Rain Forest Animals
It’s a Chameleon!
Reading Level: Grades K-1
Subject: Science
Materials
•a book for each student
•pencils, crayons, or markers
•paper
•It’s a Chameleon! Activity reproducible
(optional) (p. 4 of this guide)
•sticky notes (optional)
Reading Standards
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.1.1: Ask and answer questions about key
details in a text.
• CCSS.ELA–Literacy.RI.1.2: Identify the main topic and retell
key details of a text.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.1.7: Use the illustrations and details in a
text to describe its key ideas.
Targeted Reading Strategy
Ask and answer questions to understand text.
Academic vocabulary: reptiles, sizes, smaller,
strong, branches, insects, tongue, sticky,
catches, shoots, change, hatching
High-frequency words: are, there, many, of, most,
live, them, big, as, your, than, have, too, help,
these, look, out
Before Reading
Build Background Knowledge
•Write the word chameleon on the board. Read the word aloud to the students, and tell them that a chameleon is
a kind of reptile. Draw a KWL chart on the board or on chart paper, and explain that this chart will help the class
record questions and discoveries they have about chameleons. The letter K stands for what the students already
know, the letter W stands for what the students want to know, and the letter L stands for what the students learned.
Ask students what they already know about chameleons, and record their responses under the K column. Hand out
the KWL worksheet (p. 4 of this guide), and have students try to write down at least three more facts of their own in
that column.
•Show students the front cover of the book and read the title. Ask them what they think the book will be about.
Then have them think about why the author might have written this book. Have them think about the “who, what,
when, where, why, and how” questions they may ask as they read. Review the title page, table of contents, picture
glossary, and index. Talk about the information (title of the book, author’s name, vocabulary words, and definitions).
•During the book walk, introduce new vocabulary and model ways to figure out the words. Remind students that
as they read, they need to use the pictures and the context clues to help them figure out tricky and unfamiliar
words. The context clues, the words around the unknown word, will help them figure out the word we don’t know.
Sometimes readers need to read more than one sentence for clues. Model reading a page out loud using this reading
strategy for the students.
Skill Introduction
•Explain that good readers ask questions before and during reading. They look for these answers as they read. This
helps readers better understand what they are reading.
™
Copyright © 2017 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. Lerner Digital™ and Lerner eSource™
are trademarks of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.lernerbooks.com
ISBN 978-1-5124-3461-3
1
Rain Forest Animals
It’s a Chameleon!
Think-aloud: When I look at the cover of this book, I see a chameleon. I am not sure if I have ever seen a
chameleon in real life, but I have seen other reptiles and I know they like warm environments and they have dry,
scaly skin. I also know that a chameleon looks like other lizards that I have seen. I never knew chameleons had
such big googly eyes. I wonder why they have eyes that look like this? I also wonder why they have sharp claws and
toes? These are just some of the questions that I have. I will look for the answers as I read the book.
•Record the questions discussed on the W column of the KWL chart. Have students discuss with a partner one
question they have about the book, and have them record their question on their charts. Remind students that as
they read, they should continue thinking and recording questions on their KWL chart.
During Reading
Check for Understanding
•Guide reading by asking students to read through page 12 (you may want to place a sticky note there). Fast finishers
can reread until everyone is finished. Students should be reading in their minds or subvocalizing so all the students
can read at their own pace.
•Model the targeted skill with a think-aloud.
Think-aloud: On page 8, I learned that chameleons have strong toes and long nails to hold onto the branches
when they climb trees. This was an answer to one of my questions. I also wondered about why they have such
big eyes. On page 11, I read that they use their big eyes to look for food. I also learned that they can look two
different ways at once. This made me think about how looking two ways can help them keep safe from other
predators and help them find food at the same time. I’ll put these answers to my questions in the L column of my
chart. Also, I have another question. I noticed that in some pictures, the chameleon is a different color. I wonder
what other colors chameleons can be? I will look for this answer as I read.
•Show the students how you record the answers to the questions you have answered in the L column of the KWL
chart. Have them do the same for their questions and chart, as they should have written questions as they were
reading up to page 12.
After Reading
Response to Text
•Ask students if they learned new information and if they wrote down more questions as they were reading.
Think-aloud: I had wondered about all the colors of chameleons. On page 15, I read that chameleons change
the color of their skin for different reasons. When their skin turns red, it tells other chameleons to go away. I think
that chameleons change skin color to help camouflage themselves as protection against predators. It helps them
blend in with their environment.
•Have students finish recording anything they learned from the text or information that answered their questions in
the L column.
•Ask students how asking and answering questions helped them remember facts about chameleons.
™
Copyright © 2017 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. Lerner Digital™ and Lerner eSource™
are trademarks of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.lernerbooks.com
ISBN 978-1-5124-3461-3
2
Rain Forest Animals
It’s a Chameleon!
Word Work
•Have each student use four words from the academic vocabulary list to complete four different squares. Students
can draw the four square on a piece of paper, or you can create a four-square template and photocopy it for the
students. See below for an example:
Definition
Sentence
Synonym/Antonym
Drawing
Extension Activity
•Have students think of other animals that can camouflage themselves. If needed, help students research information
about this animal. Why does it use camouflage? What animals are its enemies? How does it camouflage itself?
Students should draw a picture of their chosen animal. In their drawings, they should try to hide the animal really
well in the picture so that it is hard to find. When students are done with their pictures, hang the pictures in the
classroom for all to see.
Critical Thinking with Bumba Books
Foster higher-order thinking skills by embedding Bumba Books’ critical thinking questions into your reading
instruction. Use them to spark discussion, and encourage your emergent readers to be actively engaged in
informational text!
™
Copyright © 2017 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. Lerner Digital™ and Lerner eSource™
are trademarks of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.lernerbooks.com
ISBN 978-1-5124-3461-3
3
Rain Forest Animals
It’s a Chameleon!
Name:
It’s a Chameleon! Activity
Complete the KWL boxes as you read It’s a Chameleon! In the first box, write what you
already know about chameleons. In the second box, write what you want to know, and in
the third box, write what you have learned about chameleons.
I know . . .
™
I want to know . . .
I learned . . .
Copyright © 2017 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. Lerner Digital™ and Lerner eSource™
are trademarks of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.lernerbooks.com
ISBN 978-1-5124-3461-3
4