LESSON 21 TEACHER’S GUIDE
Antarctic Animals
by Erik Barneveld
Fountas-Pinnell Level L
Nonfiction
Selection Summary
The animals of Antarctica have found ways to survive the extreme
cold of their environment. Their diet mainly comes from the sea.
Many Antarctic sea animals, such as blue whales, eat tiny animals
called krill. Others, such as seals, eat fish, squid, and octopus.
Number of Words: 328
Characteristics of the Text
Genre
Text Structure
Content
Themes and Ideas
Language and
Literary Features
Sentence Complexity
Vocabulary
Words
Illustrations
Book and Print Features
• Nonfiction
• Five sections with headings
• Each section consists of a different category of information about Antarctic animals.
• A variety of Antarctic animals that live in and out of the sea
• Krill as a source of food
• Whales and what they eat
• Descriptions of penguins and seals
• Antarctic animals have different ways of surviving in their cold home.
• The ocean is the main source of food for Antarctic animals.
• Clear language and straightforward presentation
• A mix of short and more complex sentences
• Target vocabulary words highlighted in text
• Content-specific terms: krill, shrimp, blue whale, humpback whale, sperm whale, squid,
Emperor penguin, Weddell seal, leopard seals, elephant seals
• Primarily one- or two-syllable words, with some three-syllable words: animals, octopus,
underwater, elephant
• Compound words: humpback, underwater, waterproof
• Photos on every page
• One-word section headings indicate content
• Predictable placement of text
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
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Antarctic Animals
by Erik Barneveld
Build Background
Help children use their knowledge of animals that live in cold places to visualize the book.
Build interest by asking questions such as the following: What animals do you know
that live in very cold places? What do they do to survive there? Read the title and author
and talk about the cover illustration. Tell children that this book gives information about
animals that live in Antarctica, at the bottom of the Earth.
Introduce the Text
Guide children through the text, noting important ideas and nonfiction features. Help with
unfamiliar language so they can read the text successfully. Give special attention to target
vocabulary. Here are some suggestions:
Page 2: Explain that this book tells about animals that live on or near Antarctica,
the world’s southernmost continent. Point to Antarctica on a map or globe.
Suggested language: Turn to page 2. Section headings give clues about the
information that will follow. The heading on this page is “Antarctica.” What does
the photo show? What does this tell you about Antarctica?
Page 7: Have children look at the photo. Tell children that the penguins in the
photo are Emperor penguins, the largest kind of penguin. Explain that penguins
have special features that help them survive in their cold climate. How might
webbed feet help penguins swim? How would having waterproof feathers that
don’t let water through help penguins? Webbed feet and waterproof feathers are
two ways that penguins survive in the Antarctic. Otherwise, they might not be able
to live there.
Page 10: Tell children that sometimes swimmers in a race put grease on their skin
to make them more slippery to help them glide through the water. How might
having smooth, wet skin help slippery seals move easily through the water?
Now turn back to the beginning of the book and read to find out how Antarctic
animals survive their harsh environment.
Target Vocabulary
finally – happening in the end,
p. 4
slippery – smooth, wet, or
greasy, p. 10
webbed – having skin connecting
the toes or fingers, p. 7
junior – a person or animal
younger than others in a
group, p. 9
steer – to control the way
something moves, p. 8
whistle – a sharp, high sound
made by blowing air, p. 5
otherwise – when a situation will
be different if something does
not happen, p. 7
Grade 2
waterproof – not letting water
pass through, p. 7
2
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Read
Have children read Antarctic Animals silently while you listen to individual children read.
Support their problem solving and fluency as needed.
Remind children to use the Infer/Predict Strategy
to figure out important ideas.
and to use text clues
Discuss and Revisit the Text
Personal Response
Invite children to share their personal responses to the book.
Suggested language: What did you learn about Antarctic animals that you didn’t know
before? What more would you like to know about Antarctic animals?
Ways of Thinking
As you discuss the text, help children understand these points:
Thinking Within the Text
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
• Antarctic animals have developed
ways to survive in a cold climate.
• Antarctic animals have developed
different ways of surviving in
their cold home.
• The author includes lots of
details about Antarctic animals.
• Many sea animals in the
Antarctic eat tiny animals called
krill.
• Seals and penguins spend time
on land and in the water.
• It’s amazing that so many kinds
of animals can live in such a cold
harsh climate.
• The photos show the animals
that are described in the text.
• The headings tell what
information the section will
contain.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Choices for Further Support
• Fluency Invite children to choose a passage from the text and demonstrate phrased
fluent reading. Remind them to use pauses, pitch, and stress to get across the
meaning the author intends.
• Comprehension Based on your observations of the children’s reading and discussion,
revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind children 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 children that some words are the same in the singular
and plural forms. Point out that the words fish, krill, and squid can stand for one or
more than one animal, while words such as animals and whales need an s to make
them plural.
Grade 2
3
Lesson 21: Antarctic Animals
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Writing about Reading
Vocabulary Practice
Have children complete the Vocabulary questions on BLM 21.1.
