TEACHER'S GUIDE Trailblazer (Grade 3) NatGeo.org/explorermag-resources Password: explorer16 Vol. 16 No. 4 Vol. 16 No. 4 In This Guide This guide contains language arts and science lessons for articles in this issue of ExplorEr TrailblazEr. Explorer Magazine ExplorerTRAILBLAZER ExplorEr classroom magazines are specifically written for each grade, 2-5. Through great storytelling and stunning photographs, the ExplorEr magazines develop literacy skills and teach standards- based science content. The ExplorEr magazines strive to offer a variety of reading experiences for students with different ability levels in the same class. Thus, all articles have been measured using the Lexile® Framework for Reading. Some articles will be easier to read than others, but all articles Man and in ExplorEr TrailblazEr will be within the 350-750L range. 2 ExplorEr is part of NaTioNal Manatee GEoGraphic ExplorEr's Education program. For more resources, Down to Earth 10 Frozen 16 visit the "For Teachers" tab on ExplorEr's website, natgeo.org/ explorermag-resources. Your Subscription Includes: • Magazines • Classroom Posters • Projectable Magazine • Interactive Whiteboard Lesson • Teacher’s Guide • App (additional subscription required) National Geographic Explorer, Trailblazer Page 1 Vol. 16 No. 4 Man and Manatee Explorer LANGUAGE ARTS 660L Objectives READ • Students will identify and explain connections Let students know in this article they will read about between vocabulary words. Florida manatees and how humans interact with • Students will ask and answer questions before, them. They will learn reasons why some people want during, and after reading the article. to interact with manatees and why others think they • Students will use what they learned to write an shouldn't. informational essay about manatees. Explain to students that good readers ask questions Resources before, during, and after they read. They ask • Vocabulary Assessment Master (page 6) questions, in particular, when they encounter • Language Arts Assessment Master (page 7) something they don't understand or something they Summary want to learn more about. Usually, they can find the • The article “Man and Manatee” introduces answer in the text. students to Florida manatees and examines their coexistence with people. Display the photo on pages 2-3 of the projectable magazine. Instruct students to examine the man BUILD VOCABULARY AND CONCEPTS and the manatee in the photo. Say: When I look at this photo, I see a man snorkeling next to a large • activist animal. I've never seen an animal like this. What kind • advocate of animal is it? What is it like? Where does it live? Read • endangered aloud the headline and deck. Say: This information answered my questions. The animal is a manatee. It's a Display the Wordwise section on page 6 of the wild animal and it lives in Florida. Point out how close projectable magazine. Invite volunteers to read the man in the photo is to the manatee. Say: If a aloud the words and their definitions. Encourage manatee is a wild animal, I have a few more questions. students to share what they know about each word. How did the man get so close to the manatee? Is it safe to be this close? To find answers to those questions, I'll Give each student a copy of the Vocabulary have to read the article. Assessment Master. Instruct students to record each word and its definition. Then have them think Give each student a copy of the Language Arts about how the vocabulary words are related. Tell Assessment Master. Explain to student how they them to record three connections they see. For can use the worksheet to record questions and example: Both activists and advocates work to save answers they have before, during, and after they endangered species. read the article. After reading the article, divide the class into small As a class, brainstorm a list of questions about the groups. Have students share the connections they article. Instruct students to record the questions in predicted before reading the article. Instruct them the appropriate section of their worksheets. Then to reevaluate each connection based upon what they have students read the article on their own. As they have learned. If necessary, have students rewrite do, instruct them to record additional questions and their ideas to more accurately reflect connections any answers they find in the text. If students still between different vocabulary words. have questions about manatees after reading the article, instruct them to record those questions, too. National Geographic Explorer, Trailblazer Page 2 Vol. 16 No. 4 Man and Manatee Explorer LANGUAGE ARTS TURN AND TALK WRITE AND ASSESS Have students turn and talk to discuss what they You may want students to write about what they learned about manatees. Ask: What does a manatee learned to assess understanding. Encourage look like? (a