Grade: Grade 5 Subject: English Language Arts Created by: Mariah Salas Lesson Length: 45 minutes Keywords/Tags: insects; birds; scientists; organisms; poppy-bees; sawfly Lesson Description: This lesson talks about different insects such as sawflies and poppy-bees. In addition, this lesson talks about birds. The author is able to tie in these three living organisms by giving out unusual facts about all three.
Common Core Standards Covered with This Lesson
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.1: Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.4: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.8: Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which point(s).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.5.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 5 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
Lesson Content: Reading
Instructions: Please read the following reading passage as many times as needed before answering the following questions.
Animal Studies
Animals are wonderful. If you look closely at how they live, you will find many surprises. It is hard to look closely at insects, because they are very small. Plus, many of them fly away when you come near. But if you have a chance to watch them, you will discover how they live. Watching animals is a job that scientists do, called making observations. They have learned a lot about animals.
Scientists learn about tiny animals, and they have studied insects. They found that insects have tools, and they use those tools to survive. For example, they learned about the sawfly. This is just one animal they have studied.
They call it the sawfly because it possesses a kind of saw. It's not a real saw, but it resembles one, and it works like one. It is actually a part of the sawfly’s anatomy. The sawfly uses the saw to make places where the eggs will be safe. It saws at plants in order to create a space where eggs can go. Afterward, the sawfly does something very special. It makes a sort of homemade glue that fastens the eggs where they are laid. We are not exactly sure how it does that, but if you can watch the sawfly you will see this happen.
Some insects have cutting instruments that work in a similar way as scissors. The poppy-bee is one of these insects. It is a bee that makes its home in wood. This bee has a boring tool, and it uses the tool to bore into old wood. It looks like a tool that a carpenter might use. Carpenters make things out of wood, and like carpenters, poppy-bees makes their nests out of wood.
In addition to insects, scientists observe birds, too. They have studied birds using their bills in order to get what they need. Some birds use their bills to cut into wood. They have sharp bills, and are able to cut a hole in a tree. So, they will use their sharp bills to drill a hole to get inside the tree where insects live, and then they eat the insects.
Every animal is amazing. Even dogs and cats can surprise you. The more you observe animals, the more you will learn. Nature is full of surprises. Every part of every animal has a purpose. Scientists learn more about them every day. Nature is a wonderful part of our world.
Task 1: Vocabulary Activity
(40 points)
Instructions: Please complete the following vocabulary activity by choosing the correct meaning of each word selected from the passage and use of each word correctly in a sentence.
Vocabulary Questions
Word/Phrase: studied | Tier: 2 | Points: 10
Q1
The author in our story says "Scientists learn about tiny animals, and they have studied insects". What does the word "studied" mean?
A. To learn *
B. To know
C. To acknowledge
D. To read
Which one of the sentence below uses the word "studied" correctly as it relates to the previous question?
A. Lisa studied her notes from class in order to learn the material for her test. *
B. Taylor studied her dog for a walk.
C. The little girl studied her teddy bear to the store.
D. Melissa became studied when she fell going up the stairs.
Word/Phrase: possesses | Tier: 2 | Points: 10
Q2
The author in our story says that "They call it the sawfly because it possesses a kind of saw". What does the word "possesses" mean in this sentence?
A. To not have a faculty, quality, or the like
B. To have a faculty, quality, or the like *
C. To want to be something
D. To learn about a quality
Which one of the sentence below uses the word "possesses" correctly in relation to the sentence in the question above?
A. He possesses a kitchen set.
B. He possesses a car.
C. He possesses a house.
D. He possesses an athletic type body. *
Word/Phrase: bills | Tier: 3 | Points: 10
Q3
When describing how scientists study birds, the author says "In addition to insects, scientists observe birds, too. They have studied birds using their bills in order to get what they need. Some birds use their bills to cut into wood". What does the word "bills" mean in this passage?
A. A form of money
B. A payment owed
C. The nose or beak of a bird *
D. The tip of a ballcap
Which one of the sentence below uses the word "bills' correctly as it relates to the sentence in the previous question?
A. I used a fifty $1 bills to pay for ticket.
B. Sal and his friend, Joe, both took their phone bills to the store in order to pay them on time.
C. The bill of Bob's baseball cap was bent.
D. The seagull stole my sandwich right out of my hand with its long bill. *
Word/Phrase: observations | Tier: 3 | Points: 10
Q4
The author says in our story "Watching animals is a job that scientists do, called making observations". What does the word "observations" mean in this sentence?
A. An act of watching in order to learn *
B. Making an inference
C. Learning by doing hands-on acitivities
D. Making a hypothesis
Which of the sentence below uses the word "observations" correctly in relation to the previous question?
A. An observation is a fact supported by evidence.
B. By making an observation an individual is making an inference because the two terms mean the same thing.
C. I attended a trip to the zoo where I watched and made observations about the animals *
D. I did not watch or listen to the movie so therefore I was able to make observations about the movie.
Standards Covered with This Lesson Activity: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.4, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.5.4,
Task 2: Discussion Activity
(30 points)
Instructions: Please read the posted questions, and respond to each. Students are responsible for posting one initial and and two peer responses for each topic.
Topic Title
Replies
The sawfly
This passage describes different types of insects that scientists have studied. What special characteristics does the sawfly have that make it different from other insects? What do you, as the reader, feel about the "homemade glue" that the sawfly is able to make for its eggs?
Sent on: Feb 23, 2015 by: Mariah Salas
0
The poppy-bee
When discussing the poppy-bee, the auhor mentions how its body has a cutting instrument that acts like scissors. Explain what the author means by having a cutting instrument like "scissors" and what is the poppy-bee able to do because of this characteristic?
Sent on: Feb 23, 2015 by: Mariah Salas
0
A bird's sharp bill
In the passage the author describes how birds have sharp bills. They use their sharp bills in order to drill holes in trees in order to eat the insects that live inside. Can you think of any other reasons that a bird might want to drill a large hole into a tree? Please list and disucss 2 ideas.
Sent on: Feb 23, 2015 by: Mariah Salas
0
Standards Covered with This Lesson Activity: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.8,
Task 3: Writing Activity
(30 points)
Instructions: In the space provided below, please write a minimum of 200 words reflecting on the passage. Please make sure to describe at least one (1) direct quote from the passage about one of the organisms mentioned. In addition, what did you think about the insects in which the scientists were able to observe? Do feel that there were some areas in the passage that could have used more detail? Finally, if you could ask the author any two (2) questions about any of the three living organisms that were talked about in this passage, what would they be and why?
Standards Covered with This Lesson Activity: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2,
