Maggie’s
Activity Pack
Name _________________________
Finding Out About Giraffes
Giraffes have long necks. But they have
the same number of neck bones as people.
There are seven neck bones. These bones
are just bigger in a giraffe’s neck.
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, 2017. www.missmaggie.org Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
Giraffes do not need to drink much
water but when they do they get help from
other giraffes. The herd stands guard while
one giraffe lowers its head to the water. This
is because a crocodile might try to get the
giraffe. If the herd sees a crocodile, they
warn their friend.
Read these conclusions.
A giraffe is like a person.
1. Circle one detail in the text that supports
this conclusion.
Giraffes help others in their herd.
2. Circle one detail in the text that supports
this conclusion.
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, 2017. www.missmaggie.org Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
Dear Colleague,
I admit it, I was as intrigued as many across the United States waiting for
April the Giraffe to give birth and rushed to my computer on April 13 for the
arrival of the baby. Always a big fan of this animal, it was the first of the
traditional African animals I saw when visiting the continent of Africa. I will never
forget the cries of joy and wonder when our tour group was driving down the road
with a giraffe rushing next to us. We were in awe. Later when we saw these
beauties reaching for the tallest leaves, we felt as if we were transported into one
of those iconic photos of Africa. Nothing says African savannah quite like seeing
the stretched neck of a giraffe nimbly tasting the leaves of an Acacia tree.
While we love giraffes, it is important to remember that that this activity
focuses on identifying key details that support conclusions. We need to be sure
we are focusing on reading comprehension strategies as we teach. The giraffe is
merely a vehicle, which allows children to practice the all-important strategy.
During your modeling (the ‘I Do’ portion of the lesson) you need to constantly
remind students of the comprehension objective by stating (for example), “When
I want to find details that support a conclusion, I should find keywords used in the
conclusion in the text. This helps me to find supporting details that connect to the
conclusion.” These kinds of statements remind your students that they are
practicing a universal strategy that applies to any text and not just finding details
about giraffes. This type of ‘high leverage practices’ is necessary so that reading
comprehension strategies can be applied to all texts.
Happy teaching,
Dr. Kathy
Answer Key (Suggested responses):
1. they have the same number of neck bones as people
2. The herd stands guard and/or they warn their friend
Goals:
Students use a level-appropriate informational text highlighting unique
characteristics of giraffes and then identify details to support conclusions. This
activity is also available on the primary and intermediate levels. The emergent
reader aligns with Common Core ELA – RI - Key Ideas and Details along with
“Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate,
and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with
other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts,
their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features
(e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics)” of
ILA/NCTE Standards.
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, 2017. www.missmaggie.org Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.