LESSON 13 TEACHER’S GUIDE
Amazing Birds of Antarctica
by Joanne Mattern
Fountas-Pinnell Level O
Narrative Nonfiction
Selection Summary
Antarctica is home to many types of birds. Penguins, snow petrels,
blue-eyed shags, the albatross, and the skua make the frozen area of
the Antarctic their home.
Number of Words: 759
Characteristics of the Text
Genre
Text Structure
Content
Themes and Ideas
Language and
Literary Features
Sentence Complexity
Vocabulary
Words
Illustrations
Book and Print Features
• Narrative nonfiction
• Second-person narrative organized in eight chapters
• Each chapter describes a different type of bird that can be found in Antarctica.
• Descriptions and photographs help reader visualize the type of bird being discussed.
• Factual information about birds of Antarctica
• Climate and terrain of Antarctica
• The birds found in Antarctica are fascinating creatures.
• Different types of birds can have very similar characteristics.
• Birds in Antarctica must adapt to their surroundings in order to survive.
• Upbeat, conversational language (Welcome to Antartica!, Look at the bright blue eyes on
this bird!, Don’t worry.)
• Chapter titles and content distinguish singular features and behaviors of the various birds
(penguins, power and nesting habits; the blue-eyed shag, fishing frenzies; the albatross,
the years it spends in the air; etc.)
• A mix of short and complex sentences
• Exclamations
• Some common words not defined in text, such as flippers, seaweed, and nesting
• Some contractions, such as don’t and doesn’t
• Multisyllable words: continent, Emperor penguin, stranded
• Primarily one-syllable words
• Photographs with captions
• Map to show location
• Twelve pages of text with illustrations on most pages
• Chapter headings on most pages
• Table of contents, glossary, captions
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
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Amazing Birds of Antarctica
by Joanne Mattern
Build Background
Help students use their knowledge of birds to visualize the story. Build interest by asking
a question such as the following: What do you think birds would need to live in a very
cold place? Read the title and author and talk about the bird on the cover. Note the various
graphic features in the story. Point out the table of contents and the glossary. Tell students
that this story is narrative nonfiction, so the birds and places in the story are real.
Introduce the Text
Guide students through the text, noting important ideas, and helping with unfamiliar
language and vocabulary so they can read the text successfully. Here are some
suggestions:
Page 4: Suggested language: Look at page 4. This page tells that penguins have
wings, but they cannot fly. Ask: Why do you think penguins have wings but cannot
fly?
Page 5: Point out the word huddle in the second-to-last line. Explain that the cold
conditions in Antarctica force the penguins to huddle together to stay warm.
Ask: Why does it help to huddle together? What other animals huddle together?
Pages 9: Explain that the blue-eyed shag displays a bright-colored growth on its
beak that helps it find a mate. What do you do when you display something?
Pages 11: Explain that unlike the penguin, the albratross spends most of its life in
the air. Ask: What can you tell about the albatross by looking at the picture?
Now go back to the beginning to read about how these birds survive in such a
cold climate.
Target Vocabulary
alert – to be wide awake and
paying attention
concluded – to have made a
decision or formed an opinion
display – something shown
publicly, p. 9
Grade 4
fractured – broken into pieces
graceful – something that moves
smoothly and with ease, p. 4
huddle – when people or animals
crowd together, p. 5
standards – rules used for
judging or measuring
2
stranded – to be unable to leave
a place, p. 7
vision – an idea of what
something could be like in the
future
weariness – to be very tired
Lesson 13: Amazing Birds of Antarctica
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Read
Have students read silently while you listen to individual students read aloud. Support their
understanding of the text as needed.
Remind students to use the Summarize Strategy
most important parts of the text as they read.
and to think of the
Discuss and Revisit the Text
Personal Response
Invite students to share their personal responses to the book.
Suggested language: What is the most fascinating thing you learned about the birds of
Antarctica? Which bird was your favorite? Explain the reason for your choice.
Ways of Thinking
As you discuss the text, help students understand these points:
Thinking Within the Text
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
• The birds of Antarctica have to
adapt to their surroundings.
• Fascinating animals can be found
all over the world.
• All of the birds found in the
Antarctic eat fish as part of their
diet.
• Learning about different types
of animals can help people learn
about the world around them.
• The photographs give a clearer
understanding of features of the
birds.
• Antarctic birds are similar in
many ways.
• The author includes lots of
descriptions to help the reader
visualize the text.
• The similarities and differences
help the reader make
comparisons.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Choices for Further Support
• Fluency Lead students in a choral reading of a section from the text, and demonstrate
paying attention to punctuation while reading. Remind students to pay attention to
phrasing and pausing.
• Comprehension Based on your observations of the students’ reading and discussion,
revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind students to go
back to the text to support their ideas.
• Phonics/Word Work Provide practice as needed with words and word parts, using
examples from the text. Remind students that contractions are two words that are
joined together to form a shortened version. Write we, are, and we’re on the board.
Point out that the apostrophe takes the place of letter a when we and are are joined
together to form the word we’re.
Grade 4
3
Lesson 13: Amazing Birds of Antarctica
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Writing about Reading
Critical Thinking
Have students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 13.7.
Responding
Have students complete the activities at the back of the book, using their Reader’s
Notebook. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the
comprehension skill.
