Habitats of South America
Level O/34
Habitats of South America Science
Teacher’s Guide Skills & Strategies Anchor Comprehension Strategies
• Compare and Contrast • Draw Conclusions Comprehension • Visualize • U se text features to locate information
Vocabulary/Word Study Strategy • Identify homonyms
Science Big Idea • Plants and animals interact with and depend on their environment to satisfy their basic needs.
Theme: Habitats • Habitats of Africa • Habitats of South America • Habitats of Australia
B
e n c h m a r k
E
d u c a t i o n
C
o m p a n y
Core Lesson Planning Guide This five-day lesson plan shows one way to use the chapter book for explicit strategy instruction.
Activities
Day 1
Page 3: Prepare to Read • Build Content Background • Introduce the Book
Pages 4–6: Model Strategies: Introduction–Chapter 1 2
3
4
5
• Monitor Reading Strategy: Visualize • Comprehension Strategy: Draw Conclusions • Identify Homonyms
Pages 7–8: Guide Strategies: Chapter 2 • Monitor Reading Strategy: Visualize • Comprehension Strategy: Draw Conclusions • Use Text Features to Locate Information: Captions
Pages 9–10: Apply Strategies: Chapter 3–Conclusion • Monitor Reading Strategy: Visualize • Comprehension Strategy: Draw Conclusions • Identify Homonyms
Page 11: Synthesize Information • Administer Ongoing Comprehension Assessment • Research and Draw Conclusions
Using Navigators Chapter Books Explicit Strategy Instruction Use the complete guide to model, guide, and support students as they apply comprehension and word-study strategies. Use portions of the guide to scaffold reading instruction for students who do not need modeled instruction.
2
Small-Group Discussions
Independent Reading
Introduce the book and model strategies. Have the group set a purpose for reading based on the introduction. Students read the book, or parts of the book, independently. Then have them use the Small-Group Discussion Guide as they discuss the book together.
Have students select titles at their independent reading levels. After reading, have students respond to the text in reader response journals or notebooks.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
ISBN: 978-1-4108-5217-5
Prepare to Read E nglish L anguage Learners
on.
Build Content Background • Ask: What plants and animals live in the same area, or habitat, as we do? Discuss the question with students, making sure they understand what a habitat is. • Draw a T-chart as shown. Write the headings Plants and Animals. Have students name plants and animals that live in your habitat. Write their responses on the chart. • When the chart is finished, read aloud the names of the plants and animals and discuss why they are able to live in this habitat. (Answers should focus on what features and behaviors allow them to cope with the climate, find food, and so on.) • Draw another T-chart with the headings Plants and Animals. Ask: What plants and animals live in South America? If necessary, prompt students with more specific questions: What kinds of plants and animals live in a jungle? In high mountains? On grassy plains? Write students’ responses on the chart. • Say: We are going to read a book about the habitats of South America and the plants and animals that live in those habitats. We’ll find out if your ideas are correct.
Plants
Animals
Introduce the Book • Give students a copy of the book. • Have them read the table of contents. Ask: How is this book organized? (introduction, three chapters, conclusion) What is each chapter about? (1: The Amazon Rain Forest Region; 2 The Andes Mountain Region; 3: The Pampas Region) • Have pairs of students choose a chapter to skim. Tell each pair to choose at least one boldfaced word, one picture, and one caption from their chapter to describe to the group. • To introduce Key Words and Text/Graphic Features found in this book, use the book’s inside front cover.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Reinforce the concept of a habitat by asking students to describe habitats they are familiar with in this country, including the one they live in. Record their descriptions on the board. Display a world map or globe, and have students point to the continent of South America. Point to and name some of the countries on the continent. Invite students to share the names of the continent and the countries in their native languages. As you display photographs of plants and animals native to South America, say and write the name of each one. Encourage students to share anything they know about the plants and animals.
Informal Assessment Tips original 1. Assess students’ ability to skim a chapter.
2. D ocument informal observations in a folder or notebook. 3. Keep the folder or notebook at the small-group reading table for handy reference.
Meeting Individual Needs For students who struggle with skimming, model it by going through the first chapter and noting chapter titles, section heads, pictures, captions, and boldfaced words and explaining what they tell you about the book.
Habitats of South America 3
Model Strategies: Introduction–Chapter 1 ABOUT THE STRATEGY Visualize
What? Readers visualize when they create pictures in their minds to help them “see” and understand characters, settings, objects, and actions in their reading. These pictures are like movies or photographs made by a camera.
Why?
Visualizing keeps readers engaged with the text and helps them understand and remember what they read. When readers do not visualize, it is usually because they have lost connection with the text.
When?
Good readers visualize during reading to monitor and clarify their understanding.
How? Good readers visualize by
using these kinds of information: Vivid verbs that describe actions Adjectives that describe sizes, shapes, colors, and other details Graphic aids (charts, maps, time lines, diagrams) that tell sizes, shapes, lengths, distances, times, and other facts Similes and metaphors that compare one thing to another Sensory language that evokes how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, or feels
4 Habitats of South America
Before Reading Monitor Reading Strategy: Visualize • Use a real-life example of visualizing while you read. • Say: When I read about a place I’ve never seen—for example, Antarctica—I try to picture in my mind what it looks like. When the text tells me how huge Antarctica is, I think of other huge places I’ve seen or visited. I try to imagine what it would be like to be looking across miles of ice and snow. Visualizing while I read helps me understand how big or small something is and what it looks like. • Say: Yesterday we previewed the book Habitats of South America. Today we are going to visualize what we read about in the Introduction and Chapter 1. • Read pages 2–3 while students follow along. • Say: It is hard to picture places and things we’ve never seen. We have to use what we read and what we already know to help us visualize. The author tells us that South America is a continent. We know that continents are large pieces of land on Earth. The author also shows us a map of South America. The map shows that South America has many countries. We know that countries are smaller than continents. So we can visualize the size of South America.
During Reading
Set a Purpose for Reading • Ask students to read pages 4–6 silently. Have them visualize the forest floor of the Amazon Rain Forest, including what it looks like and what lives there. Encourage students to draw what they have visualized.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
After Reading Discuss the Reading • Ask students to tell about what they visualized as they read pages 4–6. • Have volunteers display and explain the drawings they made during Set a Purpose for Reading. • For text-dependent comprehension practice, ask the questions for the Introduction and Chapter 1 found on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Card for this chapter book. Comprehension Strategy: Draw Conclusions • Explain to students that good readers know how to “read between the lines.” They use what they know and what they read to draw conclusions about the information in the text. • Say: In this book, the author tells us many facts about habitats in South America. We can put these facts together and use them to draw conclusions. These conclusions are not stated directly in the text, but we can figure them out by using clues and facts that are stated in the text. • Pass out the graphic organizer “Draw Conclusions” (blackline master, page 14). You may want to make a chart-size copy of the graphic organizer or use a transparency. • Explain that as students read, they will complete the first two rows together. They will complete the last row independently or in pairs.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
original
Informal Assessment Tips
1. W atch students as they draw pictures of their visualizations. 2. In a folder or notebook, write down what you see each student doing. 3. S tudents should be visualizing as they read. Document students who are and are not using this monitor reading strategy.
