LET’S GATHER How Plants Adapt to their Habitats
UNIT 2
Welcome to the Unit Essential Question
Your read-aloud work also supports within-text and cross-text synthesis. You continually teach students to think about how the part they are hearing connects back to earlier parts in the text or connects to central ideas about the topic as a whole. This work helps students to deepen their knowledge about plants and their adaptations. This unit places particular emphasis on supporting close reading. You’ll teach students to read complex texts closely and independently and to answer text-based questions that deepen their understanding of that text. These strategies will equip students to tackle complex texts with more skill, both when researching their own topics and on high-stakes assessments. Talking and Writing About Reading These read-aloud plans build on the talk structures that you introduced in Unit 1. You’ll continue to ask students to respond to all-calls and to turn and talk regularly in partnerships. You’ll also place an emphasis on extended, whole-class conversa- tions. You’ll lean on a Think-Pair-Share structure to help students first think independently about a question, then discuss the question in partnerships, and then finally share their thinking as a whole class. This structure will help you boost participation during whole-class conversations. To help students talk more skillfully about content, you’ll equip them with sentence starters, channeling them to use those first in their talk. At times, you’ll also ask students to write long in response to a question you pose, using the academic language they are developing. We’ve suggested times you can collect these responses as a form of formative assessment. Students will talk in ways that are especially text-based. To support this work, you’ll regularly project sections of the text for kids to discuss. At times, you’ll make text excerpts available for students to cite as they talk. Students will use sketching and labeling as a way to write about their reading. You’ll also model how to take notes that syn- thesize big ideas about a topic. This sets kids up for the note-taking they’ll do during reading workshop. Knowledge-Building Goals Across this unit, your read-aloud and close reading time will help students build critical knowledge about plants, especially the different ways plants adapt to their environments to help them survive and thrive across their life cycles. Students will learn that plants are living organisms that cover major parts of the world. All plants have a few things in common. They have roots, stems, and leaves. They require air, water, and nutrients in order to survive. They cannot move on their own, so they require the help of other animals, insects, and the wind to move their seeds and pollen to new locations. Many plants grow from seeds, and most plants flower. Around the world, plants have evolved to have a variety of fascinating adaptations that help them to survive in their unique habitats. For instance, in arid environments, plants like cacti have developed thick, waxy skins to minimize water loss. A cac- tus’s spines protect it from predators that may otherwise want to eat it. Cacti also have deep root systems that allow them to reach underground water sources. Together these adaptations help cacti to survive in harsh, dry conditions. Of course, cacti are just one example of the ways plants have adapted to their environments. Plant adaptations tend to fall into a few different categories, which students will explore across your read-alouds. Some adap- tations help plants to access water or conserve the water they manage to collect. Some adaptations help plants to regulate their temperature, either reducing heat loss or preventing overheating. Other adaptations help plants to acquire nutrients; these adaptations are especially critical in nutrient-poor environments, such as sandy soils. Additional adaptations help plants attract pollinators or disperse their seeds. Still more adaptations help plants to defend themselves from predators. All these adaptations result in plants that look and function in very different ways. When adaptations are successful and help plants to survive in their environments, plants will pass these adaptations down to future generations. As the unit wraps up, students will develop more in-depth knowledge about two particular plants: bristlecone pine trees, includ- ing the Methuselah tree, and Coast Redwoods. These plants have many unique adaptations that allow them to survive–and thrive–for long periods of time.
z How do plants’ adaptations help them to survive and thrive in their habitats? z How can we build knowledge by reading across nonfiction texts in a text set? Read-Aloud and Close Reading Texts Across the unit, you’ll share six texts with students. You’ll use these texts across read-aloud and close reading sessions. You’ll also incorporate opportunities for whole-class conversations and for culminating activities.
The Forest Keeper: The True Story of Jadav Payeng by Rina Singh Plants in Different Habitats by Bobbie Kalman Pretty Sneaky: The Tricky Ways Plants Survive by Etta Kaner “The Methuselah Tree: Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest” by Joan Bransfield Graham “The Amazing Methuselah Tree” by Lauren Gould Redwoods by Jason Chin
This unit relies on you reading aloud the books, poem, and article that are supported through this resource. These plans deeply support the instruction that occurs during your minilessons and will help you demonstrate the work you hope your students will be doing with their independent books. They also support students as they build essential content knowledge that will allow them to more deeply understand their own topics. However, if you want to invent your own read-aloud instruction in response to your students, know that it is less important that you closely follow these plans than that you read aloud the texts and sections that are referenced in the minilessons. If you do want to be guided by these plans, know that the bolded sections offer sufficient guidance so you can skip the detailed examples of how instruction might look. Higher-Level Comprehension This read-aloud unit begins with a biography, which provides the opportunity for students to use the fiction reading skills they honed in Unit 1 in a different context. Students get to know the subject of the biography, including their traits and feelings, study the challenges they face, and learn about what they do to overcome those challenges. Students also consider life lessons they can learn from the text. When you shift to reading expository nonfiction, you begin by teaching students how to orient to topics and texts. Students learn to preview texts, considering what the text will teach and how it will teach that information. As they read, they pause regularly to consider the main ideas they are learning, drawing on main idea strategies that you support explicitly during minilessons in the reading unit. Students learn to attend to the structure of a text and organize their summaries in the same way, so that if a text teaches what happens in sequence, their summary follows that same structure. Along the way, you’ll teach kids how to answer text-dependent questions, drawing explicitly on evidence from the text to support their thinking. You’ll also build students’ bank of vocabulary strategies, so that when they encounter unfamiliar words, they know how to determine the meaning by finding a definition, making inferences based on context, or using knowledge of morphology.