Responding
Have children complete the vocabulary activities on page 11. Remind them to answer the
Word Teaser on page 12. (Answer: finally)
Reading Nonfiction
Nonfiction Features: Section Headings and Photos Remind children that nonfiction
has many features to help readers find and understand important information. Section
headings and photos are two of these features. Explain that section headings give clues to
what the section of text will be about. Reading the section headings in a nonfiction book is
a good way to preview the book before reading the main text.
Point out that photos are another important source of information. They often show what
the text describes. Have children look again at the photo on page 3. Ask what information
they can learn from the photo (what krill look like).
Have children choose a section of the book and write a different heading for it, based on
the information given in the text.
Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the Text
Have children write a response to the prompt on page 6.
Assessment Prompts
• On page 4, what does the word filter mean?
• What does the word click mean in the following sentence? Humpback whales grunt,
squeak, click, and whistle.
Grade 2
4
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English Language Development
Reading Support In Introduce the Text (p.2), use pictures, concrete objects, or
demonstrations that will help children understand the concepts and ideas in the text. Don’t
ask children to read any text they will not understand.
Vocabulary Provide assistance as needed with terms that are not defined directly in
text, such as blanket of ice (page 2), mouthful (page 4), and verbs such as grunt, squeak,
click, and whistle (page 5).
Oral Language Development
Check children’s comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches their
English proficiency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the child.
Beginning/Early Intermediate
Intermediate
Early Advanced/ Advanced
Speaker 1: What animals do you see
on the cover?
Speaker 1: What do many sea animals in
the Antarctic eat?
Speaker 1: What kinds of food do
Weddell seals eat?
Speaker 2: penguins
Speaker 2: They eat krill.
Speaker 1: Where do the penguins in
the book live?
Speaker 1: What are krill?
Speaker 2: Weddell seals eat fish,
squid, octopus, and krill.
Speaker 2: Antarctica
Speaker 1: What seals should
Antarctic penguins watch out for,
and why?
Speaker 2: Krill are tiny, pink animals
that look like shrimp.
Speaker 2: Penguins should watch
out for leopard seals, because
they sometimes eat penguins.
Lesson 21
Name
BLACKLINE MASTER 21.1
Date
Target Vocabulary
Antarctic Animals
Target Vocabulary
Find the Target Vocabulary word that answers each
Vocabulary
question. Write the word on the line.
1. Which word goes with after a long wait?
finally
2. Which word goes with the sound whales make?
whistle
3. Which word goes with a penguin’s feet?
finally
junior
otherwise
slippery
steer
waterproof
webbed
whistle
webbed
4. Which word goes with a penguin’s feathers?
waterproof
5. Which word goes with or else?
otherwise
6. Which word goes with a younger person or animal?
junior
7. Which word goes with to guide in a direction?
steer
8. Which word goes with slides easily?
slippery
Read directions to children.
Target Vocabulary
3
Grade 2, Unit 5: Changes, Changes Everywhere
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Grade 2
5
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Lesson 21: Antarctic Animals
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First Pass
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Name
Date
Antarctic Animals
Thinking Beyond the Text
Think about the questions below. Then write your answer in one paragraph.
On page 5, the author says that Humpback whales are famous for their
singing. Scientists have recorded these sounds underwater and now anyone
can hear them. Why do you think whales make these sounds? Why do you
think people would like to listen to whale songs?
Grade 2
6
Lesson 21: Antarctic Animals
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Lesson 21
Name
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 21.1
Target Vocabulary
Antarctic Animals
Target Vocabulary
Find the Target Vocabulary word that answers each
question. Write the word on the line.
1. Which word goes with after a long wait?
2. Which word goes with the sound whales make?
3. Which word goes with a penguin’s feet?
Vocabulary
finally
junior
otherwise
slippery
steer
waterproof
webbed
whistle
4. Which word goes with a penguin’s feathers?
5. Which word goes with or else?
6. Which word goes with a younger person or animal?
7. Which word goes with to guide in a direction?
8. Which word goes with slides easily?
Grade 2
7
Lesson 21: Antarctic Animals
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Student
Lesson 21
Date
BLackline master 21.23
Antarctic Animals • level l
page
4
Antarctic Animals
Running Record Form
Selection Text
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Total SelfCorrections
The blue whale eats tiny krill. The whale takes a mouthful of
water. Then it squirts the water out through a filter in its
mouth. The filter keeps the krill inside while the water goes
out. Finally, when the water is gone, the whale swallows
the krill.
5
Humpback whales also eat krill. They are famous for their
singing. Humpback whales grunt, squeak, click, and whistle.
People call these sounds whale songs. You can hear these
songs from miles away.
6
Sperm whales do not eat krill. They eat big fish and squid. To
find giant squid, sperm whales dive very deep.
Comments:
(# words read
correctly/100 × 100)
%
Read word correctly
Code
✓
cat
Repeated word,
sentence, or phrase
®
Omission
—
cat
cat
Grade 2
Behavior
Error
0
0
1
8
Substitution
Code
cut
cat
1
Self-corrects
cat
cut sc
0
Insertion
the
1
Word told
T
cat
cat
ˆ
Error
1413869
Behavior
1
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