In a Rainforest Instructional Focus VISUALIZING Visualizing is the process of using words, structures, and meanings in a text to create mental pictures as one reads in order to aid comprehension. Instructional Approach GUIDED OR INDEPENDENT READING In a Rainforest Student Book 4a, p. 46 Guided and Independent Reading Kit Selection available on audio CD. Expectations LANGUAGE O: Oral R: Reading W: Writing ML: Media Literacy O O R R W Student Book 4a, pages 46 49 Applying Strategies Communicate ideas and information orally in a clear, coherent manner Demonstrate an understanding of appropriate speaking behaviour in a variety of situations Use a variety of strategies before, during, and after reading to understand texts Predict the meaning of and solve unfamiliar words using semantic, syntactic, and graphophonic cues Use specific words/phrases to create an intended impression SCIENCE CONNECTION Life Systems: Recognize that animals and plants live in specific habitats because they are dependent on those habitats and have adapted to them. About This Selection This richly illustrated article tells about the animals and vegetation in temperate and tropical rainforests. The straightforward text, together with the photographs and illustrations, make this article accessible to most students. New vocabulary is explained in context. ACCESSIBILITY Easy Average Challenging ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING Ongoing Observation Students who understand will identify words that help them create pictures in their minds add to their mental pictures when they get more information connect the reading to personal experience explain how visualization helps them understand the text and monitor comprehension Differentiated Instruction If students do not understand, provide extra support in a guided reading lesson (see Differentiated Instruction: Guided Reading, p. 25) If students find this text difficult to read, use a shared reading approach, or choose an alternative selection from your school collection Assessment Demonstration Task, p. 28 Key Assessment Question How did visualizing help you to understand what you read? Assessment Tools BLM 2: Oral Language Tracking Sheet BLM 3: Small-Group Observation Tracking Sheet BLM 4: Self-Assessment Checklist and Personal Goal Setting BLM 6: Strategy Rubric Strip Visualizing What Research Says about Read Alouds The term visualizing implies seeing pictures. Proficient readers create images from all of their senses when they read. (Harvey, 2000) Reflecting on Your Practice How might I use examples of vivid text to give students opportunities to practise visualization? In a Rainforest 23
Before ACCESSING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE 1. Tell students that the title of the article they will be reading is In a Rainforest. Encourage them to think about what they may already know about rainforests. 2. Ask students to visualize what they might see, hear, smell, or feel in a rainforest. 3. Give students BLM 5: My Rainforest Visualization and have them jot down words that describe their visualization, for example: My Rainforest Visualization I see I hear I smell I feel tall green trees birds During sweet flowers the hot sticky air Applying Strategies Visualizing As you read, use visualizing to help you understand what you are reading: Look for words that help you make pictures in your mind. Add to the pictures as you get more information. Find connections to personal experiences. Written by Sally Morgan Illustrated by Bart Vallecoccia A rainforest gets lots of rain, which helps the trees and plants in it to grow. The forest is like a tall building with many floors. Each floor, or layer, is home to different plants and animals. INTRODUCING THE TEXT 1. Let students spend a few minutes previewing the article. Invite them to add to their visualization organizer. Most new vocabulary is clearly defined in the article. 2. Direct students to Applying Strategies and read it aloud to them. Ask: How will using these reminders help you to understand In a Rainforest? (help me see when I m confused; help me remember) READING THE TEXT INDEPENDENTLY 1. Have students read to the end of the article independently, using visualization to aid comprehension. 2. Provide students with sticky notes to mark places in the text where visualization helped them understand what they were reading. 46 Habitats and Communities Vocabulary rainforest in British Columbia canopy a rooflike covering carnivores animals that eat other animals decomposers funguses that decay or break down dead plants emergents tall trees that rise above the canopy herbivores animals that eat plants lianas climbing vines omnivores animals that eat every kind of food temperate a region or climate marked by mild temperatures tropical typical of or found in regions close to the equator understory the middle layer of a rainforest Strategy Tip: Using context Tell students that, as they come across an unfamiliar word, they should look at what comes before and after it. As an example, ask students to locate and read the sentence at the top of page 49 about lianas. Ask: What are lianas? What words helped you to figure out the meaning of this word? 24 Nelson Literacy 4 Teacher s Resource: Habitats and Communities