Meeting Individual Needs For students who struggle with this activity, model the strategy again and remind them that visualizing as they read will help them better understand the text.
Rapid readers can write more detailed descriptions of their drawings to include in their journals. Encourage them to use as many adjectives, adverbs, and other descriptive words as they can.
Habitats of South America 5
Introduction–Chapter 1 (continued) Chapter Conclusion Clues/Facts
1
Animals that live in one layer of the rain forest probably can’t live in another layer.
Page 5: Capybaras’ webbed feet slow them down on dry land. Page 7: Emerald tree boas live in tree limbs. Page 8: Most rain forest animals live in the canopy. Page 9: Macaws fly and monkeys swing in the high treetops of the top layer.
Reader Response In the sidebar on page 9, the author writes about things we use that come from the Amazon Rain Forest. Why do you think the author includes this information? Write a response in your journal and share your thoughts with
6 Habitats of South America
Comprehension Strategy: Draw Conclusions (cont.) • Have students return to Chapter 1 and follow along as you model how to draw a conclusion. Use the information on the graphic organizer on this page to conduct a think-aloud. • Ask: What conclusion can we draw from what we read in Chapter 1 and what we know? We can conclude that animals that live in one layer of the rain forest probably can’t live in another layer. Let’s write this conclusion in the Conclusion box. What clues and facts in the text led us to that conclusion? • After students offer their ideas, read aloud the possible answers on the graphic organizer. • Say: These clues and facts support our conclusion. Let’s write them in the Clues/Facts box. • Say: We used what we read and what we know to draw a conclusion. This conclusion was not stated in the text, but it was based on the clues and facts we found in the text and on what we know. We’ll continue drawing conclusions as we read the rest of the book. Identify Homonyms • Have students find the word block on page 5. Ask a volunteer to read aloud the sentence in which block appears: Tall trees above it block out the sun’s rays. Point out that in this sentence block is used as a verb; it means “to get in the way of; prevent.” Ask: What is another meaning for the word block? (as a noun it can mean “a cube made of wood or plastic.”) Explain to students that some words have more than one meaning. These words are called homonyms. • Say: When you come across a homonym, you need to look at the words and sentences around the homonym. This is called the context. You can use the context to figure out which meaning of the homonym is being used. • Have students find the word stalk on page 5. Ask a volunteer to read aloud the sentence: This allows them to stalk their prey even after dark. Say: The word stalk is a homonym. It has more than one meaning. It can mean “the main stem of a plant.” It can mean “to move silently.” Which meaning is used in this sentence? Let’s look at the context. Show students how to use clues in the context (prey) to determine that in this sentence stalk means “to move silently.” • You may wish to continue with the homonyms leaves (page 7), crack (page 8), stick (page 9), and swing (page 9). © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Guide Strategies: Chapter 2 Before Reading Monitor Reading Strategy: Visualize • Remind students that when they visualize, they make pictures in their minds about what they are reading. Discuss how visualizing helped them “see” what the author is describing in the Introduction and Chapter 1. Remind them that visualizing will help them better understand and remember what they read. • Say: Use all five of your senses when you visualize. Imagine how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, and feels. Today we will use our senses to visualize what we are reading. • Say: When you read about a place you’ve never been, picture the place in your mind. Imagine that you are actually in the place. Ask yourself: “What does this place look, sound, smell, taste, and feel like? The more you visualize the place, the more you’ll feel like you’re there. This will make what you read more interesting. • Have students turn to page 10. Read aloud the first paragraph. Tell them to imagine that they are standing at the foot of the Andes Mountains. Ask them these questions: How do you feel when you look up at the mountains? Can you see their tops? Why or why not? What colors do you see? What shapes? Is it cold or hot? Noisy or quiet? Windy or still?
During Reading Set a Purpose for Reading • Have students visualize as they finish reading Chapter 2. Ask them to draw what they visualize. Also have them write notes about what they might see, hear, smell, taste, or feel in each habitat.
After Reading
E nglish L anguage Learners Watch ELL students closely as they complete the assignment. If they are not visualizing, it may be that they do not understand the strategy. Model it again using the text in Chapter 2. If they are visualizing, make sure they are using details given in the text.
Meeting Individual Needs For students who struggle with this strategy, model it again. Then have students close their books. Read aloud the second paragraph and the caption on page 9. Ask students to draw a picture of what they see in their minds when you read the description of chinchillas. Discuss how details such as large, rounded ears, powerful hind legs, and soft fur help readers picture the animals.
Rapid readers can review their visualizations and add more details. Challenge them to choose one or more of the animals they visualized and research additional information about the animals that they can add to their descriptions. Let volunteers share their findings with the group.
Discuss the Reading • Ask students to share what they visualized. Have them display their drawings or read their notes aloud. • Ask: Which habitat was easiest for you to visualize as you read? Which habitat was hardest to picture? Why do you think that is? Did you use any senses besides sight when you visualized? Which senses? Have students discuss their responses. • For text-dependent comprehension practice, ask the questions for Chapter 2 found on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Card for this book. © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Habitats of South America 7
Chapter 2 (continued) Chapter Conclusion Clues/Facts
2
It is not easy to live in the Andes Mountains.
Page 11: Air becomes thinner. There is less oxygen to breathe. Air gets colder. Page 13: To live in cold high peaks, animals have to be strong. Page 14: Condors nest on rock ledges.
Reader Response Review the information on pages 11 and 12. How are llamas and alpacas like guanacos and vicunas? How are they different? Write your response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member.
