We Must Protect Old Growth Forests / Dan's Trees Lesson Plan

Lesson Plans

Activity card

Blackline master Old-growth trees

Save the forest In pairs, create a poster to tell people about Dan’s trees. Include information about why the trees are amazing. Explain why people should come to see them and why they should be protected.

Add captions and labels to show all that you know about trees in old-growth forests.

Fluent Plus reading stage Level P (38)

We Must Protect Old-Growth Forests raises arguments that support the protection of old-growth forests from being cut down and destroyed.

Running words: 1,262 Text type: Argument

Dan’s Trees is the story of how Jake almost destroys his friendship with Dan when he tells his family about Dan’s secret grove of old-growth trees.

Running words: 1,802 Text type: Narrative

Content vocabulary

airwalk ancient carbon dioxide clear cut clearing destruction endangered hollows landslides massive mudslides old-growth protect roots seedlings sequoia shelter species stags timber timber industry tree house valuable wood

Phonics

• S ounds represented by “ow” as in down, growth, toward • Sounds represented by “ie” as in lied, friend, piece, quietly

Text structures and features We Must Protect Old-Growth Forests

• Contents and index; attributed quotation • Captions, diagrams, and fact boxes

Dan’s Trees

• Third-person narrative with dialogue • Contents page, chapter headings

Reading strategies

• Asking and answering questions as you read • Comparing the author’s point of view to one’s own opinion

Correlations with State Standards

Assessment Is the student able to present information from the text in another form?

Does this show that the student has comprehended the literal and inferred meaning from the book?

Flying Start to Literacy Lesson Plans We Must Protect Old-Growth Forests / Dan’s Trees © 2012–2020 EC Licensing Pty Ltd.

Flying Start to Literacy Lesson Plans We Must Protect Old-Growth Forests / Dan’s Trees © 2012–2020 EC Licensing Pty Ltd. © 2012–2020 EC Licensing Pty Ltd. This work is protected by copyright law, and under international copyright conventions, applicable in the jurisdictions in which it is published. The trademark “Flying Start to Literacy” and Star device is a registered trademark of EC Licensing Pty Ltd in the US. In addition to certain rights under applicable copyright law to copy parts of this work, the purchaser may make copies of those sections of this work displaying the footnote: “© 2012–2020 EC Licensing Pty Ltd”, provided that: (a) the number of copies made does not exceed the number reasonably required by the purchaser for its teaching purposes; (b) those copies are only made by means of photocopying and are not further copied or stored or transmitted by any means; (c) those copies are not sold, hired, lent or offered for sale, hire or loan; and (d) every copy made clearly shows the footnote copyright notice.

All other rights reserved.

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Text: Jenny Feely Consultants: Susan Hill and Jenny Feely Illustration © Claire, from Dreamstime Designed by Derek Schneider Printed in China through Colorcraft Ltd., Hong Kong Distributed in the USA by Okapi Educational Publishing Inc. Phone: 866-652-7436 Fax: 800-481-5499 Email: info@myokapi.com www.myokapi.com www.flying-start-to-literacy.com

Reading literature 3.RL.3 Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.

Informational texts 3.RI.6 Distinguish their own point of view from that of the author of a text.

Foundational skills 3.RF.3d Read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.

Writing 3.W.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.

Speaking and listening 3.SL.3 Ask and answer questions about information from a speaker, offering appropriate elaboration and detail.

Language 3.L.3b Recognize and observe differences between the conventions of spoken and written standard English.

Lesson 1 We Must Protect Old-Growth Forests Key concept • Some parts of the environment are irreplaceable and should therefore be protected.

Lesson 2 Dan’s Trees

Returning to the book

Key concepts • Some parts of the environment are irreplaceable and should therefore be protected.

• Trust is a valuable part of a relationship and needs to be maintained.

Provide multiple opportunities for the students to reread and interact with the book – with teacher support, with a partner, and independently. Choose activities that are appropriate for your students.

Developing fluency Have the students read the book aloud to a partner. Have them focus on reading accurately and fluently.

Before reading

After reading

Getting ready to read

Talking about the book

Support the students in activating their prior knowledge.

Display an enlarged copy of the Blackline master. Ask: What is this a picture of? What do you know about trees and forests? As students offer their ideas, add them to the picture. Ask: What questions do you have about forests? Have students list their questions on note paper.

Have the students talk about the book. Promote discussion by choosing questions that are appropriate for your students. Ask them to support their thinking by referring to the photographs and the text in the book.

What is an old-growth forest? Why should we protect them?

(Literal) What will be the outcome if old-growth forests continue to be cut down? Can ordinary people help to protect old-growth forests? How? (Inferential) Why does the author say that old-growth forests are important for people’s health? Do you agree? (Synthesizing) What is the author trying to do with this book? Why has she written the book as an argument? Are the points she raises convincing?

(Critical)

Vocabulary building Write the following words on a chart: forests, protect, endangered, old-growth, valuable, wood, destruction, replaced, timber industry. Talk about what each word means. Provide examples of each word in a sentence. Ask: Can you use two or more of these words in a sentence of your own? Have students say their sentences to partners.

Introducing the book Give each student a copy of We Must Protect Old-Growth Forests. Direct students to use the cover, title page, and contents page to get themselves ready to read. Ask: What do you already know about this book? What is an old-growth forest?

Direct students to look at the photographs on the cover and contents page. Ask: What do you notice about these trees?