chubby dolphin or a small whale) How students to reflect upon what they read and how it many manatees live in Florida? (6,000) Invite students affected their ideas about the topic. to share what else they learned about manatees. • What is the environment like where manatees live? • Finding Connections Explain to students that reading definitions tells people what words mean. • Why do some people want to protect manatees? But readers can get a more thorough understanding if they recognize how words are connected. Point out • What surprised you about what you read? that this is exactly what they did when they wrote sentences about the vocabulary words in the article. Instruct students to turn and share the sentences they wrote on their Vocabulary Assessment Masters in small groups. Tell them to discuss similarities and differences in their sentences to get an even deeper understanding of the vocabulary words. Ask and Answer Questions Remind students that asking and answering questions is a strategy to help them understand what they read. Say: Even the best readers come across words or ideas they don't understand. Asking questions is the first step toward figuring those things out. If you ask questions, you know which answers to search for as you read and re-read the text. Have students share and compare their Language Arts Assessment Masters in small groups. Do they have the same questions? Did they find the same answers? If not, encourage them to identify where in the text they found the answer and make any corrections necessary. • Writing About Manatees Point out to the class that asking and answering questions doesn't just help them understand what they're reading. It's also a great way to learn about a new topic. Instruct students to use the information on their Language Arts Assessments to write a brief essay about manatees. Remind students to introduce the topic clearly and to include facts, definitions, and details they recorded while reading the article. National Geographic Explorer, Trailblazer Page 3 Vol. 16 No. 4 Man and Manatee Explorer SCIENCE Objectives ENGAGE • Students will recognize unique characteristics of Tap Prior Knowledge the Florida manatee. As a class, discuss how changing temperatures in • Students will understand why manatees live along summer and winter affect their lives. Then point out the Florida coast in winter. that animals must deal with changing seasons, too. • Students will examine the pros and cons of human Encourage students to identify different animals interaction with manatees. they've seen. Challenge them to describe what the • Students will identify actions people can take to animals do to survive when seasons change. help protect manatees. Resources EXPLORE • Content Assessment Master (page 8) Preview the Lesson • "Meet the Manatee" poster (Teacher's Edition and Display pages 2-3 of the projectable magazine. pages 8-9 of the student magazine) Point out how close the man in the photo is to the • Comprehension Check (page 9) manatee. Say: Looking at this photo, I know that this • "Man and Manatee" Interactive Whiteboard man wants to take a picture of the manatee. But seeing (optional) how close he is to the manatee, it would be pretty easy for him to reach out and touch the manatee as well. Science Background For the man, that might be an exciting experience. Manatees are endangered mammals that live Ask: But how do you think it would affect the manatee? in shallow, coastal waters. Unlike many water Invite students to share their opinions. Tell them mammals, they never leave the water. When a they will learn more about how humans and manatee is born, its mother helps it reach the manatees interact as they read the article. surface. That's where the baby takes its first breath. An hour later, it can swim on its own. Set a Purpose and Read Have students read the article in order to recognize Manatees are herbivores that can grow up to unique characteristics of the Florida manatee, 4 meters long and weigh up to 1,200 kilograms. understand why manatees live along the Florida Despite this size, manatees are actually graceful coast in winter, examine the pros and cons of human swimmers. Most of the time, they slowly glide interaction with manatees, and identify actions along. But if needed, they can swim 15 mph people can take to help protect manatees. (24 kph) for a short distance. Resting manatees can stay underwater for EXPLAIN up to 15 minutes. But when manatees swim, Recognizing Manatee Traits they must surface every three to four minutes Display the "Meet the Manatee" poster. Invite a to breathe. This can put them in danger. Many volunteer to read aloud the headline and deck. manatees die each year when they are hit by Challenge students to identify six things they boats. Others get caught in fishing nets. learned about manatees just from reading the deck.