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GRADE 3 • Unit 2 • Let’s Gather
WELCOME TO THE UNIT
Book 1 Read-Aloud The Forest Keeper: The True Story of Jadav Payeng by Rina Singh Rationale for Text Selection: The Forest Keeper: The True Story of Jadav Payeng (750L) is a gorgeous biography written by Rina Singh and illustrated by Ishita Jain. This book fosters motivation and buy-in related to the topic of plants and how they adapt to their environments by telling the story of a child who establishes a bamboo crop in a sandbar (Lupo et al., 2018). When his community in Assam, India, floods, and the plants that lived there are washed away, Payeng proposes planting trees on sandbars and islands as a way to stabilize the environment and prevent future erosion. His requests are initially dismissed, as tribal elders tell him that trees don’t grow on sandbars. Payeng moves forward with his plan anyway, first planting bamboo seedlings, and once those are established in the sandy soil, planting other crops that eventually grow into a forest the size of Central Park. The book received a starred review from the Youth Services Book Review and was awarded the Green Earth Book Award. Both the author and illustrator were born in India, just like the child in the biography. This is Ishita Jain’s debut as a book illustrator, and Youth Services Book Review emphasized that the “vibrant illustrations place the emphasis on the beauty of nature.” Vocabulary Spotlight : Across this book, you’ll spotlight key vocabulary words students will use repeatedly to discuss the inquiry topic. You’ll introduce these words across the read-aloud, and you’ll revisit several of these words during your minilessons and in the Vocabulary Extensions.
Bend I Session 1: Introduce the Topic of Plant Adaptations, and Begin to Read The Forest Keeper, pages 1–22
Focus Standards z Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area . CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.4 z Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse part- ners on grade 3 topics and texts , building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.1
BEFORE READING Introduce the new inquiry topic you’ll study during the unit: plants and how they adapt to their habitats. Rally students to recall their prior knowledge about the topic.
“Readers, I’m so excited to dive into a new inquiry with you. Over the next few weeks, during read-aloud time, we’ll be studying plants and the special ways they adapt to their habitats , or the places where they live, to help them survive and thrive. “Take these two plants, for instance.” Project two pic- tures: a cactus and a pine tree. “These two plants look very different, don’t they? A cactus and a pine tree—and they grow in two very different hab- itats. What do you notice about these plants and the places where they each live? Tell your partner.” Preview the first book you’ll study related to your inquiry topic: The Forest Keeper: The True Story of Jadav Payeng , and establish a purpose for reading. “Here’s the first book we’ll read together.” Project the cover. “It’s called The Forest Keeper: The True Story of Jadav Payeng . It’s a biography, a true story, about a young Indian boy, Jadav Payeng.
Consider taking photo- graphs of the plants around your school and sharing these with students as a way to spark talk. Students can point to parts of the photograph and describe what they notice.
habitat: the place where a species lives vegetation: all the plants and trees that grow in a certain area tribal: belonging to a tribe or group of people elders: older or respected members of a tribe or group species: a group of living things
Getting Ready: You will read this book cover to cover. This book does not have page numbers. Regard the first page contain- ing words as page 2 and use that to calculate subsequent page numbers, giving one number to the left page and one to the right, throughout the book. The last page will be 34. It may help to use sticky notes to flag the stopping points as a reminder to discuss. You’ll begin a new Vocabulary Word Wall for this unit. This might be a chart where you collect vocabulary words or a nearby bulletin board. You’ll find printable vocabulary cards on the online resources, or you can make your own. Make sure you can rearrange the words after you add them, because grouping and regrouping words will help kids build vocabulary. You’ll need a way to project photos for Session 1 and the backmatter of the book for Session 2.