OR FOR THOSE STUDENTS WHO NEED ADDITIONAL SUPPORT The tops of the trees make up the roof of the forest, called the canopy. Most of these trees are about 40 metres tall. A few even taller trees, called emergents, poke their heads above the canopy. Beneath the canopy is the understory. In this shady area, small trees, shrubs, and climbing plants compete for the light. Little sunlight passes through the understory down to the forest floor. It is damp and warm, so leaves and twigs rot quickly. Funguses are important decomposers that live on the forest floor. Decomposers break down the leaves and release nutrients (chemicals that help other plants grow). Creatures such as termites, earthworms, and spiders search the floor for food. 47 Differentiated Instruction: ELL Introducing Key Vocabulary and Content Concepts Preview the key vocabulary and content concepts by using the following activities: Introduce key vocabulary by sketching a tree and labelling the key concepts (canopy, understory, forest floor). Then draw a rotting log. Print and review the key vocabulary from pages 44 and 45 (rotting log, decay, feeders, recyclers, nutrients, plants, animals). Point to the words and then to your drawing and use the term visualize. Print visualize on the board. Read In a Rainforest aloud in chunks, pointing to the text and then to your sketch and the printed vocabulary. Summarize by saying I visualized as I read. Check understanding by asking the students to point to the canopy and to the rotting log. Ask students to create their own sketches of the rainforest, including some creatures. Encourage them to label their creatures and to use their drawings to describe the rainforest orally. Have them participate fully in the visualizing lesson with the other students. DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION: GUIDED READING 1. Read the first paragraph on page 46 to students. Ask: What has the writer done to help you visualize the rainforest? (compared a rainforest to a tall building) Sketch a tall building to help students relate the rainforest to the image described in the Student Book. 2. Read the heading The Canopy, on page 47, then ask students to read the text under it. Ask: What makes up the roof of the rainforest? (the tops of trees) 3. Make a comparison to a structure known to students that is about 40 m high, such as a building of about 10 to 12 stories. 4. Read the heading The Understory, then ask students to read the text under it. Ask: What makes the understory so shady? (lots of trees above, shrubs and plants are crowded together) Refer back to the sketch you drew and show where the understory would be. 5. Read the heading The Forest Floor, then ask students to read the text under it. Ask: When you make a picture in your mind, what do you see on the forest floor? (fallen trees, rotting leaves, insects, funguses) How does this mental picture remind you of what you learned in Life in a Rotting Log? (it reminds me that there is life among dead things on the forest floor) Refer back to your sketch and show where the forest floor would be. CONTINUED In a Rainforest 25
DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION: GUIDED READING 6. Read the opening paragraph on page 48 to students. Say: When I see the word temperate, it reminds me of temperature, but when I look at the ending, I see that it is different from the ending of temperature. Encourage students to sound out the word, correcting their pronunciation as necessary. Ask what they think temperate means (something to do with temperature) and clarify the meaning (not very hot or very cold). 7. Point out to students that they will be reading about two different rainforests. Remind them that all rainforests have a canopy, an understory, and a forest floor. Instruct students to read to the bottom of page 48 to learn about temperate rainforests. Ask: What would you see, hear, smell, and feel on a walk in a temperate rainforest? (wolves, elk, black bears; birds singing; smells of things rotting and growing; cool, wet air) 8. Tell students to read the remainder of the article on page 49 to learn about tropical rainforests. Ask: What would you see, hear, smell and feel on a walk in a tropical rainforest? (monkeys, butterflies, lianas; frogs calling; sweet-smelling flowers; warm, moist air) Did you know the word liana before you read this article? How can you figure out what it means? (read the words before and after; they tell you lianas are climbing plants that look like ropes) 48 Habitats and Communities Word Study black bear elk temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are found on some cool, wet coasts, such as the coast of British Columbia. The soil in the forest is very rich and full of nutrients. Bald eagles, ravens, woodpeckers, and Steller s jays make their homes in the canopy. Flying squirrels are found in the understory. Most animals live on the forest floor. Carnivores (meat eaters) such as wolves and cougars share the forest floor with herbivores (plant eaters) such as elk, black-tailed deer, and beavers. Omnivores (animals that eat both plants and meat) such as black bears roam the forest floor, too. Creating Adjective Chains 1. Tell students that writers use adjectives to help readers visualize. Remind students that adjectives describe nouns. 2. Use names of animals, for example, bear, from In a Rainforest, to model how adjectives can make nouns come to life. Ask students to suggest describing words when they picture a bear. 3. Write students suggestions on the board to create a chain of adjectives before the noun, for example: black, huge, bellowing, smelly bear. 4. Ask students to find a picture of a mammal, bird, or amphibian. 5. Let students work in small groups. One student shows a picture of an animal, and writes down the animal s name on the right-hand side of a piece of paper and an adjective on the left-hand side. The next student adds an adjective, as does the next, until the paper returns to the first student, who reads the whole adjective chain to the group. Each group member should get a turn choosing the animal and starting the chain. You may use Word Study Master 2. 26 Nelson Literacy 4 Teacher s Resource: Habitats and Communities
