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
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