“As we read, let’s think about what we’re learning about Jadav’s life, as well as what we’re learning about how plants can adapt to their habitats.” DURING READING Read aloud pages 1–22, pausing along the way to explicitly model comprehension strategies, define key vocabulary, and channel students to answer text-dependent questions. Pause after reading page 2, and then reread the page: “Wow, we just learned a lot on this page. I know this part is about a river in northeast India, and it sounds like something’s happening where the river ‘goes wild,’ but I’m not sure exactly what. “Let’s try the strategy of rereading. Be ready to talk about what’s happening.” Reread page 1, pausing to tuck in definitions for recede (to move back from) and renew (to make and then channel new or fresh again). Then, channel students to talk.
Listen for students to mention how plants in different habitats look different from each other. The cactus in the desert has a thick stem and sharp spikes all over it. Cacti look really differ- ent from pine trees that grow in thick wooded forests and that have needles for leaves and cones.
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GRADE 3 • Unit 2 • Let’s Gather
Unit 2 • Book 1 • The Forest Keeper: The True Story of Jadav Payeng
Bend I Session 2: Finish The Forest Keeper , Including the Back Matter, and Determine Main Ideas
Add the word vegetation to your vocabulary word wall. “ Vegetation is all the plants and trees that grow in a certain area.” “What’s happening in this part to the river and the vegetation ? Turn and discuss it with your partner.” (There’s a river in northeast India that can get filled with too much water. When that happens, it can wash away the land and plants, and even people and animals. But the river has some good parts, too.) “Oh, interesting. Are you better understanding what the author means when she writes that ‘The river is both a curse and a blessing?’” Raise the point briefly, and then move on. Continue reading pages 3–22, pausing to support students’ understanding of the text. Pause after reading page 8: “Wow, we’re getting to know more about Jadav. The author says he is a tribal boy. That means he belongs to a tribe, or a group of people who live together. In this case, Jadav’s tribe is in northeastern India. And in this part, he first goes and talks to the elders. Elders are older or respected members of a group.” “Jadav seems like the kind of person who wants to help others. What is Jadav’s plan to help his community?” (Jadav wants his community to plant trees on the sandbars to help preserve the land. The elders would not help him plant trees, but he did get bamboo seed- lings that he will probably plant.) “Did you notice that the author is using figurative language to describe how the tribal elders feel? She wrote that when the tribal elders tell Jadav that trees won’t grow on sandbars, they say it ‘with the sorrow of a thousand monsoons.’ Let’s see if we can figure out what that phrase means. I know that monsoons are incredibly powerful storms. And sorrow is a deep, deep sadness. So, what might the tribal elders mean when they say something ‘with the sorrow of a thousand monsoons’?” (The elders must have been incredibly sad that trees did not grow on the sandbars.) Pause after reading page 13: “This part feels so important. A few pages ago, the tribal elders told Jadav that ‘trees don’t grow on sandbars.’ But look—they’re growing! Do you see those tiny bamboo shoots growing into a huge thicket (point to the image on page 14)?” Pause after reading page 15: “The author writes that ‘Jadav began to plant trees of many species.’ What does the word species mean?” (Students might say “kinds.” You might respond, “Yes, species means groups or kinds of living things. (There can be different plant species or different animal species.”) Add the word species to the Vocabulary Word Wall. Continue reading to page 22. AFTER READING Pose a few questions that invite students to reflect on what they’ve learned so far. “Wow! We’ve already learned a ton about Jadav and the community he lives in. And we’re learning so much about Jadav’s plan to plant bamboo on the sandbar. What’s something you admire about Jadav so far?” Use the all-call signal. “In this biography, the author, Rina Singh, wrote that Jadav ‘watched in awe at the wonder he had created.’ What would it look like to ‘watch in awe’? Act that out right now. Imagine you were watching our read-aloud book in awe. Exactly!”
Focus Standards z Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.1 z Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea. CCSS.ELA- LITERACY.RI.3.2
Using tools to promote talk is a powerful move for your MLL students. Consider bringing in maps of the world or India, pictures to represent the new vocabulary words, or sentence frames to support beginning conversations. The words tribal and elders are important to understanding The Forest Keeper , but they are not related to the broader topic of plant adaptations. We suggest you define these words for stu- dents but not add them to the Vocabulary Word Wall.
BEFORE READING Invite students to summarize what they’ve already read in The Forest Keeper . Set them up for today’s reading work. “Readers, I can’t wait to finish The Forest Keeper with you, and to learn more about what happens to Jadav Payeng and his bamboo forest. Let’s retell the book to get ourselves ready to read. I’ll flip through the pictures, as you and your partner retell.” Flip through the pages as students summarize what they’ve learned. “Let’s continue reading The Forest Keeper . We’ll pick up where we left off, when we heard that Jadav was watching in ‘awe at the wonder he had created’ on the sandbar. Let’s work together to learn more about Jadav and the forest he created.” DURING READING Read aloud from page 23 to page 32, pausing along the way to channel students to talk about problems and solutions. Pause after reading page 25: “Oh, no! It seems like the villagers are threatening Jadav here. They just said, ‘If we see another elephant in our village again, we will burn your forest to the ground!’ Why are the villagers threatening to cut down Jadav’s beautiful forest?” (The villagers were concerned about the elephants that smashed some of the huts in the village. They were concerned the forest was attracting the elephants.) “I hope nothing happens to Jadav’s forest. Let’s read on and find out.” Pause after reading page 32: “Phew! What a relief that Jadav’s forest is OK. What did Jadav do to ensure both the elephants and his forest were safe?” Use the all-call signal. Project pages 33–34. Channel students to read those pages aloud with you, and then to quiz themselves on what they read. “Oh, there’s some back matter. It looks like the author included some additional information at the end of the book to teach us more about Jadav Payeng and the work he did to create such a thriving habitat. I’ll project this part of the text. Let’s read it together, in one voice.
