Noticing and Wondering: Feathered Friends Saver | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA G1:M4:U3:L1

Noticing and Wondering: Feathered Friends Saver

In this Lesson

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

  • RI.1.1: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
  • RI.1.2: Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
  • W.1.8: With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
  • SL.1.1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
  • SL.1.2: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can make observations about the Feathered Friends Saver. (W.1.8, SL.1.1, SL.1.2)
  • I can answer questions about the text Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf. (RI.1.1, RI.1.2)

Ongoing Assessment

  • During the structured discussion in Work Time A, use the Speaking and Listening Checklist to gather data on student progress toward SL.1.1 and SL.1.2 (see Assessment Overview and Resources).
  • During the read-aloud in Work Time B, use the Reading Informational Text Checklist to track student progress toward RI.1.1 (see Assessment Overview and Resources).

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engaging the Learner: Letter from an Ornithologist (15 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Structured Discussion: Questions about the Feathered Friends Saver (20 minutes)

B. Reading Aloud: Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf (15 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Working to Contribute to a Better World (10 minutes)

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards:

  • The Opening follows a similar routine to the first lesson in previous units. Students receive a new letter from an ornithologist in which they are asked to continue to think about the module guiding question--"Why should we care about birds?"--and the Unit 3 guiding question, "How can people care for birds so that they can live and grow?" Students revisit these guiding questions throughout the unit and reflect on both at the end of the module.
  • Continue to nurture an inquiry-rich classroom environment by inviting students to observe and ask questions about the gift (Model Feathered Friends Saver: Scientific Drawing) from the ornithologist during Work Time A. During this part of the lesson, students build curiosity about the final performance task for this unit. Try to keep the Feathered Friends Saver a mystery until it is unveiled in Lesson 8.
  • In this unit, students focus on the following habit of character: I can apply my learning to help our school and community. This is the first time during this school year that students are exposed to this habit of character. Students use the Working to Contribute to a Better World anchor chart to reflect on how this habit of character exists within the unit.

How this lesson builds on previous work:

  • In the Opening, students listen to a new letter from the ornithologist and practice using vocabulary strategies to comprehend the letter. Students should be familiar with this routine from Units 1-2.
  • This lesson follows a similar routine to Lesson 1 in Units 1-2, as students listen to a read-aloud of a letter from the ornithologist, engage in small group observations, and begin to share their thinking about the unit guiding question.
  • This lesson also builds on the observation routines established in Units 1-2. Students observe a mystery object and record questions based on their observations to try to figure out the identity of the mystery object.
  • Continue to use Goals 1-4 Conversation Cues to promote productive and equitable conversation.

Areas in which students may need additional support:

  • Some students may have difficulty asking questions that can be answered with a yes/no answer. Consider providing extra modeling and practice for small groups if necessary. You might also consider providing students with a written question frame to fill in. (Example: "Does it ____________? Is it ___________? Is it ___________?")
  • Some students may need additional support to write their questions down during Work Time A. Remind students to use the tools around the room, such as the Bird Word Wall, High-Frequency Word Wall, and Questions about Feathered Friends Saver anchor chart. Consider encouraging them to write down their question using both pictures and words.

Down the road:

  • At this point in the unit, students may have misconceptions about the purpose and function of the Feathered Friends Saver, but they will continue to refine their misconceptions as they conduct research to gain more knowledge.
  • In this lesson, students begin to use their Caring for Birds notebook by completing page 1. They will continue to use the notebook throughout the unit; consider a storage option that will give them efficient and independent access.
  • Throughout this unit, students will continue to think about the focus habit of character--I can apply my learning to help our school and community--as they think about ways they can help birds live and grow.

In Advance

  • Prepare the ornithologist envelope (large manila envelope) by placing the ornithologist letter #3 and the Model Feathered Friends Saver: Scientific Drawing inside.
  • Preview page 1 of the Caring for Birds notebook to familiarize yourself with what will be required of students (see supporting materials).
  • Distribute the Caring for Birds notebooks for Work Time A at student workspaces.
  • Post: Learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

Consider using an interactive white board or document camera to display lesson materials.