8 Habitats of South America
Comprehension Strategy: Draw Conclusions • Review the first two rows of the “Draw Conclusions” graphic organizer. Remind students that when they draw conclusions, they use what they know and what they read to figure out ideas that are not directly stated in the text. • Have students reread Chapter 2. When they have finished, ask: What conclusion can we draw about living in the Andes Mountains? (Possible answer: It is not easy to live in the Andes Mountains.) What clues and facts can we find that support this conclusion? What do we know that supports this conclusion? Use the information on the graphic organizer on this page. • If students offer other possible conclusions, write them on the board. Ask students what facts from the text and prior knowledge they used to draw these conclusions. Use Text Features to Locate Information: Captions • Ask students to tell what a caption is. (words or a sentence placed near a picture that tells about the picture) Explain that in addition to telling about a picture, a caption often gives information that is not in the main text. • Have students turn to page 10. Ask them to look at the picture of the spectacled bear. Point out the caption in blue type. Have a volunteer read the caption aloud. Ask: What information does this caption give us? (It identifies the kind of bear and tells what the bear eats.) Is this information in the paragraphs on this page? Have students review the text and conclude that although the spectacled bear is named and described, the main text does not tell what the bear eats. Say: This caption tells us about the picture. It also gives us new information. • Have students find and discuss other captions in Chapter 2. For each caption, ask the same two questions: What does the caption tell us? Is that information in the text?
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Apply Strategies: Chapter 3–Conclusion Before Reading Monitor Reading Strategy: Visualize • Remind students that when they visualize, they make pictures in their minds about what they are reading. They have used their imaginations and their senses to visualize the habitats in the Amazon Rain Forest and the Andes Mountains in South America. • Say: Today we will use what we already know to help us visualize as we read. • Read aloud the first paragraph on page 16 while students follow along. Ask them to look at the photograph of the Pampas on pages 16–17. Ask students these questions: Have you ever seen land like this? Have you ever visited any of the Great Plains states? What do you already know about plains? What do they look like? Are they flat or hilly? What grows there? What animals live there? • Say: Using what you already know can help you visualize what you read more clearly. It helps you make a more vivid picture in your mind. • Encourage students to use what they know to help them visualize as they finish reading the book.
Teaching Tips After discussing the reading, have students label the notes in their journals “Visualizing” and then tape their drawings to the journal pages after their notes. Use these pages to review visualizing throughout the year.
During Reading Set a Purpose for Reading • Have students read the rest of the book silently. Encourage them to look for places and things in the text that they can visualize, using their imaginations, senses, and prior knowledge. Ask them to draw a picture or write notes in their journals, focusing on one of their mental images.
After Reading Discuss the Reading • Have students share their drawings or notes. • Ask: What did you think was most interesting to visualize? Why? How did using what you know help you visualize as you read? • Have students turn to page 20 and read the checkpoint. Explain that making connections between what we read and what we know is one way to understand and remember what we read. Have students use the prompt to make connections. • For text-dependent comprehension practice, ask the questions for Chapter 3 found on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Question Card for this chapter book.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Habitats of South America 9
Chapter 3–Conclusion (continued) Chapter Conclusion Clues/Facts
3
Possible answer: The Pampas do not get much rain.
Page 16: The Pampas have some sand dunes. Thirsty roots of grasses grow deep, seeking moist places. Page 21: The Pampas is a great place to grow wheat. Wheat doesn’t need much water to grow.
Comprehension Strategy: Draw Conclusions • Review the graphic organizer that students have been completing. Explain that they will fill in the last row independently or in pairs. They are to draw a conclusion from Chapter 3 and write both the conclusion and the clues and facts that support it. • Ask if students have any questions before they begin. Monitor their work and intervene if they are having difficulty. Discuss students’ responses together. • For more practice with drawing conclusions, have students complete the blackline master “Draw Conclusions” on page 15.
Possible answers: 1. The Amazon is a very long river.
Informal Assessment Tips original 1. Watch students as they draw conclusions. Ask yourself: How have students progressed with this strategy? What problems are they still having?
2. Watch students as they complete the graphic organizer. Ask yourself: Who is still struggling with this strategy? How can I help them? 3. Write down your thoughts in your folder or notebook. For students who struggle with drawing conclusions, review the strategy.
Reader Response On page 21, the author writes about the threats to the Pampas and the animals that live there. Do you think it is important to save this habitat and its animals? Why or why not? Write your response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member.
10 Habitats of South America
2. Grasslands receive between 10 and 30 inches of rain each year. 3. These activities are destroying the Amazon Rain Forest and endangering the plants and animals that live there.
Identify Homonyms • Remind students that some words have more than one meaning and these words are called homonyms. Good readers use the context, or words and sentences around the homonym, to figure out which meaning of the homonym is being used. • Have students find the word spots on page 16. Ask: What are some meanings of spots? (as a noun, “places” or “small marks”; as a verb, “sees”) Which meaning does spots have in this sentence? (“places”) How did the words and sentences around spots—its context—help you figure out its meaning? (Possible answer: Roots are thirsty, so they want water; they seek places that have water.) • You may wish to continue with the homonyms fly (page 16), change (page 17), pound (page 17), and pets (page 18). • For additional practice, have students complete the blackline master on page 16. Here are some possible answers: 1. a. spreads over; b. the front and back of a book or magazine 2. a. are located; b. something that is not true 3. a. breed, grow; b. an increase in pay 4. a. animals’ skins; b. keeps out of sight © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Synthesize Information Administer Ongoing Comprehension Assessment • Have students take Ongoing Assessment #13 on pages 56–57 in the Comprehension Strategy Assessment Handbook (Grade 3).
original
I nformal Assessment Tips
1. Score assessments and determine if more instruction is needed for this strategy.
Research and Draw Conclusions • Have students research another habitat in South America, such as the llanos, the Galapagos Islands, or the Atacama Desert. • Pair students and ask them to answer these questions: What plants and animals live in this habitat? Why is this habitat important to these animals and plants? What are the biggest threats to this habitat? • Have students record their answers on a chart. When pairs have finished, encourage them to share their information. • Have students use the information from their research charts to draw conclusions. Say: We combine what we have read with what we already know to draw conclusions. Let’s think about the habitats in the book and the habitats we read about in our research. Ask: What conclusions can we draw about the impact of people on the plants and animals of South America? (Possible answer: In every habitat in South America, the biggest threat to the animals and plants comes from the actions of people.)
2. Keep group assessments in a smallgroup reading folder. 3. Look closely at students’ responses. Ask yourself: Why might this student have answered this question in this manner? For in-depth analysis, discuss responses with individual students. 4. If needed, reteach this strategy and administer the second Ongoing Assessment #14 on pages 58–59 in the Comprehension Strategy Assessment Handbook (Grade 3). 5. Use ongoing assessments to document growth over time, for parent/teacher conferences, or for your own records.