For your students who are still working on retelling texts, it is helpful to use gestures or icons to support this work. You might have students retell across their fingers or touch pic- tures in the text that represent story elements.
See what else you can learn about Jadav as we read.” Project page 34, and channel students to read it with you.
Acting out the figurative language in a text is highly ben- eficial for multilingual language learners. This will help students visualize the meaning behind the words, so be sure to prioritize this teaching.
Cognitive learning scientists call this retrieval practice. After studying something, you can quiz yourself as to what you remember, and then check back with a resource to see any addi- tional information you forgot.
“Scientists that study how people learn have found that one way you can help yourself learn is by quizzing yourself. That is, after you read a section like this one, you can stop and ask yourself some questions about it, and try to answer those questions without looking back at the passage. Then, after you’ve run out of things to say, you can check back with the passage to see what parts you remembered and what parts you might have forgotten. This kind of quick quizzing can help you really hold onto what you are learning.
“Now envision Jadav in this part. Why was Jadav in awe? What wonder had he helped to create?” (At first, there was just a sandbar on an island. By planting bamboo seedlings and then other plant species, Jadav created a thriving habitat for animals, including elephants.) “Tomorrow, we’ll finish this book and hear more about Jadav’s inspiring life story.”
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GRADE 3 • Unit 2 • Let’s Gather
Unit 2 • Book 1 • The Forest Keeper: The True Story of Jadav Payeng
Book 2 Read-Aloud Plants in Different Habitats by Bobbie Kalman
“If I were going to ask myself a question, I might say, ‘How big was Jadav’s forest?’ With your partner, try to answer that question right now. Then, check back with the text to see what you remembered and what you forgot.” “Now you try it—with your partner, take turns quizzing each other about what you just read. After you ask and answer a question, check back with the passage to see what you remembered and what you forgot. AFTER READING Discuss and chart possible central ideas for the text as a class. “ The Forest Keeper: The True Story of Jadav Payeng is such a powerful biography, isn’t it? We know that when an author writes a biography, there’s usually something the author is hoping we’ll learn from the book. What does Rina Singh want us to learn from this biogra- phy? Brainstorm what the main ideas or themes might be from this book.” After students talk, invite students to share possible central ideas or themes that the text teaches. (One person can make a tremendous difference. Children can change their com- munities. Plants are incredibly important to habitats and communities.) “Let’s keep these lessons we can learn from Jadav in mind as we continue to read books about this topic.”
Rationale for Text Selection : Plants in Different Habitats (790L) by Bobbie Kalman provides a foundational introduction to plants that live in different habitats around the world. This expository nonfiction text is clearly structured into sections, with most sections detailing a new habitat and the ways that plants have evolved to survive and thrive in that habitat. This structure makes the text highly supportive for third graders as they work to determine main ideas and key details and begin to think about text structure. This book received a starred review from Library Media Connection . It is also available in Spanish. It includes photo- graphs and captions that help students to understand what different habitats are like, as well as a few supportive diagrams. Vocabulary Spotlight: Across this book, you’ll spotlight key vocabulary words students will use repeatedly to discuss the inquiry topic. You’ll introduce these words across the read-aloud, and you’ll revisit several of the words during your minilessons and your Vocabulary Extensions.
Words like biography , central ideas , and theme are considered academic language. Consider ways to make these words and terms comprehen- sible for your MLL students. Preteach these terms prior to the session or translate them into languages your students speak. If you want to support your students with the thinking work here, you could also have a list of common themes from texts for use as well.
adaptation: a feature that helps a living thing survive in its environment photosynthesis: a process during which plants use sunlight to make food
nutrients: substances living things need to survive habitat: a place in nature where a plant or animal lives camouflage: a defense mechanism that helps organisms blend in with their surroundings introduced plant: a plant that doesn’t normally live in a particular habitat rely: to depend on something or to need something
Getting Ready: You will not be reading this book cover to cover. Instead, you will read and reread sections that are most rel- evant to your research. This book has page numbers so we’ve used those to indicate stopping points. If your book does not have page numbers, please regard the first page with words as page 4. It may help to use sticky notes to flag the stopping points as a reminder to discuss. In Session 3, you will continue to add to your Vocabulary Word Wall. For Session 5, be prepared to have copies of pages 14–15 and 18–19 for each student. For Session 6, you’ll need copies of pages 28–29 for students as well.