  • Continue to use the technology tools recommended throughout Modules 1-3 to create anchor charts to share with families; to record students as they participate in discussions and protocols to review with students later and to share with families; and for students to listen to and annotate text, record ideas on note-catchers, and word-process writing.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards I.B.6 and I.C.12

Important points in the lesson itself

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs with opportunities to build schema about the topic of the unit and to participate in a structured discussion that provides essential context for the entire unit.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to think about yes/no questions to ask during the structured discussion in Work Time A. It might also be challenging for them to process the amount of information about birds in the text Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf (see levels of support and the Meeting Students' Needs column).

Levels of support

For lighter support:

  • Before providing support with writing yes/no questions during Work Time A, observe students and allow them to grapple. Provide supportive frames and demonstrations only after they have grappled with the task. Observe the areas in which they need additional support to target appropriate help.

For heavier support:

  • To support with writing during Work Time A, sort students' wonders into categories they can use to spark yes/no questions (e.g., place, use).
  • Consider rereading pages 23-32 of Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf. Students may also benefit from discussing the text again after reading it.

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): In this lesson, support comprehension by activating prior knowledge. Consider a brief review of Unit 2 to highlight relevance and scaffold connections for students. Additionally, provide questions visually as well as verbally.
  • Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE): Continue to support students in setting appropriate goals for their level and the level of difficulty expected.
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): Continue to support sustained engagement and effort for students who benefit from consistent reminders of learning goals and their value or relevance. 

Vocabulary

Key: Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L); Text-Specific Vocabulary (T); Vocabulary Used in Writing (W)

New:

  • tremendous, contribute, community (L)

Review:

  • ornithologist (L)

Materials

  • Ornithologist envelope (one to display)
    • Ornithologist letter #3 (one to display)
    • Model Feathered Friends Saver: Scientific Drawing (one to display; see Performance Task Overview)
  • L.4 Vocabulary Strategies anchor chart (begun in Unit 2, Lesson 3)
  • Questions about Feathered Friends Saver anchor chart (new; co-created with students during Work Time A; see supporting materials)
  • Caring for Birds notebook (page 1; one per student)
  • Caring for Birds notebook (example, for teacher reference)
  • Questions about Feathered Friends Saver anchor chart (example, for teacher reference)
  • Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf (one to display; for teacher read-aloud)
  • Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart (begun in Module 2)
  • Working to Contribute to a Better World anchor chart (new; teacher-created; see supporting materials)

Materials from Previous Lessons

New Materials

Assessment

Each unit in the K-2 Language Arts Curriculum has one standards-based assessment built in. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize their understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Engaging the Learner: Letter from an Ornithologist (15 minutes)

  • Gather students whole group.
  • With excitement, tell students that they have received a new envelope from the ornithologist!
  • Remind students that an ornithologist is a scientist who studies birds.
  • Display the ornithologist envelope.
    • Tell students that you received an envelope with a new letter and a special gift that you will need their help to investigate.
    • Display ornithologist letter #3.
    • Invite students to listen carefully as you read the letter aloud. Emphasize that they will listen so they can answer these questions:

"What does the ornithologist tell us about our new topic of study?"

Conversation Cue: "What, in the letter, makes you think so?" (Responses will vary.)

    • While still displaying the text, read the entire letter.
  • Direct students' attention to the L.4 Vocabulary Strategies anchor chart and remind them that throughout this module, they have learned to use different vocabulary strategies to figure out the meaning of unknown words.
  • Follow the same routine from Units 1-2 to guide students through using the L.4 Vocabulary Strategies anchor chart to determine the meaning of the word tremendous:
    • Focus students on the first strategy on the chart (clues from other words).
    • Reread the first line of the poem aloud. Point to the word tremendous.
    • Ask students to figure out the meaning of this word by using the clues from other words in the line.
    • Think-Pair-Share:

"What does the word tremendous mean?" (very large)

"What are the clue words in the line that tell you what the word means?" (amount of information)

"Did we learn a lot or a little about Pale Male's nest?" (a lot)

    • As students talk, circulate and listen in. Take note of the clue words they are sharing and target a few students to share out with the whole group.
    • Confirm that the word tremendous means very large.
  • Reread the letter and remind students of the question that the ornithologist gave to them.
  • Turn and Talk:

"What did the ornithologist want you to think about?" (How can people care for birds so that they can live and grow?)

"What did the ornithologist tell you that you will do during this unit?" (The ornithologist told us that we will learn about the ways we can help birds to live and grow.)