E nglish L anguage Learners Pair students with more proficient English speakers. Have partners work together to investigate a new South American habitat, as suggested in Research and Draw Conclusions or, as an alternative, to find more information about one of the habitats discussed in the chapter book. Suggest that students begin by recording the information in the book that answers the questions before looking for additional answers in an encyclopedia or other reference book or on the Internet. Then proceed with the drawing conclusions activity as a group.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Habitats of South America 11
Reading/Writing Connections Write a Personal Response Teaching Tips Transfer personal response prompts to large chart paper and hang it in the room. Students can refer to the list throughout the year.
Scoring Rubric 4
3
2
1
The prompt is well developed. There is strong evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions. The prompt is developed. There is adequate evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions. The prompt is somewhat developed. There is minimal evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions. The prompt is weakly developed. There is little evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions.
12 Habitats of South America
Invite students to respond to the book in a way that is meaningful to them. The prompts below provide a variety of alternatives. • Think about the habitats in this book. What is your habitat like? (text-to-self) • How is your habitat like the habitats described in the book? How is it different? (make connections/compare and contrast) • Compare this book about South American habitats to other books about habitats that you have read. (text-to-text/ compare and contrast) • How can the threats to South American habitats affect habitats around the world? (text-to-world) • Did anything in this book confuse you? If so, what and why? (self-monitor) • What did you like best about this book? What do you think needed more information? (evaluate) • How did you feel when you read about the endangered animals in South America? Why did you feel that way? (personal response)
Write to a Text Prompt Use the prompt below as a timed writing activity. Students have a maximum of one hour to draft, revise, and edit a response. Use the rubric in the sidebar to score students’ writing.
Why should people try to help save habitats around the world? Use information from the book to support your answer.
Write to a Picture Prompt Use the following picture prompt to develop students’ visual writing abilities.
Look at the picture on page 12. Imagine that you are this girl. What do you think it would be like to live in the Andes Mountains? Write a response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member. Use details from the picture to support your answer.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Date___________
Small-Group Discussion Guide Directions: Use this sheet to talk about the book.
Rules for a Good Discussion: 1. Be prepared.
Word Study: Write words you did not know. Discuss the meanings with your group. Use the text to clarify the meanings.
2. Pay attention to the person who is talking and do not interrupt him or her. 3. Think about what others are saying so you can respond. 4. Use inside voices. 5. Let everyone in the group have a turn to speak.
Questions: Write two to three questions you had while reading this book. Discuss the questions and answers.
6. Be respectful of everyone’s ideas. Adapted from Guiding Readers and Writers by Irene C. Fountas & Gay Su Pinnell (Heinemann Publishing Co., 2001).
Ways to Make Connections Make Connections: Write three connections you made with the text. Discuss them with your group.
Adapted from Literature Circles by Harvey Daniels (Stenhouse Publishing Co., 1994). © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Text-to-Self: This reminds me of a time when I . . . Text-to-World: What’s going on in this book is like what’s happening right now in . . . Text-to-Text: This book reminds me of another book I read called. . . . It was about . . .
Name____________________ _________________
Date__________________
Draw Conclusions Chapter
Conclusions
Clues/Facts
1
2
3
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Name____________________ _________________
Date__________________
Draw Conclusions Directions: Read each passage. Answer the question at the end by drawing a conclusion from what you read and what you know.
1. T he Amazon River flows all the way across South America. It begins in the Andes Mountains on the west coast and ends in the Atlantic Ocean off the east coast. What can you conclude about the Amazon River?
2. D eserts receive fewer than 10 inches of rain each year. Forests receive more than 30 inches of rain each year. The amount of rain received in the grasslands is between the desert and the forest amounts. What can you conclude about the amount of rain grasslands receive each year?
3. I n the Amazon Rain Forest, loggers cut down trees and float the logs down the rivers. Miners dig into the ground looking for gold and other minerals. Farmers burn the trees to clear the land so they can raise crops and graze cattle. What can you conclude about the effect of these activities on the Amazon Rain Forest and its animals and plants?
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Name____________________ _________________
Date_________________
Identify Homonyms Directions: Read the passage.
Temperate Grasslands South America has two kinds of grasslands—savanna, or tropical grasslands, and temperate grasslands. Savanna, called llanos, covers parts of northern and central South America. Llanos means “plains” in Spanish. In southern South America lie the temperate grasslands called Pampas. Pampas means “plains” in the Quecha Indian language. The temperate grasslands in North America are called prairies. Most prairies have been plowed so that farmers can grow corn and wheat, and ranchers can raise cattle. Once huge herds of buffalo roamed the prairies. Native Americans hunted them for hides and meat. However, Europeans hunted buffalo for sport and killed so many that the buffalo almost became extinct. Directions: a. Write the meaning of the boldfaced word as it is used in the sentence. b. Write another meaning of the word.
1 2 3 4
a.
b.
a.
b.
a.
b.
a.
b.
covers lie raise hides
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Skills Bank Build Comprehension Compare and Contrast ••Explain Create an overhead transparency of the graphic organizer “Habitats of South America” or draw it on the board. Say: Nonfiction books sometimes tell how things are alike and different. We compare by telling how things are alike. We contrast by telling how things are different. ••Model Say: Let’s figure out how things in the Amazon Rain Forest Region and the Andes Mountain Region are alike and different. Ask students to turn to page 3. Say: On page 3, there is a map that shows the location of each region. Both regions are found in South America. Record this information in the Alike column of the graphic organizer. Say: I use the key to find the dark green region and the orange region on the map. I see that the Amazon Rain Forest Region is around the Amazon River in the north. The Andes Mountain Region is in the Andes Mountains in the west. This is a way that their locations are different. Record this information in the Different column. ••Guide Say: Let’s find something else that is alike and different. Read the first paragraph on page 4 and on page 10. What is the weather like in each region? (Allow time for students to respond, assisting if needed.) Yes, we read that the Amazon Rain Forest Region is hot and wet. It gets 50–175 inches of rain each year. The Andes Mountain Region has a lot of snow, so it must be cold. We can write this information in the Different column. What is alike about these two types of weather? (Again allow time for students to respond.) Yes, both regions get a lot of moisture in the form of rain or snow. We can write this in the Alike column. Record this information in the graphic organizer. ••Apply Ask students to work with a partner to find other ways the two regions are alike and different. If more support is needed, utilize all or part of the “Guide” process to compare and contrast the habitats and animals of the regions. Finally, read the completed graphic organizer aloud and invite students to echo-read.
