://teachers.teach-nology.com/web_tools/graphic_org/

* Seaworld Lesson Plan: Is It a Whale?
http://www.seaworld.org/just-for-teachers/guides/whales-k-3/act-is-it-a-whale.htm

* Enchanted Learning: Whales
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whales

* Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks
http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/current.html

Special Comments:

Adaptations/modifications for students (differing abilities, learning styles):

• Provide one-to-one modeling for students who need it prior to independent work.
• Provide frequent, positive feedback.
• Limit the length of assignment and amount of instruction given at one time.
• Adjust the reading material used by the student as needed.
• Students with occupational therapy issues may use the computer for writing and also use clipart for illustrations.

• Some students may have difficulty working independently and at the centers. (Teacher to model how to share materials and time, provide positive feedback when students are using skills successfully .)