  • Invite a few students to share out.
  • Post the Unit 3 guiding question:
    • "How can people care for birds so that they can live and grow?"
  • Point out that throughout the unit, students will learn about some of the problems that birds face and will begin to learn about various ways people can care for birds so that they can live and grow.
  • Direct students' attention to the P.S. at the bottom of the letter. Reread it aloud one final time.
  • Take out and display the Model Feathered Friends Saver: Scientific Drawing from the envelope.
  • Tell students that the ornithologist also sent a gift for students to investigate.
  • Tell students that during the next part of the lesson they will learn more about the gift that the ornithologist sent.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with activating prior knowledge: (Reviewing Charts) Review the language on the Vocabulary Strategies anchor chart and invite students to recall how they used the chart in Units 1-2. (MMR)
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with vocabulary: (Annotating Text: Context Clues) Annotate the ornithologist letter as you think aloud about clues in other words in the sentences to figure out the meaning of tremendous. (Example: Circle the word learned and connect it with arrows to the phrase amount of information, write the definition of tremendous by the word tremendous in the letter, etc.) (MMR)

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Structured Discussion: Questions about the Feathered Friends Saver (20 minutes)

  • Refocus students whole group.
  • Remind students that the ornithologist delivered a gift for them to investigate.
  • Now they are going to investigate the gift further and brainstorm questions to try to learn what it is.
  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and read the first one aloud:

"I can make observations about the Feathered Friends Saver."

  • While still displaying the Model Feathered Friends Saver: Scientific Drawing, tell students that it is called a Feathered Friends Saver.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"What is a feathered friend?" (bird)

"Why is it called a feathered friend?" (because birds have feathers)

Conversation Cue: "Who can add on to what your classmate said? I'll give you time to think." (Responses will vary.)

  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"Can anyone guess what a Feathered Friends Saver is?" (Responses will vary.)

"Can anyone guess what it is used for?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Direct students' attention to the Questions about Feathered Friends Saver anchor chart.
  • Tell students that this anchor chart will keep track of the questions that the class asks as they try to figure out what the Feathered Friends Saver is.
  • Tell students that you will answer their questions with a yes or no answer.
  • Point to the heading under the title and read aloud:
    • "Think about asking a question that can be answered with yes/no."
  • Tell students that they need to think of questions that can be answered with a yes or no. Explain that the questions they ask should also try to give them more information about what the Feathered Friends Saver is.
  • Continue to read the chart aloud:
    • "Use question stems: Is it _______? Does it _______? Can it _______?"
  • Tell students that these question stems can be used when they want to get a yes or no answer.
  • Think aloud to model using one of the sentence stems to ask a yes or no question:
    • "I want to know if it is a piece of art. I could ask: Is it a piece of art?"
  • Tell students that before they share their questions as a large group, they will have a chance to brainstorm and write down one or two questions in their Caring for Birds notebook.
    • Display page 1 of the Caring for Birds notebook.
    • Tell students that on this page, they should write down one or two questions they want to know about the Feathered Friends Saver.
    • Think aloud to model. Say: "I know that I want to ask if it is a piece of art. I will write, 'Is it a piece of art?'"
    • Tell students they will share these questions with the group and you will record and answer their questions on the Questions about Feathered Friends Saver anchor chart.
    • Model how to record this question on page 1. Refer to the Caring for Birds notebook (example, for teacher reference) as necessary.
    • Point out the Caring for Birds notebooks already at their workspaces and invite students to quietly begin working.
    • Remind students to write down questions that can be answered with a yes or no answer. Remind them to use the question stems for help.
    • Circulate to support students and help them think of questions that can be answered with yes or no, if necessary.
    • After 10-12 minutes, refocus students whole group and tell them to bring their notebooks back to the whole group meeting area.
  • Invite several students to share the questions they wrote down in their notebooks. Remind them to ask questions that can be answered with yes or no. Also, remind students that their questions should help them find more information about what the Feathered Friends Saver is.
  • As students share out, clarify and help restate questions so that they can be answered with yes or no. Answer the questions out loud.
  • Capture the questions and answers on the Questions about Feathered Friends Saver anchor chart. Try to capture at least 10 questions. Refer to the Questions about Feathered Friends Saver anchor chart (example, for teacher reference) as needed.
  • Read aloud the final questions and answers.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"Can anyone guess what it is?" (Responses will vary.)