Habitats of South America ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
17
Name _______________________________________________________ Date __________________
Habitats of South America Compare and Contrast Parts of the Regions
Alike
Different
Location
Weather
Habitats
Animals
18
Habitats of South America ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Notes
Habitats of South America ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
19
Notes
20
Habitats of South America ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Habitats of South America Science
Teacher’s Guide Skills & Strategies Anchor Comprehension Strategies
• Compare and Contrast • Draw Conclusions Comprehension • Visualize • U se text features to locate information
Vocabulary/Word Study Strategy • Identify homonyms
Science Big Idea • Plants and animals interact with and depend on their environment to satisfy their basic needs.
Theme: Habitats • Habitats of Africa • Habitats of South America • Habitats of Australia
B
e n c h m a r k
E
d u c a t i o n
C
o m p a n y
Core Lesson Planning Guide This five-day lesson plan shows one way to use the chapter book for explicit strategy instruction.
Activities
Day 1
Page 3: Prepare to Read • Build Content Background • Introduce the Book
Pages 4–6: Model Strategies: Introduction–Chapter 1 2
3
4
5
• Monitor Reading Strategy: Visualize • Comprehension Strategy: Draw Conclusions • Identify Homonyms
Pages 7–8: Guide Strategies: Chapter 2 • Monitor Reading Strategy: Visualize • Comprehension Strategy: Draw Conclusions • Use Text Features to Locate Information: Captions
Pages 9–10: Apply Strategies: Chapter 3–Conclusion • Monitor Reading Strategy: Visualize • Comprehension Strategy: Draw Conclusions • Identify Homonyms
Page 11: Synthesize Information • Administer Ongoing Comprehension Assessment • Research and Draw Conclusions
Using Navigators Chapter Books Explicit Strategy Instruction Use the complete guide to model, guide, and support students as they apply comprehension and word-study strategies. Use portions of the guide to scaffold reading instruction for students who do not need modeled instruction.
2
Small-Group Discussions
Independent Reading
Introduce the book and model strategies. Have the group set a purpose for reading based on the introduction. Students read the book, or parts of the book, independently. Then have them use the Small-Group Discussion Guide as they discuss the book together.
Have students select titles at their independent reading levels. After reading, have students respond to the text in reader response journals or notebooks.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
ISBN: 978-1-4108-5217-5
Prepare to Read E nglish L anguage Learners
on.
Build Content Background • Ask: What plants and animals live in the same area, or habitat, as we do? Discuss the question with students, making sure they understand what a habitat is. • Draw a T-chart as shown. Write the headings Plants and Animals. Have students name plants and animals that live in your habitat. Write their responses on the chart. • When the chart is finished, read aloud the names of the plants and animals and discuss why they are able to live in this habitat. (Answers should focus on what features and behaviors allow them to cope with the climate, find food, and so on.) • Draw another T-chart with the headings Plants and Animals. Ask: What plants and animals live in South America? If necessary, prompt students with more specific questions: What kinds of plants and animals live in a jungle? In high mountains? On grassy plains? Write students’ responses on the chart. • Say: We are going to read a book about the habitats of South America and the plants and animals that live in those habitats. We’ll find out if your ideas are correct.
Plants
Animals
Introduce the Book • Give students a copy of the book. • Have them read the table of contents. Ask: How is this book organized? (introduction, three chapters, conclusion) What is each chapter about? (1: The Amazon Rain Forest Region; 2 The Andes Mountain Region; 3: The Pampas Region) • Have pairs of students choose a chapter to skim. Tell each pair to choose at least one boldfaced word, one picture, and one caption from their chapter to describe to the group. • To introduce Key Words and Text/Graphic Features found in this book, use the book’s inside front cover.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Reinforce the concept of a habitat by asking students to describe habitats they are familiar with in this country, including the one they live in. Record their descriptions on the board. Display a world map or globe, and have students point to the continent of South America. Point to and name some of the countries on the continent. Invite students to share the names of the continent and the countries in their native languages. As you display photographs of plants and animals native to South America, say and write the name of each one. Encourage students to share anything they know about the plants and animals.
Informal Assessment Tips original 1. Assess students’ ability to skim a chapter.
2. D ocument informal observations in a folder or notebook. 3. Keep the folder or notebook at the small-group reading table for handy reference.
Meeting Individual Needs For students who struggle with skimming, model it by going through the first chapter and noting chapter titles, section heads, pictures, captions, and boldfaced words and explaining what they tell you about the book.
Habitats of South America 3
Model Strategies: Introduction–Chapter 1 ABOUT THE STRATEGY Visualize
What? Readers visualize when they create pictures in their minds to help them “see” and understand characters, settings, objects, and actions in their reading. These pictures are like movies or photographs made by a camera.
Why?
Visualizing keeps readers engaged with the text and helps them understand and remember what they read. When readers do not visualize, it is usually because they have lost connection with the text.
When?
Good readers visualize during reading to monitor and clarify their understanding.
How? Good readers visualize by
using these kinds of information: Vivid verbs that describe actions Adjectives that describe sizes, shapes, colors, and other details Graphic aids (charts, maps, time lines, diagrams) that tell sizes, shapes, lengths, distances, times, and other facts Similes and metaphors that compare one thing to another Sensory language that evokes how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, or feels
4 Habitats of South America
Before Reading Monitor Reading Strategy: Visualize • Use a real-life example of visualizing while you read. • Say: When I read about a place I’ve never seen—for example, Antarctica—I try to picture in my mind what it looks like. When the text tells me how huge Antarctica is, I think of other huge places I’ve seen or visited. I try to imagine what it would be like to be looking across miles of ice and snow. Visualizing while I read helps me understand how big or small something is and what it looks like. • Say: Yesterday we previewed the book Habitats of South America. Today we are going to visualize what we read about in the Introduction and Chapter 1. • Read pages 2–3 while students follow along. • Say: It is hard to picture places and things we’ve never seen. We have to use what we read and what we already know to help us visualize. The author tells us that South America is a continent. We know that continents are large pieces of land on Earth. The author also shows us a map of South America. The map shows that South America has many countries. We know that countries are smaller than continents. So we can visualize the size of South America.
During Reading
Set a Purpose for Reading • Ask students to read pages 4–6 silently. Have them visualize the forest floor of the Amazon Rain Forest, including what it looks like and what lives there. Encourage students to draw what they have visualized.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
After Reading Discuss the Reading • Ask students to tell about what they visualized as they read pages 4–6. • Have volunteers display and explain the drawings they made during Set a Purpose for Reading. • For text-dependent comprehension practice, ask the questions for the Introduction and Chapter 1 found on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Card for this chapter book. Comprehension Strategy: Draw Conclusions • Explain to students that good readers know how to “read between the lines.” They use what they know and what they read to draw conclusions about the information in the text. • Say: In this book, the author tells us many facts about habitats in South America. We can put these facts together and use them to draw conclusions. These conclusions are not stated directly in the text, but we can figure them out by using clues and facts that are stated in the text. • Pass out the graphic organizer “Draw Conclusions” (blackline master, page 14). You may want to make a chart-size copy of the graphic organizer or use a transparency. • Explain that as students read, they will complete the first two rows together. They will complete the last row independently or in pairs.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
original
Informal Assessment Tips
1. W atch students as they draw pictures of their visualizations. 2. In a folder or notebook, write down what you see each student doing. 3. S tudents should be visualizing as they read. Document students who are and are not using this monitor reading strategy.
