LESSON 6 TEACHER’S GUIDE
Marvelous Marine Mammals
by John Stewart
Fountas-Pinnell Level S
Informational Text
Selection Summary
Manatees and sea otters dwell beneath the ocean’s surface, where
they face many challenges. These marine mammals have special traits
to survive in their underwater environment but face danger due to
human actions.
Number of Words: 1,181
Characteristics of the Text
Genre
Text Structure
Content
Themes and Ideas
Language and
Literary Features
Sentence Complexity
Vocabulary
Words
Illustrations
Book and Print Features
• Informational text
• Information organized in two long chapters, the first on manatees, the second on sea
otters
• Color photographs help the reader to visualize the mammals and their environment.
• Description and habitat of manatees and sea otters
• How humans are having an impact on marine mammals and their environment
• Why these mammals matter and what is being done to prevent them from becoming
extinct
• Manatees and sea otters have many ways of surviving below the ocean.
• People need to protect these creatures so that they don’t become extinct.
• Conversational tone
• Rhetorical questions move narrative forward: What makes these animals special?...Then
why are they facing extinction?
• A mix of short and complex sentences
• Metric measurements in parentheses
• Dashes, exclamations, questions, italics
• Some technical language, such as marching molar, guard hairs, underlayer; many, but not
all, technical terms explained
• Multisyllable words formed from base words: independently, extinction
• Color photographs support understanding of information
• Captions for photographs
• Twelve pages of text, with photographs on every page
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
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Marvelous Marine Mammals
by John Stewart
Build Background
Help students use their knowledge about marine mammals to visualize the text. Build
interest by asking a question such as the following: Which marine mammals would you
like to see in their natural habitats? Explain that the text focuses on two marine mammals:
manatees and sea otters. Read the title and author and talk about the cover photograph.
Note the two chapter heads. Tell students that this selection is informational text, so the
text is factual.
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 3: Have students locate and read the sentence on manatees with the
highlighted word in paragraph 2: Sometimes they can be seen basking in the
shallow freshwater of a river. Ask: How can you tell when a manatee is basking?
Page 4: Look at the photograph on page 4. Explain that manatees are nicknamed
“sea cows.” Ask: Is “sea cow” an appropriate nickname for a manatee? Why or
why not?
Page 5: Direct students to the highlighted term. Suggested language: The text
says that replacing a molar is no ordeal for a manatee because their back teeth are
growing all the time.
Page 8: Have students look at the photograph and read the caption. Ask: How do
you think thick fur might help a sea otter?
Page 14: The text says oil spills can be fatal to otters. Ask: What effect do you
think an oil spill might have on an otter’s fur? How might being covered with oil be
a problem for an otter?
Now turn back to the beginning of the book and read to find out more about
manatees and sea otters and how they can be protected.
Target Vocabulary
analyzing – examining closely,
p. 4
basking – resting in a warm,
comfortable place, p. 3
calling – a task or profession that
suits someone especially well,
p. 9
intensive – requiring
thoroughness and
concentration, p. 12
juvenile – a young person or
animal, p. 9
marine – relating to the ocean,
p. 3
fatal – causing death, p. 14
Grade 5
2
ordeal – a difficult or painful
experience, p. 5
stunned – so shocked or
confused that you can’t do
anything, p. 14
treating – taking care of
something to try to make it
better, p. 7
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Read
Have students read silently while you listen to individual students read aloud. Support their
problem solving and fluency as needed.
Remind students to use the Question Strategy
and to think of
questions that will clarify how manatees and sea otters can be protected.
Discuss and Revisit the Text
Personal Response
Invite students to share their personal responses to the book.
Suggested language: What did you learn about manatees and sea otters that you didn’t
know before? Why is human understanding of these endangered marine mammals
important to saving them in the future?
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
• With only a few thousand
manatees left in the wild, it is
critical that humans become sea
otters’ and manatees’ ally instead
of their enemy, so they don’t
vanish.
• If people continue harming the
marine ecosystem, it will have
serious consequences for all
marine mammals. There are
actions everyone can do to
prevent this from occurring.
• The vivid photographs enhance
the text.
• As the sea otter population
slowly increases, humans need
to ensure that their environment
remains pristine so they continue
to survive.
• People can contact their elected
officials to speak out for
manatees and sea otters and the
environment.
• The conversational style of
the text is inviting and not
scientifically overwhelming.
• The author includes fascinating
details about manatees and
sea otters to attract and hold
readers’ interest.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Choices for Further Support
• Fluency Invite students to choose a two-page spread from the text to read aloud.
Remind them to pay attention to punctuation, including information given in
parentheses, and to stress important words in the text.
• 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 longer words are often formed from
shorter, familiar words. For example, the word underlayer on page 12 is a compound
word combining the words under and layer. You can use a dictionary to learn the
meaning of a compound word.
Grade 5
3
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Writing about Reading
Critical Thinking
Have students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 6.7.
