Title: Whale Tales

Student population: Level 1, 17 yr. old ninth grade boy from China/in U.S. for 5 mo.

Level 2, 14 yr. old eighth grade girl from India/in U.S. for 1 mo.

Level 3 12 yr. old sixth grade girl from Mexico/in U.S. for 3 yrs.

Level 3 12 yr. old sixth grade boy from Vietnam/in U.S. for 9yrs.

Objectives: The student will be able to:

Ø Explain the difference between an instinct and learned behavior.

Ø Write characteristics of a mammal.

Ø Recognize that there are patterns of migration.

Ø Recognize that baby animals have different names than adult animals.

Ø Explain why animals hibernate.

Ø Classify animals into predator, prey, and both.

Ø Classify animals into herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore.

Ø Classify behavioral and structural adaptations.

SOL’s to review from previous unit:

3.8 The student will investigate and understand basic patterns and cycles occurring in nature. Key concepts include

a) patterns of natural events (day and night, seasonal changes, phases of the moon, and tides); and

b) animal and plant life cycles.

SOL’s addressed in lesson:

3.4 Life processes: The student will investigate and understand that behavioral and physical adaptations allow animals to respond to life needs. Key concepts include:

a) methods of gathering and storing food, finding shelter, defending themselves, and rearing young; and

b) hibernation, migration, camouflage, mimicry, instinct, and learned behavior.

3.5 The student will investigate and understand relationships among organisms in aquatic and terrestrial food chains. Key concepts include

a) producer, consumer, decomposer;

b) herbivore, carnivore, omnivore; and

c) predator and prey.

Target Extension SOL’s:

5.6 The student will investigate and understand characteristics of the ocean environment. Key concepts include

a) geological characteristics (continental shelf, slope, rise);

b) physical characteristics (depth, salinity, major currents); and

c) biological characteristics (ecosystems).

E.S 11 The student will investigate and understand that oceans are complex, interactive physical, chemical, and biological systems and are subject to long- and short-term variations. Key concepts include

a) physical and chemical changes (tides, waves, currents, sea level and ice cap variations, upwelling, and salinity variations).

b) importance of environmental and geologic implications; and

d) features of the sea floor (continental margins, trenches, mid-ocean ridges, and abyssal plains) as reflections of tectonic processes.

e) economic and public policy issues concerning the oceans and the coastal zone including the Chesapeake Bay.

VA LEP standards:

LEP 1.1 a-g The student will demonstrate growth in the understanding and use of oral language.

1.2 c Respond to factual questions about texts read aloud.

1.3 a-d The student will understand how print is organized and read.

1.5 a, b, d, e The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of

fiction/nonfiction.

1.6 a, b The student will write to communicate ideas.

1.7 a. Use basic grammatical constructions in simple sentences

1.8 a-c The student will use English punctuation and spelling conventions.

LEP 2.1 a-d The student will continue to demonstrate growth in the understanding and use of oral language.

2.2 a-b, d-g The student will develop oral communication skills.

2.3 a-c The student will apply knowledge of how print is organized and read.

2.4 a-c The student will read, comprehend, and analyze fiction and nonfiction.

2.5 a-c The student will begin to apply phonetic principles.

2.7 a-d The student will use meaning clues and language structure to expand

vocabulary when reading.

2.12 a-b The student will print legibly.

LEP 3.1 a-b The student will demonstrate an understanding and use of oral

language structure.

3.2 a-c The student will use oral communication skills.

3.4 a-c, f The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of familiar

stories, poems, and informational text as a result of classroom instruction.

3.6 a-d The student will use strategies to read a variety of narrative materials,

poetry, and informational text.

3.7 a The student will expand vocabulary and concept development.

3.8 a The student will use information resources to research a topic.

TESOL standards: Goal 1, Standard 3 To use English in social settings: Students will use

learning strategies to extend their communicative competence

Goal 2, Standards 1To use English to achieve academically in all

content areas: Students will use English to interact in the classroom

Goal 2, Standards 2 To use English to achieve academically in all content areas: Students will use English to obtain, process, construct, and provide subject matter information in spoken and written form

INTASC Standard 4: Instructional Strategies

The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage the students' development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.