Tropical rainforests are found near the equator. The soil is very poor and does not contain many nutrients. Climbing plants, called lianas, look like ropes as they dangle from the understory down to the forest floor. The canopy is full of life. Many of the forest animals live here. Monkeys swing from branch to branch. Colourful birds and butterflies fly about. Amphibians (animals that live both in water and on land) such as frogs live in the understory. Lizards, snakes, and insects move between the different layers of the rainforest. Wild pigs and other animals live on the forest floor. tropical rainforest capuchin monkeys toucan Reflect on Strategies: What words did writer Sally Morgan use that helped you visualize? Your Learning: What did you learn about the rainforest that you did not know before you read this article? 49 3. Have students return to BLM 5: My Rainforest Visualization. Give them a few minutes to add to it. Ask: What would you like to revise or delete from your organizer? ORAL: DISCUSSING THE TEXT 1. Name two types of rainforest and describe each one. (temperate rainforest: soil is cool and rich; bald eagles, flying squirrels, wolves, elk live there; tropical rainforest: found near equator; monkeys, butterflies, snakes, wild pigs live there) 2. How would life in a rainforest be different if there were no carnivores? (more herbivores; fewer plants since there would be more herbivores sharing same food source) 3. Describe a movie you have seen or a book you have read with a rainforest as the setting. 4. How do you think the author, Sally Morgan, feels about rainforests? What makes you think so? (they are important habitats; they should be protected) CONTINUED After These questions and activities give students the opportunity to share and consolidate their learning about visualizing. You may use BLM 2: Oral Language Tracking Sheet and BLM 3: Small-Group Observation Tracking Sheet to track student progress through the unit. REFLECTING ON THE STRATEGY 1. Read aloud the Strategies question on Student Book page 49 and give students a few minutes to share responses with a partner. Then ask students to share their responses with the class. Possible responses include layer, roof, canopy, damp, creatures, equator. 2. Read the Your Learning question on page 49 to students and let them respond. Highlight common responses and interesting ideas for the whole class. Ask: Why do you think the author wrote this article? (to share information; to share something that is important to her) What do you think the author did to get the information needed to write this article? (did research, travelled to a rainforest) In a Rainforest 27
ORAL: ROLE-PLAY 1. Ask students to role-play being the owner of a travel company who has just returned from a visit to a rainforest. 2. In small groups, invite students to take turns telling about their trip and trying to persuade others in the group to visit (or not visit) the rainforest. ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING 3. Work with students to develop a list of reasons to use to persuade someone to visit (or not visit) a rainforest. For example, a reason to visit a rainforest might be great weather or an opportunity to see colourful animals. A reason not to visit a rainforest might be a fear of being bitten by a poisonous frog. WRITING: RAINFOREST HAIKU Ask students to write a haiku focusing on plants or animals that live in a tropical or temperate rainforest. Remind them that a haiku has three lines: one with five syllables, then one with seven syllables, then one with five syllables again. For example: The croaking of frogs The chattering of monkeys Rainforest music Checking Progress Demonstration Task Direct students to make a chart with three columns. In the first column, The Text Says, students write three examples of words, phrases, or sentences from In a Rainforest that prompt visualization. In the second column, I Visualize, they draw what they see in their minds when they read the word items they listed in the first column. In the third column, What This Reminds Me Of, students explain how their personal experiences connect with their visualizing. Key Assessment Question Students may respond to the Key Assessment Question either in writing or orally in a conference. Ask: How did visualizing help you to understand what you read? Record individual progress on BLM 6: Strategy Rubric Strip Visualizing. Next Steps Use the following resources to give students further opportunities to practise their reading strategies in small groups, independently, or in literature circles. Nelson Literacy Guided and Independent Reading Kit #4 Easy: Tundra #5 Average: Habitats in Danger #6 Challenging: Tidal Pools Other Nelson Resources PM Library, Sapphire Level: Jungle Trek PM +, Ruby Level: Where Would We Be Without Plants? Power Magazine, Volume 4: Basketball Skyrider Chapter Books 4: The Living Rain Forest Skyrider Double Takes 4: Helpful or Harmful? Strategy Rubric Strip: Visualizing A full-size version of this rubric, suitable for recording assessments, is provided on BLM 6. Criteria Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 identifies words that help create pictures in the mind with some adds to the picture when more information is provided with some connects the reading to personal experience with some explains how visualization helps the reader to understand the text and monitor comprehension with some Cross-Curricular Application applies the skills involved in visualization strategies to aid comprehension in other areas of the curriculum with some Student Self-Assessment Encourage students to think back to their learning with Life in a Rotting Log and In a Rainforest and reflect on their ability to use and understand visualizing as a reading comprehension strategy. Ask them to describe, while conferencing with you or a peer, how they might have used this strategy in other subject areas. Then direct them to check off the appropriate box on BLM 4: Self-Assessment Checklist and Personal Goal Setting. 28 Nelson Literacy 4 Teacher s Resource: Habitats and Communities