Nature's Rooming House

Activity card

Graphic Organizer: Who lives there?

Name/s:

Summarize the information in Nature’s Rooming House by listing information in the table.

Type of tree/s or plant/s

Living things

Why are they important? How do they survive?

How do they survive here? How do they use the tree/s or plant/s?

Coastal ecosystems

WorldWise

™

Lesson Plan Xx

Content-based Learning

Level R (40)

Xxxxxxxxx

Nature’s Rooming House describes the trees that grow in various ecosystems and the range of living things that depend on them.

The book explains how the trees survive in each ecosystem and highlights the roles they play in creating a balanced and thriving environment.

Informational text types: Report/Explanation

WorldWise

Content-based Learning

Next Generation Science Curriculum links

Desert ecosystems

• LS1.A Structure and function • ESS2.E Biogeology Key concepts

• Trees and large plants provide many animals with food, shelter, protection, and a place to breed • Different ecosystems have different types of trees and large plants • Trees and large plants play an important role in a thriving ecosystem Content vocabulary adapted, algae, bacteria, canopy, carnivores, cavity, community, coastal ecosystem, decomposing, ecosystem, forage, herbivores, introduced, larvae, nectar, nutrients, omnivores, organisms, periscopes, pollen, pollinators, predators, prey, reproduce, scar tissue, species, sub-tropical, talons, teeming, tides, tissue, tropical, wetlands

Tropical rainforest ecosystems

Text features

• Labeled photographs, captions, sidebars, photographic diagram, text boxes, glossary Reading strategy

• Summarizing information

Correlations with Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills WorldWise Lesson Plan Nature’s Rooming House © 2019 EC Licensing Pty Ltd. © 2019 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. The trademark “WorldWise Content-based Learning” and Star device is owned by EC Licensing Pty Ltd. 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: “© 2019 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.

Developed by Eleanor Curtain Publishing

okapi educational publishing

Text: Kerrie Shanahan, Jenny Feely Consultants: Linda Hoyt, Lyn Reggett 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.worldwise-reading.com

Reading 4(6) (B) Generate questions about text before, during, and after reading to deepen understanding and gain information.

4(6) (E) Make connections to personal experiences, ideas in other texts, and society.

4(7) (D) Retell, paraphrase, or summarize texts in ways that maintain meaning and logical order.

Writing 4(12) (B) Compose informational texts, including brief compositions that convey information about a topic, using a clear central idea and genre characteristics and craft.

Speaking and Listening 4(1) (A) Listen actively, ask relevant questions to clarify information, and make pertinent comments.

First reading session

Second reading session

Final reading session

Writing

Getting started

Building understanding

Bringing it all together

Introducing the book

Choose to have students either read independently or, if they need more support, to meet with you in a small group.

Have students talk about the whole book. Use a range of questions to promote discussion and higher-level thinking.

Where appropriate, have the students lead the discussion.

Have the students write a report about an animal that depends on one of the trees or large plants discussed in the book, using the prompt: How the ________ (name of animal) survives. Provide the students with a template detailing how to plan and write a report. Remind them to introduce the animal and where it lives, followed by information about how the animal lives.

Give each student a copy of the book Nature’s Rooming House.

Have the students browse through the book. Say: As you browse through the book, think about what you already know about trees and other large plants, and how many living things need them to survive.

What connections are you making? Have the students discuss their thinking with the group.

Exploring vocabulary Ask: What words or phrases would you expect to see in a book about how animals depend on trees and large plants for their survival? Have students work with a partner and record a list of words on sticky notes. Say: When you are finished, read out your list, and I will compile our group list.

Independent and partner work Have the students read chapters 2 and 3 independently.

Say: As you read, use the same process we used with the introduction and chapter 1. Read the chapters to yourself and keep track of your thinking by adding to your Graphic Organizer, then meet with your partner to discuss the main ideas that you recorded.

Have the students meet as a group to share and talk about what they have read and what they recorded on their Graphic Organizer. Monitor the group’s progress and support them, if necessary.

If some words or phrases are not known, have the student who recorded the word explain what it means. Compare the students’ vocabulary words with the words in the glossary.

Have the students read the rest of the book. On completion, have the students reread the whole book in preparation for the final reading session. Say: Be ready to talk about your thinking and to discuss your questions and wonderings with the group.

Introducing the reading strategy focus

Reading with teacher support

Say: Summarizing information helps you to understand what you have read. Being able to summarize takes practice. After you have read sections of this book you will get the chance to practice your summarizing skills.

Ask: What have we learned so far about how animals depend on mangrove trees? Share your ideas with a partner. Have the students read chapter 2 to themselves. Review what the students have read. Ask: What new information do you have? What are the similarities between the ways mangrove trees and large cactus plants support life?

What are the differences? Invite the students to talk about their understandings. Have the students read chapter 3 and the conclusion to themselves. Say: Now add your thinking about the main ideas in the text to your Graphic Organizer. On completion, have the students reread the whole book in preparation for the final reading session. Say: Be ready to talk about your thinking and to discuss your questions and wonderings with the group.