Key Vocabulary words:

Mammals Migration Baleen Mimicry Instinct

Structural adaptation Behavioral adaptation Learned Behavior

Anticipatory Set/Scaffolding/frontloading vocabulary:

Make a T-chart with 3 columns. At the top of each column, label with herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore. Use SRA picture cards: Animals (These cards have the word in the native languages on the back.), have students sort the animals into appropriate categories.
Repeat the activity, sorting animal cards into categories of predator, prey, or both. The teacher may want to model first by having students assist the teacher in making their own class food web.

Presentation:

Put students in pairs. Give each pair a piece of white paper. Instruct the students to fold their paper into three columns. Label one column plus, one column, minus, and one column interesting questions. This strategy was presented at VESA. It is called PMI.

Here is the engaging question: Some countries hunt whales for food and fuel. Some countries, like Japan, even have whale meat on their school menu. Do you think whaling should be legalized in some poor countries?

Use your chart to list the pros, cons, and interesting questions about this topic. We will discuss our answers as a group.

Attention:

Draw a picture of whale on the overhead, have students make their own picture, or pass out a blank model of a whale. The students may also use the cover of their book as a model, if needed. Label the following body parts: head, eye, tail, blowhole, fin, and baleen.

Have students make a T-chart labeling each column behavioral adaptation and structural adaptation. Explain that behavioral adaptations are things animals do that help them survive, and structural adaptations are unique body parts that help them survive.

Review “wh” question words. (Who, What Where, Why, When)

Co-Construct:

Identify the cover, title, and title page of the book.

Active reading: Students will highlight the key words from attached sheet to look for when reading. Be sure to highlight the question words. Illustrate and clarify each vocabulary term. For example, show pictures from the book, perhaps in a picture walk, to give students visuals. Then, students will take turns reading aloud Baby Whales Drink Milk. Active reading questions will be answered while reading after each page. (Another VESA strategy from this weekend) Questions that have a star next to them will be added to students’ adaptations T-chart.

Adaptation: If the teacher desires to do an information-gap activity instead of active reading, he or she could adapt the lesson in the following way. Put even number questions on one worksheet and odd questions on another page. Put students in pairs. Here using the Zone of Proximal Development would be optimal, pairing a weak student with a stronger. Have one student read the odd pages for the other student to answer his or her even questions and vice versa. Tell students that they may discuss answers with each other whenever they wish.

Extension activities:

Think/Pair/Share- Students will get into pairs. They will fold a piece of chart paper into six sections. Students are to summarize the facts from the story in order. Teacher will complete the first and last square together as a class. The four middle squares will be completed with a partner. Students may use sentences, pictures, or both. Present findings to the group.
Write reports about ocean animals. Incorporate non-fiction literature to engage and guide the students. Be sure to show examples of mimicry and camouflage in the animal books. (Lesson 3 will provide more scaffolding for this activity.)
Make a map of the ocean floor. Label all the parts.
Discuss tides and waves. We just finished a unit about space (rotation, revolution, moon phases). Connect tides and waves to our space unit.
Make a food web (which we have already done.) Identify producers, consumers, and decomposers.

Active reading comprehension questions 2/6/06

We will add starred questions to our adaptations T-chart.

Baby Whales Drink Milk

p. 4 Where do whales live?

p.6, 8 What is a mammal?

p. 8What is a baby whale called?

p. 10 Why do whales migrate?

p.12 How do whales breathe?

p. 14 How long can whales stay underwater?

p. 16 How do mother whales keep their babies safe?

p.16 What do baby whales drink? Is this a learned behavior or an instinct?

p.18 What is warm-blooded and cold-blooded. Give examples of each.

p. 20 What is whale fat called? Why do they need it?

p. 22 How do whales communicate?

p.24 Look at the map. Where do whales go in the summer? Where do they go in the winter?

p. 26 What do whales eat? What are their teeth called?

Reflection: Use the pictures to make a lot of inferences. Make sure the students have a clear concept of key vocabulary, as it will be used to write their own animal reports in the future. You can incorporate tides and waves in this lesson. We just finished a space unit, so I connected tides to our space lesson. The students really enjoy the wonderful pictures used in this lesson. This lesson can take from 2 days to a whole week, depending on the amount of activities you choose to do with your students.

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