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GRADE 3 • Unit 2 • Let’s Gather
Unit 2 • Book 2 • Plants in Different Habitats
Bend I Session 3: Preview Plants in Different Habitats and Begin to Read
DURING READING Begin reading the text aloud, pausing to orient to different sections, ask and answer ques- tions, and discuss key terms. Display pages 4–5: “Here’s the first section we’ll read—‘What are plants?’ You know that readers don’t just preview the entire text—they also preview parts. Preview this section with your partner. Look at the heading and subheading and any visuals, and then tell your partner what this section will teach and how it will likely teach the information.” (This section will teach what plants are and what parts plants have. It might teach us about each of the plant parts in order.) Read aloud pages 4–5, then pause: “We just learned about different parts that all plants have. I’ll project the diagram of this plant. With your partner, point to the different parts of the plant, and discuss what you learned about each plant part.” (Roots: hold plants in the soil and take in water and food; stems: hold plants upright, transport food and water to other plant parts; leaves: where plants make their food.) Display pages 6–7: “Ready for the next section? Do a quick preview with your partner. Remember to look at the headings and subheadings and any visuals, and tell your partner what this section will teach and how it will likely teach the information.” (This section will teach about what photosynthesis is and how plants use nutrients to survive. We might learn about the steps in the process.) Read aloud pages 6–7, and then pause: “The author just taught us what photosynthesis is. Say that word with me: photosynthesis . I’ll add it to our word wall. Just like we did before, will you use the diagram on page 6 to help you teach your partner about the process of photosynthesis. Since it’s a process, try to name the steps: First…and then…and next…” Listen as partnerships talk. “So photosynthesis is the process where plants use sunlight to make food. And it involves nutrients , which are substances living things need to survive. I’ll add that word to the word wall, too.” Display pages 8–9: “Ready for the next section, ‘Plant Habitats’? You know what to do. Preview it with your partner.” (This section will probably introduce a bunch of different places where plants live. It might teach a bit about each place and then show a picture of it.) Read aloud pages 8–9, and then pause: “Oh, we’re learning more about a habitat .” Tap the word on your word wall. “What is the meaning of the word habitat as it is used in this section?” (A habitat is the place in nature where a plant or animal lives. These must all be different habitats where plants live.) AFTER READING Invite students to look across pages 8–9 and make a reading plan for the habitats you’ll study together. “This section previews many of the different habitats we’ll learn about across the rest of the book. I’m curious about so many of these habitats—aren’t you? Let’s flag the habitats we want to read more about tomorrow.” As a class, flag the specific plant habitats you’ll read about during the following ses- sions. We suggest: “Boreal Forest Plants,” “Broadleaved Forest Plants,” “Tropical Rainforest Plants,” “Desert Plants,” and “Polar Plants,” but you might add to the list or make changes based on your students’ interests and the habitats that are most relevant to your students’ lived experiences.
Focus Standards z Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.1 z Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate under- standing of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur). CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.7
BEFORE READING Introduce the text set you’ll study during read-aloud and close reading, and set a purpose for reading. “I can’t stop thinking about Jadav Payeng’s life story, can you? I’m struck by how Jadav managed to get a bamboo thicket to grow in a sandy island habitat that so many elders in his community thought was unlivable. Bamboo plants must have special adaptations that allow them to survive in that habitat.” Display the word adaptation and add it to the Vocabulary Word Wall. “Read this word with me. Adaptation . “An adaptation is a feature that helps a living thing survive in its environment. You probably know about some adaptations that help animals to survive. Giraffes, for instance, have long necks that help them reach leaves high up in the trees that other animals can’t get to. “Different plants have different adaptations that help them to survive in their habitats, too. For instance, in India where Jadav Payeng lived, there were a ton of storms. Bamboo plants had to adapt to have really deep root systems, so that bamboo plants don’t get blown away during storms. So, a deep root system is a special adaptation that bamboo plants have.” Demonstrate how you preview Plants in Different Habitats by Bobbie Kalman and Rebecca Sjonger, explicitly naming the transferable moves you make. “Here’s the next book we’ll read for our research— Plants in Different Habitats by Bobbie Kalman and Rebecca Sjonger. We already previewed this book a bit during reading work- shop. Whenever we preview a nonfiction text, remember that it helps to study the cover and read the table of contents, if there is one. This can help us get a sense for what the book will teach and how the book will go.” Project the cover and read the title and author. “ Plants in Different Habitats by Bobbie Kalman. Well, from the title, it sounds like we’ll learn about plants that grow in different habitats. I see some plants that look more like desert plants, some that look more like rainforest plants.” “Let’s study the table of contents next. Think with me.” Project the table of contents. “Inter- esting. So it sounds like first, we’ll learn a bit about plants in general—what they are, how they make food. Then, it looks like there are a bunch of sections about different habitats plants can live in. Boreal forests, grasslands, mountains, freshwater. “Now that we know what the book will probably teach and how it will probably go, let’s start reading the introductory sections.”