"Can anyone guess what it is used for?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Tell students that over the next several lessons they will learn more about this Feathered Friends Saver and what it is used for. 
  • For ELLs: (Modeling Yes/No Questions) Use a common classroom object to model asking yes/no questions. (Example: Using a pair of scissors, ask yes/no questions (e.g., "Is it for erasing?" "Is it made of metal?") Compare these questions to similar ones that require more than a yes or a no (e.g., "What is it used for?" "What is it made of?").
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with organizing ideas for written expression: (Verbal Writing Practice) Invite students to share something they are wondering about the Feathered Friends Saver (e.g., "Where would you put it?") first and then turn that wonder into a question that can be answered with a yes or no (e.g., "Would you hang it from a tree?"). (MMAE)
  • For students who may need additional support with fine motor skills: Offer choice with page 1 in the Caring for Birds notebook by providing a template that includes lines or additional space for each section. (MMR, MMAE)

B. Reading Aloud: Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf (15 minutes)

  • Refocus students whole group.
  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and read the second one aloud:

"I can answer questions about the text Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf."

  • Display Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf and read the title aloud.
  • Tell students that this is a story about a girl named Olivia and all of the facts that she has learned about birds. The story also describes some of the work that Olivia has done to care for and save birds.
  • Remind students of the Unit 3 guiding question:
    • "How can people care for birds so they can live and grow?"
  • Tell students to think about this guiding question as they listen to the story.
  • While still displaying the text, complete a first read of the text.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"What is this book mostly about?" (It's full of facts that describe all of the cool and interesting things that birds can do.)

  • Turn to page 23 and reread pages 23-32.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"Who is Olivia?" (She is an 11-year-old girl who loves birds.)

  • Turn and Talk:

"What did Olivia do?" (She wrote a letter to the Audubon Society that said she wanted to help birds.)

"Why did she write the letter?" (She wanted to help birds that had been affected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.)

Conversation Cue: "Do you agree or disagree with what your classmate said? Why? I'll give you time to think." (Responses will vary.)

"How did she help?" (She drew bird pictures and then donated them to people who gave money to help save birds.)

  • Circulate as students talk and pre-select a few students to share out.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"Who created the illustrations in this book?" (Olivia)

  • Share with students that Olivia realized that some birds were in danger, and she thought of a way to help them.
  • Tell students that the during this unit they are going to continue to think about other ways people can care for and help birds live and grow.
  • For ELLs and students who may need support with background knowledge: (Giving Context to Story) Give context to the text of Olivia's Birds by explaining what an oil spill is, where the Gulf of Mexico is on a map, and what the Audubon Society does. (MMR)
  • Before reading, provide white boards and dry-erase markers as an option for students to record (in drawing or writing) their ideas. This also helps scaffold active listening for key details. (MMR, MMAE)

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Working to Contribute to a Better World (10 minutes)

  • Gather students whole group.
  • Direct students' attention to the Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart and review it. Remind students that these are habits for how we treat others.
  • Direct students' attention to the Working to Contribute to a Better World anchor chart.
  • Define contribute  (to give).
  • Read the title aloud:
    • "Habits that help us make the world better."
  • Point to the table below the title and read the headings of each column.
  • Point to and read the first row aloud. Tell students the first habit of character they will learn about is:
    • "I can apply my learning to help our school and community."
  • Define community (a group of people who share interests or living space).
  • Point to the column that reads, "What does it mean?" and read it aloud:
    • "I use what I know to help others. I use what I have learned to make my school and community better."
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"How does the picture on the chart signal helping our school and community?" (The picture shows two people working together to care for a plant.)

  • Tell students that throughout this unit they will focus on applying their learning to make their school and community better.
  • Display Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"What did Olivia do?" (She wrote a letter to the Audubon Society that said she wanted to help birds.)

"Why did she do this?" (She wanted to help birds that were injured.)

  • Think-Pair-Share:

"How is Olivia's story an example of this character trait: 'I apply my learning to help our school and community'?" (Olivia learned a lot about birds and realized that some birds had become injured. She wanted to do something to help these birds, so she started raising money by drawing pictures and selling them.)

Conversation Cue: "What, in the story, makes you think so?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Tell students that Olivia is a great example of someone who applied her learning to help her community. Tell students that throughout this unit they will continue to think about the unit guiding question and about ways they could apply their learning to also help birds live and grow.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support making connections: (Giving Examples) Invite students to give additional examples for helping their school and community. (MMR, MME)

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