During reading As each student reads the text independently, monitor and support the students where appropriate. Ask the students to stop reading and remind them to use the reading strategies you are focused on. Say: As you read this book I want you to keep in mind the questions you wrote down. As you read each chapter, ask yourself: does this answer my question?

Encourage the students to apply appropriate comprehension strategies, such as using knowledge of text structure as they read. Say: Think about how an argument is organized. How does knowing this help you make meaning of the information?

Reviewing reading strategies Encourage students to identify what they did to help themselves as readers. Ask: Which of your questions did this book answer? Which did not get answered? Which were only partially answered? Where might you look to find answers to these questions?

Which other information did you learn about by reading this book?

Discuss how having questions in mind helps readers to focus on the information in the book. (It gives the reading a purpose.)

ELL support • Photographs support and extend the written text.

• Text boxes reinforce main ideas with specific examples.

• Introduction and conclusion state and restate the author’s opinion.

Word work Phonics Have the students read through the book to locate and list words with the letters “ow.” Examine the different sounds represented by the digraph “ow” as in down and growth. Have the students group the words from the book (now, allowed, know, flows, toward, towns, hollow, owl, how) according to the sound represented by “ow” in each word.

Exploring words Write the word growth. Ask: What is the base word? (Answer: grow.) What other word can be made from this word? (Answers: growth, growing, old-growth, grown, grown up, new-growth).

Talk about the past tense – grew. Have each student turn and talk to a partner, saying sentences that use each word correctly. Students could write simple fill-the-gap sentences for each word for a partner to fill in.

For example: “Big trees live in _________ forests.”

Writing Have the students use the Blackline master to record what they have learned about old-growth forests by reading the book. Discuss how captions and labels can be added to the illustration.

Sharing and presenting Have students share their Blackline masters with a small group. Say: I want you to compare the information you have each recorded and the way that you have done this. Ask: Which information was best displayed in a caption? Which was best displayed with a label and which with a paragraph?

Returning to the book Provide multiple opportunities for the students to reread and interact with the book – with teacher support, with a partner, and independently. Choose activities that are appropriate for your students.

Developing fluency

Before reading

After reading

Have the students read the book in a small group as a readers’ theater, with each person taking on a role.

Encourage students to think about logical places to change readers. Discuss ways to use phrasing and vocal modulation to support expressive and fluent reading.

Getting ready to read

Talking about the book

Word work

Support the students in activating their prior knowledge.

Ask: When you don’t know anyone at a new school, what would the first day be like? How would you feel? What would you do to make friends? What do you need to do to keep a friend? What would you do if a new friend broke a promise he or she had made to you? Would you be able to continue to be that person’s friend?

Have the students talk about the book. Promote discussion by choosing questions that are appropriate for your students. Ask them to support their thinking by referring to the illustrations and the text in the book.

Why did Dan ask Jake to promise not to tell about the trees? (Literal) Why did Jake feel that his idea was wonderful and terrible? What risk did Jake take? (Inferential) Why is trust important in friendships? What can happen when trust is betrayed? (Synthesizing) What is the author’s point of view about promises and friendship? Do you agree with her? (Critical)

Vocabulary building Write the word promise. Ask: What is a promise? What kinds of things have you promised to do? Have you always kept your promises?

List other words that relate to this word: trust, respect, confidence, belief. Say: Understanding what a promise is will help you to understand the story we are going to read.

Introducing the book Give each student a copy of Dan’s Trees. Say: This is a book about how a promise affected a friendship. Direct students to use the cover, title page, and contents page to get themselves ready to read. Ask: What do you already know about this book?

What might Dan’s trees be like? Where do you think they are? What promise might be given about these trees?

During reading As each student reads the text independently, monitor and support the students where appropriate. Ask the students to stop reading and remind them to use the reading strategies you are focused on. Say: Think about the author’s point of view. Is she sympathetic to Jake? What is your opinion? Is the author’s point of view the same as yours or is it different?

Encourage the students to make inferences about characters as they read. Say: Think about why characters act the way they do. What is motivating Dan? How does reading between the lines help you understand the story?

Reviewing reading strategies Encourage students to identify what they did to help themselves as readers. Ask: What did you think about to figure out what the author’s point of view was throughout the story? What did she think about school-aged boys? What is her point of view about people who work in the timber industry? Do you agree with her?

ELL support • I llustrations provide support.

• Postscript indicates what took place after the story ends.

• Chapter headings indicate content.

Phonics Have students list the words in the book containing the letters “ie” (lied, friend, piece, worried, believe, quietly, society, species). Discuss the different sounds represented by the letters in each word. Have students group the words according to the sounds. Add other words to these lists.

Exploring words Write the word friend. Ask: What sound do the letters “ie” make in this word? Discuss how this is an uncommon representation of this sound. List other words with uncommon spelling of the short /e/ sound (e.g. jeopardy, bury, any, many, said, leopard).

Writing Brainstorm reasons why Dan’s trees should be protected.

List adjectives that describe the trees (e.g. wonderful, amazing, priceless, irreplaceable, huge, giant, massive, towering). Have students complete the poster on the Activity card.

Sharing and presenting Have students share the posters they have created. Discuss the use of adjectives in persuading people to visit and protect these trees.

Synthesizing: Talk about the pair Ask: What message did the author want to get across in these two books? Would everyone agree with this message? What is the opposite point of view? Where do you stand on the issue of

old-growth forests? Should they be cut down? Should they be protected? What did you learn from reading these books that you didn’t know before?