One way to provide vocab- ulary support for multilingual learners is to label images. The words root , stem , and leaves are all highly imageable. You might project an image of a plant and collaboratively label the different parts in English. You could also add these words to your Vocab- ulary Word Wall.
To support multilingual learners, you might highlight key vocabulary words that are cognates in students’ home languages. For instance, the Spanish word for plant is planta. Other Spanish-English cognates you might highlight across the unit include characteristics/ características, cycle/ciclo, diagram/diagrama, inheritance/ herencia, nutricion/nutrición, scientists/científicos, species/ especies, and systems/siste- mas, among others. Whenever you talk about the text or pictures, it will be import- ant to point to places in the text that you are talking about to support students’ attention and comprehension.
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GRADE 3 • Unit 2 • Let’s Gather
Unit 2 • Book 2 • Plants in Different Habitats
Bend I Session 4: Read Plants in Different Habitats with a Focus on Kinds of Habitats
“Did you notice that the author taught us information through a sequence—spring, summer, fall (or autumn), and winter? “When the text structure is clear, like it is in this section, we can use the text structure to help us retell what we learned. In this case, we can summarize in a sequence, telling what happened in each season. Give that a try right now. With your partner, explain how broad- leaved plants adapt to their environment in each season.” (In the spring, there are more nutrients in the ground, so broadleaved trees start to grow leaves. In the summer, plants become taller so they can access more sunlight. In the fall, plants shed their leaves to save energy. In the winter, plants are dormant so they can save energy.) Ask students to preview pages 14–15, then read them aloud and use the text’s structure to summarize. “Preview this next section, ‘Tropical rainforest plants,’ with your partner.” Read aloud “Tropical rainforest plants” on pages 14–15. “Did you hear a problem and a solution in this part? Yes, we learned problems plants in the tropical rainforest face, as well as possible solutions. Let’s use the structure of this section again to summarize what we just learned. “We could start by naming a problem. Maybe, ‘One problem is that vines in a tropical rainforest have trouble getting sunlight.’ Then you could say, ‘A solution…’ and give the solution. Try that right now. “With your partner, try to name another problem plants in the tropical rainforest face, as well as the solution.” Preview pages 18–19, and then read them aloud, emphasizing a key term. Display pages 18–19: “You know what to do!” Use the all-call signal. “Yes, preview with your partner.” Read aloud ‘Desert plants’ on pages 18–19. “The author writes that plants called living stones have camouflage . Based on what we just read, what does that term camouflage mean?” After students talk, point out the definition in the text. Add the word camouflage to the Vocabulary Word Wall. AFTER READING Invite students to reflect on the habitats they’ve studied today. “Readers, we learned about so many different habitats today, as well as the plants that live in them. With your partner, talk about one habitat we studied today. Which habitat was the most interesting or unique to you? Why?” “Tonight, think about the habitats around our school. See what you notice about the plants in those habitats and the ways they are adapted to their environment.”
There are many academic words that describe a text’s structure. Consider preteach- ing these words to students so that they can engage fully in this work.
Focus Standards z Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect. CCSS.ELA.LITERACY.RI.3.3 z Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse part- ners on grade 3 topics and texts , building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. CCSS.ELA.LITERACY.SL.3.1
BEFORE READING Engage students in a conversation about the habitats that exist in or near your school. “Yesterday, we started learning about different habitats that plants can live in, and we learned a tiny bit about a lot of different habitats. For a minute, with your partner, will you try to describe what the habitat is like right by our school?” Highlight a type of habitat near your school. Ideally, post a photo of it. Invite students to discuss what they already know about that habitat. If your school has multiple habitats nearby, you might highlight two or three habitats before inviting students to recall their prior knowledge about each. Set a purpose for reading: to learn about adaptations that help plants survive in different habitats. “Today, we’ll continue reading Plants in Different Habitats . We’ll dive into the sections we identified yesterday, learning more about each habitat and the special ways that plants within that habitat are adapted to help them survive. Let’s get started.” DURING READING Invite students to preview a section, then read that section, and discuss the main ideas. Repeat for pages 10–11, 12–13, 14–15, and 18–19. Today, we suggest you read aloud the following sections. You might add additional sections that relate to local habitats. Channel students to preview pages 10–11, then read aloud the pages, and pause to discuss main ideas. “Look at the headings, subheadings, and any visuals, and discuss with your partner what this section will teach and how it will likely teach that information.” Read aloud pages 10–11: “Did you spot a pop-out sentence, one that really sums up the main idea of this section? Me too! Thumbs up if you agree that this could be the pop-out sentence: ‘Conifers are suited to their cold habitats.’ One way to check is to see if there’s evidence in the other sentences to support this idea in the text. Check right now with your partner.” (Yes, the other sentences fit with the pop-out sentence. They say that cones protect seeds from the cold. The waxy coating on the leaves helps the plant hold onto water. And the tree’s shape keeps the branches from breaking.) Ask students to preview pages 12–13, then read them aloud and use the text’s structure to summarize. “Preview this next section, ‘Broadleaved forest plants,’ with your partner.” Read aloud ‘Broadleaved forest plants’ on pages 12–13.