Meeting Individual Needs For students who struggle with this activity, model the strategy again and remind them that visualizing as they read will help them better understand the text.
Rapid readers can write more detailed descriptions of their drawings to include in their journals. Encourage them to use as many adjectives, adverbs, and other descriptive words as they can.
Habitats of South America 5
Introduction–Chapter 1 (continued) Chapter Conclusion Clues/Facts
1
Animals that live in one layer of the rain forest probably can’t live in another layer.
Page 5: Capybaras’ webbed feet slow them down on dry land. Page 7: Emerald tree boas live in tree limbs. Page 8: Most rain forest animals live in the canopy. Page 9: Macaws fly and monkeys swing in the high treetops of the top layer.
Reader Response In the sidebar on page 9, the author writes about things we use that come from the Amazon Rain Forest. Why do you think the author includes this information? Write a response in your journal and share your thoughts with
6 Habitats of South America
Comprehension Strategy: Draw Conclusions (cont.) • Have students return to Chapter 1 and follow along as you model how to draw a conclusion. Use the information on the graphic organizer on this page to conduct a think-aloud. • Ask: What conclusion can we draw from what we read in Chapter 1 and what we know? We can conclude that animals that live in one layer of the rain forest probably can’t live in another layer. Let’s write this conclusion in the Conclusion box. What clues and facts in the text led us to that conclusion? • After students offer their ideas, read aloud the possible answers on the graphic organizer. • Say: These clues and facts support our conclusion. Let’s write them in the Clues/Facts box. • Say: We used what we read and what we know to draw a conclusion. This conclusion was not stated in the text, but it was based on the clues and facts we found in the text and on what we know. We’ll continue drawing conclusions as we read the rest of the book. Identify Homonyms • Have students find the word block on page 5. Ask a volunteer to read aloud the sentence in which block appears: Tall trees above it block out the sun’s rays. Point out that in this sentence block is used as a verb; it means “to get in the way of; prevent.” Ask: What is another meaning for the word block? (as a noun it can mean “a cube made of wood or plastic.”) Explain to students that some words have more than one meaning. These words are called homonyms. • Say: When you come across a homonym, you need to look at the words and sentences around the homonym. This is called the context. You can use the context to figure out which meaning of the homonym is being used. • Have students find the word stalk on page 5. Ask a volunteer to read aloud the sentence: This allows them to stalk their prey even after dark. Say: The word stalk is a homonym. It has more than one meaning. It can mean “the main stem of a plant.” It can mean “to move silently.” Which meaning is used in this sentence? Let’s look at the context. Show students how to use clues in the context (prey) to determine that in this sentence stalk means “to move silently.” • You may wish to continue with the homonyms leaves (page 7), crack (page 8), stick (page 9), and swing (page 9). © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Guide Strategies: Chapter 2 Before Reading Monitor Reading Strategy: Visualize • Remind students that when they visualize, they make pictures in their minds about what they are reading. Discuss how visualizing helped them “see” what the author is describing in the Introduction and Chapter 1. Remind them that visualizing will help them better understand and remember what they read. • Say: Use all five of your senses when you visualize. Imagine how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, and feels. Today we will use our senses to visualize what we are reading. • Say: When you read about a place you’ve never been, picture the place in your mind. Imagine that you are actually in the place. Ask yourself: “What does this place look, sound, smell, taste, and feel like? The more you visualize the place, the more you’ll feel like you’re there. This will make what you read more interesting. • Have students turn to page 10. Read aloud the first paragraph. Tell them to imagine that they are standing at the foot of the Andes Mountains. Ask them these questions: How do you feel when you look up at the mountains? Can you see their tops? Why or why not? What colors do you see? What shapes? Is it cold or hot? Noisy or quiet? Windy or still?
During Reading Set a Purpose for Reading • Have students visualize as they finish reading Chapter 2. Ask them to draw what they visualize. Also have them write notes about what they might see, hear, smell, taste, or feel in each habitat.
After Reading
E nglish L anguage Learners Watch ELL students closely as they complete the assignment. If they are not visualizing, it may be that they do not understand the strategy. Model it again using the text in Chapter 2. If they are visualizing, make sure they are using details given in the text.
Meeting Individual Needs For students who struggle with this strategy, model it again. Then have students close their books. Read aloud the second paragraph and the caption on page 9. Ask students to draw a picture of what they see in their minds when you read the description of chinchillas. Discuss how details such as large, rounded ears, powerful hind legs, and soft fur help readers picture the animals.
Rapid readers can review their visualizations and add more details. Challenge them to choose one or more of the animals they visualized and research additional information about the animals that they can add to their descriptions. Let volunteers share their findings with the group.
Discuss the Reading • Ask students to share what they visualized. Have them display their drawings or read their notes aloud. • Ask: Which habitat was easiest for you to visualize as you read? Which habitat was hardest to picture? Why do you think that is? Did you use any senses besides sight when you visualized? Which senses? Have students discuss their responses. • For text-dependent comprehension practice, ask the questions for Chapter 2 found on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Card for this book. © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Habitats of South America 7
Chapter 2 (continued) Chapter Conclusion Clues/Facts
2
It is not easy to live in the Andes Mountains.
Page 11: Air becomes thinner. There is less oxygen to breathe. Air gets colder. Page 13: To live in cold high peaks, animals have to be strong. Page 14: Condors nest on rock ledges.
Reader Response Review the information on pages 11 and 12. How are llamas and alpacas like guanacos and vicunas? How are they different? Write your response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member.