Target Comprehension Skill
Cause and Effect
Remind students that the effect is the result of an
action, or the cause. Model how to add details to the Graphic Organizer, using a “Think
Aloud” like the one below:
Think Aloud
The conditions of the Antarctic are very harsh and cold. This causes the
animals there to adapt. One example is the penguin. There are no twigs
or branches in Antarctica. Most birds use these types of materials to
make their nests. The penguins, however, use rocks to make their nests.
So, the cause is that the necessary materials are not available and the
effect is that the penguin must adapt.
Practice the Skill
Encourage students to share examples of other books that describe the causes and effects
of animals adapting to their environment.
Writing Prompt: Thinking About the Text
Have students write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when
they think about the text, they reflect back on the text. They should notice and evaluate
language, genre, literary devices, and how the text is organized.
Assessment Prompts
• In the last paragraph on page 7, what does the word stranded mean?
• One idea present in this selection is that
________________________________________________________________.
• The main idea of this selection is that __________________________________.
Grade 4
4
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English Language Development
Reading Support Pair advanced and intermediate readers to read the story softly,
or have students listen to the audio or online recordings. Remind students that birds in
Antarctica are specially adapted to living in a cold, dry climate.
Cognates The story includes some Spanish cognates, or similar words. Point out
the English words and their Spanish equivalents: alert (alerta), vision (vision), and
graceful (gracioso).
Oral Language Development
Check student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’
English proficiency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the student.
Beginning/Early Intermediate
Intermediate
Early Advanced/ Advanced
Speaker 1: Who is telling the story?
Speaker 1: What do most of the birds in
the story eat?
Speaker 1: How is the skua
different from the other birds
mentioned in the story?
Speaker 2: a narrator
Speaker 1: What is one type of bird in
the story?
Speaker 2: an albatross
Speaker 1: Where do the birds in the
story live?
Speaker 2: They eat fish and krill.
Speaker 2: It doesn’t build a nest.
It lays its eggs on the ground.
Speaker 1: Why do some of the birds
use rocks to build their nests?
Speaker 2: There aren’t any plants or
twigs in Antarctica.
Speaker 2: in Antarctica
Lesson 13
Name
BLACKLINE MASTER 13.7
Date
Critical Thinking
Amazing Birds of
Antarctica
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions. Possible responses shown.
1. Think within the text Which two birds mentioned in the book
do not build nests?
The emperor penguin and the skua do not build nests.
2. Think within the text How do penguins stay warm?
A penguin’s blubber and feathers help it stay warm. Penguins also huddle
together.
3. Think beyond the text What causes albatrosses to eat other
foods besides fish and krill?
Albatrosses spend most of their lives in the air. They use a lot of energy flying
and need a lot of food to stay alive.
4. Think about the text The author has divided the book into
sections. Choose a section title from the table of contents.
Do you think the title does a good job describing its section?
Explain your answer.
“Strange Nest” describes its section well. This section talks about how skuas do
not build nests at all but fiercely defend the eggs they lay on the ground.
Making Connections The birds of Antarctica are different from birds that
live in warmer areas. They are also alike in some ways. Compare the birds in
Antarctica to birds where you live.
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
9
Critical Thinking
Grade 4, Unit 3: Natural Encounters
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First Pass
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Name
Date
Amazing Birds of Antarctica
Thinking About the Text
Think about the questions below. Then write your answer in one or
two paragraphs.
Remember that when you think about the text, you reflect back on the text.
You notice and evaluate language, genre, literary devices, and how the text
is organized.
How do the text features in this nonfiction book help you find and learn
about birds? Choose three of the text features, such as the table of contents,
the map, and the glossary. Explain how each feature helped you learn more
about birds.
Grade 4
6
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Lesson 13
Name
BLACKLINE MASTER 13.7
Date
Critical Thinking
Amazing Birds of
Antarctica
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions.
1. Think within the text Which two birds mentioned in the book
do not build nests?
2. Think within the text How do penguins stay warm?
3. Think beyond the text What causes albatrosses to eat other
foods besides fish and krill?
4. Think about the text The author has divided the book into
sections. Choose a section title from the table of contents.
Do you think the title does a good job describing its section?
Explain your answer.
Making Connections The birds of Antarctica are different from birds that
live in warmer areas. They are also alike in some ways. Compare the birds in
Antarctica to birds where you live.
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
Grade 4
7
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Student
Lesson 13
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 13.11
Amazing Birds of Antarctica
Amazing Birds of
Antarctica
Running Record Form
LEVEL O
page
4
Selection Text
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Total SelfCorrections
Penguins have wings, but they cannot fly. Instead, a penguin’s
wings act like flippers. This makes them great swimmers.
Penguins eat fish and tiny animals called krill.
5
Penguins have a thick layer of fat under their feathers. This fat
is called blubber, and it helps them stay warm.
A penguin’s feathers also help keep it warm. Soft down
feathers, which keep out the cold, are next to a penguin’s skin.
Its outside feathers are waterproof. This means it can swim all
day without getting cold. Penguins spend so much time in the
water that early explorers thought they were fish!
Comments:
(# words read
correctly/100 ×
100)
%
Read word correctly
Code
✓
cat
Repeated word,
sentence, or phrase
®
Omission
—
cat
cat
Grade 4
Behavior
Error
0
0
Substitution
Code
cut
cat
1
Self-corrects
cut sc
cat
0
Insertion
the
1
cat
Error
1413928
Behavior
ˆ
Word told
1
8
T
cat
1
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