Listen for these problems and solutions: Problem: Epiphytes do not grow in soil. Solution: Epiphytes can use their roots to take water and nutrients from the moist air. Problem: The soil in a tropical rainforest does not have many nutrients. Solu- tion: Roots spread sideways so plants can get all the nutrients at the top of the soil.
If students need additional support orienting to the text and using text features to glean what the text might teach, you might decide to explicitly model the process you use to orient to the text again for students.
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GRADE 3 • Unit 2 • Let’s Gather
Unit 2 • Book 2 • Plants in Different Habitats
Bend I Session 5: Compare and Contrast Key Excerpts from Plants in Different Habitats, in Partnerships
Bend I Session 6: Close Reading Using Complex Passage from Plants in Different Habitats
Focus Standards z Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.3.4 z Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.3.4A z Read grade-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.3.4B
Focus Standards z Describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison, cause/ effect, first/second/third in a sequence). CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.8
BEFORE READING Rally students to the work of comparing and contrasting two habitats you studied in the previous session. “Yesterday, we read about a bunch of different habitats around the world. And, we heard about all the special plants that live in those habitats and the ways they adapt to their environments in order to survive. Last night, I couldn’t stop thinking about those different habitats. I started to wonder what was the same about the habitats and what was differ- ent. I thought we could investigate that together today, studying more about two habitats: deserts and tropical rainforests.” DURING READING Distribute copies of key sections from the text. Channel partners to compare and contrast the two habitats and their plants, referencing key parts of the text as they talk.
Rather than reading aloud a new section of text, we suggest you use this time to channel students to reread and discuss earlier passages from Plants in Different Habitats . We suggest “Desert Plants,” pages 18–19, and “Tropical Rainforest Plants,” pages 14–15.
BEFORE READING Briefly introduce the text, planning for the minimal amount of frontloading.
Whenever you lead close reading sessions, aim to keep the amount of front loading you do minimal, only discussing the information that is critical for students to understand the text and that students will prob- ably be unable to discern from the text while reading. You can always backfill other informa- tion while reading if you notice holes in students’ understanding or misconceptions. You may have students who are unable to access the text independently. Might you read it aloud to a small group on the carpet? Might you translate the text into a different language? Might you feed the text into an AI platform and alter the text’s Lexile Level to correlate to stu- dents’ reading abilities, or alter the text to include more defini- tional support? If students need more assis- tance with phrase boundaries, you might add slashes to the text to signify cueing pauses. You can use single slashes to mark shorter pauses, and double slashes to mark longer pauses (Rasinski, 2003). For instance, you might mark the first sentence this way: Introduced plants / often grow quickly / in their new habitats // and use up / the nutrients, / water, / and space. //
“There’s one more section from Plants in Different Habitats that I thought we could study together. This section is different from the sections we read yesterday because it doesn’t focus on one specific habitat. Instead, this section looks at a few types of plants that can live in any habitat.” DURING READING Read the first section of the text aloud, and then ask students to read “Taking Over” inde- pendently. Encourage them to mark unfamiliar words. Channel partners to discuss what they just read. Distribute copies of “Native Plants,” pages 28–29. “I’ll start reading. Follow along with me. When I get to the section titled ‘Taking Over,’ you’ll take over!” Read the first portion of the text, modeling fluent reading. “It’s your turn—read ‘Taking Over’ on your own. As you read, think about what this section is mostly about. Use your pen to circle any unfamiliar words that you want to talk about with your partner.” Give students a few minutes to read the text independently. Circulate, noting reading rate and which words students indicate are unfamiliar. “Talk with your partner. What was this section mostly about? What unfamiliar words did you circle?” Demonstrate how you read the “Taking Over” section fluently. “Listen to how I read this section, ‘Taking Over,’ aloud. I’ll especially work on my phrasing, so I use my voice to scoop up words that make sense and read them together.” Read aloud the section titled “Taking Over,” modeling fluent reading with an emphasis on phrasing. Pose a series of questions to engage students in comprehending the section titled “Taking Over.” We suggest asking 1 to 2 questions about each sentence across the three-sentence passage. “Let’s dive into this section together. We’ll read aloud a sentence, then talk about it, then read aloud the next sentence and talk about it. Reading the text this closely will help us really understand what the author is trying to teach.”