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 they can determine the cause
by asking the question “Why did it happen?” They can determine the effect by asking
the question “What happened?” Tell them to note cause-and-effect signal words such as
because, so, and since. Model how to add details to the Graphic Organizer, using a “Think
Aloud” like the one below:
Think Aloud
Oil spills pose a major risk to sea otters and manatees. Write oil spills as
a cause. The effect of oil spills is that sea otters and manatees die.
Practice the Skill
Encourage students to share their examples of another book that illustrates cause and
effect through endangered animals and what is being done to save them.
Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the Text
Have students write a response to the writing prompt on page 6. Remind them that when
they think beyond the text, they use their personal knowledge to reach new understanding.
Assessment Prompts
• What is the meaning of the term juveniles on page 9?
• Which sentences on pages 10 and 11 support the idea that sea otters are creative and
intelligent?
• How does the author persuade readers to care about the future for manatees and sea
otters?
Grade 5
4
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English Language Development
Reading Support Pair advanced and intermediate readers to read the selection softly,
or have students listen to the audio or online recordings. Remind them that humans need
to ensure that sea otters’ and manatees’ environments remain unspoiled so they continue
to survive.
Cognates The text includes many cognates. Point out the English words and their
Spanish equivalents: marine (marino), creature (criatura), and international (internacional).
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: Where do marine mammals
live?
Speaker 1: What do sea otters and
primates have in common?
Speaker 2: below the ocean
Speaker 2: They both can use tools.
Speaker 1: What is one important
way that sea otters differ from
manatees?
Speaker 1: Who are manatees’ biggest
enemies?
Speaker 1: What are two reasons why
manatees might collide with boats?
Speaker 2: people
Speaker 2: Manatees do not have good
eyesight and they need to surface to
breathe air.
Speaker 1: What do sea otters use to
comb their hair?
Speaker 2: Sea otters don’t have
body fat like manatees. They
need to keep active and rely on
their fur to stay warm in cold
ocean waters.
Speaker 2: their front claws
Lesson 6
BLACKLINE MASTER 6.7
Name
Date
Critical Thinking
Marvelous Marine
Mammals
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions. Possible responses shown.
1. Think within the text Why are manatees often called “sea cows”?
They graze for food like cattle.
2. Think within the text Why do most people think that sea otters are
clever creatures?
They use tools.
3. Think beyond the text If manatees or sea otters became extinct,
what could happen to the other living things in their ecosystems?
The extinction of manatees or sea otters could result in the
uncontrolled growth of the species that they used to prey on.
Species that depended on them for food could also become
extinct.
4.
Think about the text What is the author’s opinion of manatees and
sea otters?
The author thinks that they are “marvelous” creatures and should
be protected from extinction.
Making Connections Write about a plant or animal that is threatened or
disappearing from an ecosystem near you. Why is it important to fix the
problem? What can you do to help?
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
9
Critical Thinking
Grade 5, Unit 2: Wild Encounters
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5
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Lesson 6: Marvelous Marine Mammals
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Name
Date
Marvelous Marine Animals
Thinking Beyond the Text
Think about the questions below. Then write your answer in one or two
paragraphs.
Remember that when you think beyond the text, you use your personal
knowledge to reach new understandings.
On page 3, the author describes manatees as part of the large marine
ecosystem. On page 7, he explains that manatees face extinction. What
could you and other students do to help save manatees from extinction?
How would saving the manatees benefit the marine ecosystem? Be sure
to use details from the text to support your response.
Grade 5
6
Lesson 6: Marvelous Marine Mammals
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Lesson 6
BLACKLINE MASTER 6.7
Name
Date
Critical Thinking
Marvelous Marine
Mammals
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions.
1. Think within the text Why are manatees often called “sea cows”?
2. Think within the text Why do most people think that sea otters are
clever creatures?
3. Think beyond the text If manatees or sea otters became extinct,
what could happen to the other living things in their ecosystems?
4.
Think about the text What is the author’s opinion of manatees and
sea otters?
Making Connections Write about a plant or animal that is threatened or
disappearing from an ecosystem near you. Why is it important to fix the
problem? What can you do to help?
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
Grade 5
7
Lesson 6: Marvelous Marine Mammals
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Student
Lesson 6
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 6.11
Marvelous Marine Animals
Marvelous Marine
Animals
Running Record Form
LEVEL S
page
5
Selection Text
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Total SelfCorrections
Manatees have a special trait that no other animal shares:
“marching molars.” Because they spend so much time
chewing their food, their front molars, or teeth, wear down
quickly. No problem! Replacing them is not an ordeal. Their
back teeth on each side of the jaw are growing all the time.
When a front molar gets too worn to work well, it falls
out—and the rest of the molars move forward, one by one,
“marching” neatly into their new place. A replacement molar
begins to grow right away in the “hole” left in the back of
the row.
Comments:
(# words read
correctly/99 × 100)
%
Read word correctly
Code
✓
cat
Repeated word,
sentence, or phrase
®
Omission
—
cat
cat
Grade 5
Behavior
Error
0
0
Substitution
Code
cut
cat
1
Self-corrects
cut sc
cat
0
Insertion
the
1
cat
Error
1414281
Behavior
ˆ
Word told
1
8
T
cat
1
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