Ask: What do you know about summarizing? Discuss that summarizing involves reading information and listing the main ideas in what was read in a sentence, paragraph, page, or chapter.

Reading with teacher support Say: Read the introduction and chapter 1 to yourselves. As you read, think about the main ideas. Have the students discuss their thinking with their partner, and then have a group discussion. Ask: How has the author helped you to see the importance of mangrove trees in coastal ecosystems? Have the students record their ideas on the Graphic Organizer and compare it with their partner’s. Say: Be ready to talk about what you noticed with the whole group.

Reflecting on the reading strategy Encourage the students to talk about what they did to help themselves as readers. Ask: Were you able to recognize the main points in each chapter? How does summarizing the text help you to understand the information you are reading?

Why are trees and large plants so important to the overall health of an ecosystem? How are the three ecosystems described in this book similar? In what ways are they different? How are mangrove trees and the saguaro cactus adapted to their individual ecosystems?

(Inferential) What might happen if a living thing disappears from an ecosystem?

How can introduced animals or plants upset the balance of an ecosystem? Think about a tree that you know of – what living things might depend on it for their survival? (Synthesizing) Why might the author have chosen this title for the book? What are your thoughts on the title? How has the author organized the information in this book? How else could the information have been organized? (Critical) Invite students to ask their own questions.

Going beyond the book Have students demonstrate their understandings by choosing one or more of the following tasks. The tasks can be completed independently, in pairs, or in a small group.

Speaking and listening Have students prepare a short oral presentation on the topic: “Trees and other large plants are important because …” Encourage students to use examples from the book and to write notes that they can refer to as they give their talk.

Vocabulary Have students draw a three-column table with the headings “coastal ecosystem,” “desert ecosystem,” and “tropical rainforest ecosystem.” Students record at least five words that relate to each ecosystem. Students can share their tables in small groups.

Visual literacy Have students choose one of the ecosystems from the book and draw a labeled diagram that shows the living things that depend upon the mangrove tree, saguaro cactus, or tropical rainforest trees for survival.

Download the template at www.worldwise-reading.com/teacherresources Say: Think about an animal in the book that interests you.

Encourage the students to talk about their ideas with a partner, then write their report. Say: You will need to research your chosen animal.

Alternatively, the students could choose to write about a different type of ecosystem.

Activity card

Graphic Organizer: Who lives there?

Name/s:

Summarize the information in Nature’s Rooming House by listing information in the table.

Type of tree/s or plant/s

Living things

Why are they important? How do they survive?

How do they survive here? How do they use the tree/s or plant/s?

Coastal ecosystems

WorldWise

™

Lesson Plan Xx

Content-based Learning

Level R (40)

Xxxxxxxxx

Nature’s Rooming House describes the trees that grow in various ecosystems and the range of living things that depend on them.

The book explains how the trees survive in each ecosystem and highlights the roles they play in creating a balanced and thriving environment.

Informational text types: Report/Explanation

WorldWise

Content-based Learning

Next Generation Science Curriculum links

Desert ecosystems

• LS1.A Structure and function • ESS2.E Biogeology Key concepts

• Trees and large plants provide many animals with food, shelter, protection, and a place to breed • Different ecosystems have different types of trees and large plants • Trees and large plants play an important role in a thriving ecosystem Content vocabulary adapted, algae, bacteria, canopy, carnivores, cavity, community, coastal ecosystem, decomposing, ecosystem, forage, herbivores, introduced, larvae, nectar, nutrients, omnivores, organisms, periscopes, pollen, pollinators, predators, prey, reproduce, scar tissue, species, sub-tropical, talons, teeming, tides, tissue, tropical, wetlands

Tropical rainforest ecosystems

Text features

• Labeled photographs, captions, sidebars, photographic diagram, text boxes, glossary Reading strategy

• Summarizing information

Correlations with Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills WorldWise Lesson Plan Nature’s Rooming House © 2019 EC Licensing Pty Ltd. © 2019 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. The trademark “WorldWise Content-based Learning” and Star device is owned by EC Licensing Pty Ltd. 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: “© 2019 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.

Developed by Eleanor Curtain Publishing

okapi educational publishing

Text: Kerrie Shanahan, Jenny Feely Consultants: Linda Hoyt, Lyn Reggett 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.worldwise-reading.com

Reading 4(6) (B) Generate questions about text before, during, and after reading to deepen understanding and gain information.

4(6) (E) Make connections to personal experiences, ideas in other texts, and society.

4(7) (D) Retell, paraphrase, or summarize texts in ways that maintain meaning and logical order.

Writing 4(12) (B) Compose informational texts, including brief compositions that convey information about a topic, using a clear central idea and genre characteristics and craft.

Speaking and Listening 4(1) (A) Listen actively, ask relevant questions to clarify information, and make pertinent comments.