8 Habitats of South America
Comprehension Strategy: Draw Conclusions • Review the first two rows of the “Draw Conclusions” graphic organizer. Remind students that when they draw conclusions, they use what they know and what they read to figure out ideas that are not directly stated in the text. • Have students reread Chapter 2. When they have finished, ask: What conclusion can we draw about living in the Andes Mountains? (Possible answer: It is not easy to live in the Andes Mountains.) What clues and facts can we find that support this conclusion? What do we know that supports this conclusion? Use the information on the graphic organizer on this page. • If students offer other possible conclusions, write them on the board. Ask students what facts from the text and prior knowledge they used to draw these conclusions. Use Text Features to Locate Information: Captions • Ask students to tell what a caption is. (words or a sentence placed near a picture that tells about the picture) Explain that in addition to telling about a picture, a caption often gives information that is not in the main text. • Have students turn to page 10. Ask them to look at the picture of the spectacled bear. Point out the caption in blue type. Have a volunteer read the caption aloud. Ask: What information does this caption give us? (It identifies the kind of bear and tells what the bear eats.) Is this information in the paragraphs on this page? Have students review the text and conclude that although the spectacled bear is named and described, the main text does not tell what the bear eats. Say: This caption tells us about the picture. It also gives us new information. • Have students find and discuss other captions in Chapter 2. For each caption, ask the same two questions: What does the caption tell us? Is that information in the text?
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Apply Strategies: Chapter 3–Conclusion Before Reading Monitor Reading Strategy: Visualize • Remind students that when they visualize, they make pictures in their minds about what they are reading. They have used their imaginations and their senses to visualize the habitats in the Amazon Rain Forest and the Andes Mountains in South America. • Say: Today we will use what we already know to help us visualize as we read. • Read aloud the first paragraph on page 16 while students follow along. Ask them to look at the photograph of the Pampas on pages 16–17. Ask students these questions: Have you ever seen land like this? Have you ever visited any of the Great Plains states? What do you already know about plains? What do they look like? Are they flat or hilly? What grows there? What animals live there? • Say: Using what you already know can help you visualize what you read more clearly. It helps you make a more vivid picture in your mind. • Encourage students to use what they know to help them visualize as they finish reading the book.
Teaching Tips After discussing the reading, have students label the notes in their journals “Visualizing” and then tape their drawings to the journal pages after their notes. Use these pages to review visualizing throughout the year.
During Reading Set a Purpose for Reading • Have students read the rest of the book silently. Encourage them to look for places and things in the text that they can visualize, using their imaginations, senses, and prior knowledge. Ask them to draw a picture or write notes in their journals, focusing on one of their mental images.
After Reading Discuss the Reading • Have students share their drawings or notes. • Ask: What did you think was most interesting to visualize? Why? How did using what you know help you visualize as you read? • Have students turn to page 20 and read the checkpoint. Explain that making connections between what we read and what we know is one way to understand and remember what we read. Have students use the prompt to make connections. • For text-dependent comprehension practice, ask the questions for Chapter 3 found on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Question Card for this chapter book.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Habitats of South America 9
Chapter 3–Conclusion (continued) Chapter Conclusion Clues/Facts
3
Possible answer: The Pampas do not get much rain.
Page 16: The Pampas have some sand dunes. Thirsty roots of grasses grow deep, seeking moist places. Page 21: The Pampas is a great place to grow wheat. Wheat doesn’t need much water to grow.
Comprehension Strategy: Draw Conclusions • Review the graphic organizer that students have been completing. Explain that they will fill in the last row independently or in pairs. They are to draw a conclusion from Chapter 3 and write both the conclusion and the clues and facts that support it. • Ask if students have any questions before they begin. Monitor their work and intervene if they are having difficulty. Discuss students’ responses together. • For more practice with drawing conclusions, have students complete the blackline master “Draw Conclusions” on page 15.
Possible answers: 1. The Amazon is a very long river.
Informal Assessment Tips original 1. Watch students as they draw conclusions. Ask yourself: How have students progressed with this strategy? What problems are they still having?
2. Watch students as they complete the graphic organizer. Ask yourself: Who is still struggling with this strategy? How can I help them? 3. Write down your thoughts in your folder or notebook. For students who struggle with drawing conclusions, review the strategy.
Reader Response On page 21, the author writes about the threats to the Pampas and the animals that live there. Do you think it is important to save this habitat and its animals? Why or why not? Write your response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member.
10 Habitats of South America
2. Grasslands receive between 10 and 30 inches of rain each year. 3. These activities are destroying the Amazon Rain Forest and endangering the plants and animals that live there.
Identify Homonyms • Remind students that some words have more than one meaning and these words are called homonyms. Good readers use the context, or words and sentences around the homonym, to figure out which meaning of the homonym is being used. • Have students find the word spots on page 16. Ask: What are some meanings of spots? (as a noun, “places” or “small marks”; as a verb, “sees”) Which meaning does spots have in this sentence? (“places”) How did the words and sentences around spots—its context—help you figure out its meaning? (Possible answer: Roots are thirsty, so they want water; they seek places that have water.) • You may wish to continue with the homonyms fly (page 16), change (page 17), pound (page 17), and pets (page 18). • For additional practice, have students complete the blackline master on page 16. Here are some possible answers: 1. a. spreads over; b. the front and back of a book or magazine 2. a. are located; b. something that is not true 3. a. breed, grow; b. an increase in pay 4. a. animals’ skins; b. keeps out of sight © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Synthesize Information Administer Ongoing Comprehension Assessment • Have students take Ongoing Assessment #13 on pages 56–57 in the Comprehension Strategy Assessment Handbook (Grade 3).
original
I nformal Assessment Tips
1. Score assessments and determine if more instruction is needed for this strategy.
Research and Draw Conclusions • Have students research another habitat in South America, such as the llanos, the Galapagos Islands, or the Atacama Desert. • Pair students and ask them to answer these questions: What plants and animals live in this habitat? Why is this habitat important to these animals and plants? What are the biggest threats to this habitat? • Have students record their answers on a chart. When pairs have finished, encourage them to share their information. • Have students use the information from their research charts to draw conclusions. Say: We combine what we have read with what we already know to draw conclusions. Let’s think about the habitats in the book and the habitats we read about in our research. Ask: What conclusions can we draw about the impact of people on the plants and animals of South America? (Possible answer: In every habitat in South America, the biggest threat to the animals and plants comes from the actions of people.)
2. Keep group assessments in a smallgroup reading folder. 3. Look closely at students’ responses. Ask yourself: Why might this student have answered this question in this manner? For in-depth analysis, discuss responses with individual students. 4. If needed, reteach this strategy and administer the second Ongoing Assessment #14 on pages 58–59 in the Comprehension Strategy Assessment Handbook (Grade 3). 5. Use ongoing assessments to document growth over time, for parent/teacher conferences, or for your own records.
