Title of Text: Can you Tell an Alligator from a Crocodile? Author/Illustrator: Buffy Silverman GRL: L Series: Lightning Bolt Genre: Nonfiction, Science Standard: Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe. Lesson Objectives: to identify the main purpose of the text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe, to use questioning to help with understanding, to compare and contrast. Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. Comprehension Strategy: Questioning Skill: Compare and Contrast Fluency: Appropriate Speed Academic Vocabulary: explain or research the meanings of the words below. Discuss the morphology of the words: suffixes, taking a root word and adding to it to change the meaning of the word. Have students talk about the meaning of each word, using antonyms, synonyms and situations where each word can be used correctly. a. alligator b. crocodile c. freshwater d. scales e. prey Before Reading: ENGAGE! THINK! 1. Build Background Knowledge a. Let’s look at the front and back cover. What do you know about this topic? b. What would you like to learn about the alligator and the crocodile? c. What features of the alligator and the crocodile do you think will be alike and what features will be different. ? d. Let’s look at the Table of Contents. What is the title of chapter 3? What does it mean? 2. Skill Introduction: a. Compare and contrast – Compare and contrast the picture of the two animals on the front of the book. How are they alike and how are they different. 3. Strategy Introduction: a. Questioning – as we read today, I would like for you to consider questions like what features do the animals have? What can you tell the two animals apart? Let’s get a list of questions we have before reading. 4. Fluency: We will be working on reading at an appropriate speed with this book. Going too fast will cause you to lose the meaning of the content. Standard –As we read today, I would like you to think what is the main purpose of the text and what is the author wanting us to know. Let’s look at the back cover and tell each other what the author’s intention. Copyright © 2012 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. Lerner Digital™ and Lerner eSource™ are trademarks of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.lernerbooks.com During Reading: Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late! Check for Understanding (Stop Midway through the Book) 1. Tell me about a part you didn’t understand? 2. Turn and Talk: how is using the strategy of questioning helpful in your reading? What answers to our earlier questions did you find? What new questions do you now have? 3.
Standard: On page 13, why did the author include that dots on the animals are sense organs? 4.
Standard: Let’s see if we can answer who, what, where, when, why and how question so far. After Reading: EVALUATE! 1.
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Standard: What is the most important thing to remember from this book? What are the details that can help you remember this? What did you learn? What more do you want to learn about alligators and crocodiles? 4. Can these animals be dangerous? Why or Why not? 5.
Standard: What was the main purpose of the text? What did the author want us to know? 6.
Standard: Who has a u‐shaped snout? What did you learn? Where would you find these animals? Why do baby alligators and crocodiles cry inside the eggs? 7. Academic Vocabulary: scales – What are other meanings for this word. Writing Standard: Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section. Task: Write the features of each animal including the things that are the same and the things that are different. Use the what, when , where, how and why questions to write your piece. Use the points above to help you. Use information you learned from the book. IF/THEN: Questioning: As you are reading text, ask yourself if it makes sense. Do you need to ask more questions to help with understanding? What makes you ask yourself‐how come? Copyright © 2012 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. Lerner Digital™ and Lerner eSource™ are trademarks of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.lernerbooks.com