“Right now, I’ll give you and your partner copies of different sections of Plants in Different Habitats . Partner A, you’ll get ‘Desert Plants,’ and Partner B, you’ll get ‘Tropical Rainforest Plants.’ When you get your section, reread it, and then talk together about how the plants in each habitat are similar and dif- ferent from one another. I’ll post a few sentence starters you can use as you talk.” (Possible responses: Both desert plants and tropi- cal rainforest plants are similar because they often have shallow root systems. However, desert plants
have shallow roots in order to take in more water, whereas tropical rainforest plants have shallow roots in order to take in more nutrients from the ground. Another similarity is that both deserts and tropical rainforests have plants that are adapted to low amounts of water. Cacti have no leaves and thick waxy stems, so they can keep all their water inside. Epiphytes have roots that are adapted to take tiny bits of water from the air.) AFTER READING Encourage students to teach someone else what they’ve learned about desert and tropical rainforest habitats. “As you leave school today, think about ways these plants and their habitats are similar to and different from where you live. Take a few minutes to teach someone else what you’ve learned.”
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GRADE 3 • Unit 2 • Let’s Gather
Unit 2 • Book 2 • Plants in Different Habitats
Bend I Session 7: Add to and Revise Your Plant Adaptations Concept Map
Text Excerpt
Questions Prioritize which questions to ask students based on their needs. For pacing, we suggest you choose one question about each sentence, and then channel students to briefly discuss the question. “The author just used the word introduced. When authors use an unfamiliar word like that—or a familiar word in a new context—it’s important for us to pause and think about what that word means. Try that now. What is the meaning of the word introduced as it is used in this section. (An introduced plant is a plant that doesn’t normally live in that habitat. This is different from when a person is introduced , or tells his or her name to someone new.) “What can happen as a result when plants are introduced to a new habitat?” (The introduced plants can grow really quickly and use up the resources.) • “Why might native plants not have enough nutrients, water, space, and sunlight to help them grow properly?” (Introduced plants might use up all the resources in their habitat and not leave sufficient resources for the native plants.) • “Why did the author use the word may in this section?” ( May means that something might happen or be true in the future. So, the author means to say that introduced plants might not have enough resources, but we can’t know for sure.) • “This sentence is about animals that rely on native plants. What does it mean to rely on some- thing?” (When you rely on something, you depend on it. You need it.) • “Here’s the word may again. Why did the author use the word may in this section?” (The author used ma y to help us know that animals might have trouble finding food and shelter when new plants are introduced to their habitat, but not always.)
During the Bend I Session 1 minilesson, you begin the work of creating a class concept map to capture what you and your students already know about plants. Rather than reading aloud a new text today, you could use read aloud time to add additional terms to your concept map, as well as labels to describe how those terms connect. This will help to solidify students’ learning from Bend I. You might display a chart that highlights for stu- dents predictable kinds of knowledge scientists can recall as they create concept maps. This work allows you to formatively assess what students have learned about plants and the ways they adapt to their habitats. It also lets you iden- tify any misconceptions students might have about plant adaptations.
“Taking Over” ‘Introduced plants often grow quickly in their new habitats and use up the nutrients, water, and space.’ ‘The native plants that grow in the same habitats may not have enough nutrients, water, space, and sunlight to grow properly.’ ‘The animals that rely on native plants for food and shelter may find themselves without food or places to live.’
Channel students to reread the entire section orally, focusing on fluency. “Let’s read ‘Taking Over’ again together, focusing on our phrasing. Read it with me, in one voice.” AFTER READING Ask students to summarize in writing what they learned from this section of the text. Post a question for students to respond to in writing: The author titled this excerpt of the text “Taking Over.” Why is this section titled “Taking Over”? Use details from the text to support your response. “Wow! Introduced plants might look beautiful, but they can certainly cause problems in their new habitats. As we continue reading about plants and their habitats, let’s look out for the ways that introduced plants might have adaptations that allow them to survive and thrive in their new habitats.”
Don’t be alarmed if some of your entering or emerging MLL students aren’t actively reading along with each part of the text. They will chime in on parts they feel comfortable with and know. The more important learning right now is for students to be a part of a community and for them to understand what fluent reading in English looks like and sounds like. Formative Assessment Opportunity Collect student responses, and study them to determine next steps. Students should note that introduced plants can take over a habitat and make it harder for the plants and animals living there to survive. Depending on your state’s assessment, you might ask students to give one or two details from the text.
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GRADE 3 • Unit 2 • Let’s Gather
Unit 2 • Book 2 • Plants in Different Habitats
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