E nglish L anguage Learners Pair students with more proficient English speakers. Have partners work together to investigate a new South American habitat, as suggested in Research and Draw Conclusions or, as an alternative, to find more information about one of the habitats discussed in the chapter book. Suggest that students begin by recording the information in the book that answers the questions before looking for additional answers in an encyclopedia or other reference book or on the Internet. Then proceed with the drawing conclusions activity as a group.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Habitats of South America 11
Reading/Writing Connections Write a Personal Response Teaching Tips Transfer personal response prompts to large chart paper and hang it in the room. Students can refer to the list throughout the year.
Scoring Rubric 4
3
2
1
The prompt is well developed. There is strong evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions. The prompt is developed. There is adequate evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions. The prompt is somewhat developed. There is minimal evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions. The prompt is weakly developed. There is little evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions.
12 Habitats of South America
Invite students to respond to the book in a way that is meaningful to them. The prompts below provide a variety of alternatives. • Think about the habitats in this book. What is your habitat like? (text-to-self) • How is your habitat like the habitats described in the book? How is it different? (make connections/compare and contrast) • Compare this book about South American habitats to other books about habitats that you have read. (text-to-text/ compare and contrast) • How can the threats to South American habitats affect habitats around the world? (text-to-world) • Did anything in this book confuse you? If so, what and why? (self-monitor) • What did you like best about this book? What do you think needed more information? (evaluate) • How did you feel when you read about the endangered animals in South America? Why did you feel that way? (personal response)
Write to a Text Prompt Use the prompt below as a timed writing activity. Students have a maximum of one hour to draft, revise, and edit a response. Use the rubric in the sidebar to score students’ writing.
Why should people try to help save habitats around the world? Use information from the book to support your answer.
Write to a Picture Prompt Use the following picture prompt to develop students’ visual writing abilities.
Look at the picture on page 12. Imagine that you are this girl. What do you think it would be like to live in the Andes Mountains? Write a response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member. Use details from the picture to support your answer.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Date___________
Small-Group Discussion Guide Directions: Use this sheet to talk about the book.
Rules for a Good Discussion: 1. Be prepared.
Word Study: Write words you did not know. Discuss the meanings with your group. Use the text to clarify the meanings.
2. Pay attention to the person who is talking and do not interrupt him or her. 3. Think about what others are saying so you can respond. 4. Use inside voices. 5. Let everyone in the group have a turn to speak.
Questions: Write two to three questions you had while reading this book. Discuss the questions and answers.
6. Be respectful of everyone’s ideas. Adapted from Guiding Readers and Writers by Irene C. Fountas & Gay Su Pinnell (Heinemann Publishing Co., 2001).
Ways to Make Connections Make Connections: Write three connections you made with the text. Discuss them with your group.
Adapted from Literature Circles by Harvey Daniels (Stenhouse Publishing Co., 1994). © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Text-to-Self: This reminds me of a time when I . . . Text-to-World: What’s going on in this book is like what’s happening right now in . . . Text-to-Text: This book reminds me of another book I read called. . . . It was about . . .
Name____________________ _________________
Date__________________
Draw Conclusions Chapter
Conclusions
Clues/Facts
1
2
3
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Name____________________ _________________
Date__________________
Draw Conclusions Directions: Read each passage. Answer the question at the end by drawing a conclusion from what you read and what you know.
1. T he Amazon River flows all the way across South America. It begins in the Andes Mountains on the west coast and ends in the Atlantic Ocean off the east coast. What can you conclude about the Amazon River?
2. D eserts receive fewer than 10 inches of rain each year. Forests receive more than 30 inches of rain each year. The amount of rain received in the grasslands is between the desert and the forest amounts. What can you conclude about the amount of rain grasslands receive each year?
3. I n the Amazon Rain Forest, loggers cut down trees and float the logs down the rivers. Miners dig into the ground looking for gold and other minerals. Farmers burn the trees to clear the land so they can raise crops and graze cattle. What can you conclude about the effect of these activities on the Amazon Rain Forest and its animals and plants?
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Name____________________ _________________
Date_________________
Identify Homonyms Directions: Read the passage.
Temperate Grasslands South America has two kinds of grasslands—savanna, or tropical grasslands, and temperate grasslands. Savanna, called llanos, covers parts of northern and central South America. Llanos means “plains” in Spanish. In southern South America lie the temperate grasslands called Pampas. Pampas means “plains” in the Quecha Indian language. The temperate grasslands in North America are called prairies. Most prairies have been plowed so that farmers can grow corn and wheat, and ranchers can raise cattle. Once huge herds of buffalo roamed the prairies. Native Americans hunted them for hides and meat. However, Europeans hunted buffalo for sport and killed so many that the buffalo almost became extinct. Directions: a. Write the meaning of the boldfaced word as it is used in the sentence. b. Write another meaning of the word.
1 2 3 4
a.
b.
a.
b.
a.
b.
a.
b.
covers lie raise hides
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Skills Bank Build Comprehension Compare and Contrast ••Explain Create an overhead transparency of the graphic organizer “Habitats of South America” or draw it on the board. Say: Nonfiction books sometimes tell how things are alike and different. We compare by telling how things are alike. We contrast by telling how things are different. ••Model Say: Let’s figure out how things in the Amazon Rain Forest Region and the Andes Mountain Region are alike and different. Ask students to turn to page 3. Say: On page 3, there is a map that shows the location of each region. Both regions are found in South America. Record this information in the Alike column of the graphic organizer. Say: I use the key to find the dark green region and the orange region on the map. I see that the Amazon Rain Forest Region is around the Amazon River in the north. The Andes Mountain Region is in the Andes Mountains in the west. This is a way that their locations are different. Record this information in the Different column. ••Guide Say: Let’s find something else that is alike and different. Read the first paragraph on page 4 and on page 10. What is the weather like in each region? (Allow time for students to respond, assisting if needed.) Yes, we read that the Amazon Rain Forest Region is hot and wet. It gets 50–175 inches of rain each year. The Andes Mountain Region has a lot of snow, so it must be cold. We can write this information in the Different column. What is alike about these two types of weather? (Again allow time for students to respond.) Yes, both regions get a lot of moisture in the form of rain or snow. We can write this in the Alike column. Record this information in the graphic organizer. ••Apply Ask students to work with a partner to find other ways the two regions are alike and different. If more support is needed, utilize all or part of the “Guide” process to compare and contrast the habitats and animals of the regions. Finally, read the completed graphic organizer aloud and invite students to echo-read.
Habitats of South America ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
17
Name _______________________________________________________ Date __________________
Habitats of South America Compare and Contrast Parts of the Regions
Alike
Different
Location
Weather
Habitats
Animals
18
Habitats of South America ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Notes
Habitats of South America ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
19
Notes
20
Habitats of South America ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
