Tuesday, March 16, 2010

water dinosaur

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"Do you mean that our drinking fountain water was once dinosaur pee?" a mischievous student asks. While his classmates respond with a resounding, "Ewwww, gross!" the teacher secretly smiles--these kids have figured out that Earth has a static water supply and they won't soon forget it.

This revelation is in response to Rochelle Strauss's One Well: The Story of Water on Earth (Kids Can, 2007), illustrated by Rosemary Woods, which the teacher is reading aloud to launch a unit on the Earth's water supply. The focus is on the importance of protecting our planet's resource--ground and ocean water and freshwater lakes, streams, and rivers. With tie-ins to the related subjects of weather, ocean currents, and ecosystems, this unit integrates many common science and social studies topics and draws attention to conservation needs and efforts.



The United Nations has declared 2005 through 2015 the International Decade for Action--Water for Life. The text set that follows will foster lessons about the issues supported by this declaration.

What is a text set? It is a selection of texts from a variety of genres about a common topic. The best sets have titles with well-written, up-to-date information and quality graphics that represent myriad perspectives. The titles below are appropriate for the range of readers found in the third through sixth grades.

Read Aloud

Description: The teacher reads a book, an article, or an excerpt aloud to students. The focus is on enjoyment, but a wide variety of other learning goals can also be met.



Suggested titles: Set in a world where social status and wealth are stratified by access to the water supply, Patrick Carman's engaging science-fiction novel, Atherton: The House of Power (Little, Brown, 2007) explores a tri-level society, where those on the top control the water, demanding food and livestock in exchange for meager amounts of the resource. Karen Stanton's picture-book Papi's Girl (Boyds Mills, 2007), illustrated by Rene King Moreno, puts a human face on the effects of drought. In this title, Graciela longs for the day the rains return to their farm so her Papi can return home from the United States where he labors as a migrant worker. Constance Levy's Splash!: Poems of Our Watery World (Scholastic, 2002), illustrated by David Soman, will entertain students with 34 verses on thirst, fog, glaciers, and other liquidy topics.



Interactive Read-Aloud

Description: As she reads aloud, the teacher pauses to pose questions that will enhance meaning and student connections.

Suggested titles: Based on the premise that all of Earth's inhabitants draw water from the same source, and chock-full of fascinating facts on related topics, Strauss's One Well is an ideal choice for engaging students in meaningful discussions. Each colorful spread focuses on an important concept, providing ready conversation points.

Think-Aloud/Shared Reading

Description: The teacher reads a section of text aloud, and then pauses to explain how she used a particular reading strategy, such as predicting, to help her more fully comprehend the material. In shared reading, the students will have a copy of the text being read aloud.



Suggested titles: Barbara Kerley's A Cool Drink of Water (National Geographic, 2002) is perfect for teaching prediction. Striking color photos of people from around the globe collecting, transporting, drinking, and celebrating water are accompanied by a spare, poetic text. Teachers can model using visual and textual clues to predict what's happening in the photographs and where they were taken. Loree Griffin Burns's Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion (Houghton, 2007) offers opportunities to discuss understanding vocabulary in context. This nonfiction title recounts an unconventional oceanographer's approach to mapping ocean currents and offers an explanation of their far-ranging effects.

Fluency

Description: The teacher coaches students to help them read smoothly, with good phrasing and expression, at a conversational pace. One way to accomplish this is to provide students with an excerpt to practice reading orally.

Suggested titles: A selection from Strauss's One Well (page 26) is a first-rate choice for highlighting the importance of water conservation. Consider using passages from Josie Green's Droughts and/or Floods (both National Geographic, 2005) for fluency texts on a lower reading level. Page eight in each book effectively summarizes the water cycle.

Guided Reading

Description: The educator works with small, leveled groups of students to teach specific reading skills, using appropriately leveled texts.

Suggested titles: With information on the causes and effects of weather conditions and facts on the water cycle, Green's Floods and Droughts, both titles in National Geographic's "Extreme Weather" series, are solid choices and tie in well with Burns's Tracking Trash. Monna Ashley's Greenland's Ocean Region (National Geographic, 2005) from the "Using Earth's Resources" set covers the water cycle, renewable and nonrenewable resources, pollution, and conservation. All of these titles have attractive text features, indexes, and glossaries.

Book Clubs

Description: Sometimes called literature circles, this structure entails forming student-led groups that choose books to read from a selection offered by the teacher. The group members read and then discuss what they have read.

Independent Reading

Description: Students select texts that interest them and read for pleasure and to answer questions that they may have. The books they didn't get a chance to peruse in their book clubs or as guided reading selections make excellent choices.

Suggested titles for Book Clubs and Independent Reading: Students will relate to the earnest young protagonist in Carl Hiaasen's Flush (Knopf, 2005) who strives to save his father, himself, and his part of the ocean. This fast-paced mystery includes Hiaasen's signature bad guys and heroes, and an environmental theme (illegal dumping) set in Florida. Norbert Wu's vivid undersea photos complemented by rhyming verses will entice students to pick up Kathleen W. Kranking's The Ocean Is ... (Holt, 2003). Another short text for intermediate students is Ron Hirschi's picture book Ocean Seasons (Sylvan Dell, 2007). Beautiful paintings by Kirsten Carlson will help students visualize the seasons, food webs, and habitats in the Pacific Ocean. Gordon Morrison's picture book A Drop of Water (Houghton, 2006) takes kids on a scenic journey through water habitats and the hydrologic cycle.

Research

Description: Students choose a topic that they'd like to learn more about and then select books that will answer their questions. They read and gather information, then report back to the class.

Suggested titles: Strong readers will find Stephen Hutchinson and Lawrence E. Hawkins's Oceans: A Visual Guide (Firefly, 2005) to be a comprehensive reference. Stunning visuals, charts and graphs, and discussions about marine ecosystems comprise the book. Others will appreciate Diane Swanson's fact-filled, conversational The Wonder in Water (Annick, 2006), which includes diagrams and photos. Strauss's One Well, Burns's Tracking Trash, and Hirschi's Ocean Seasons all invite a closer look by students who want more information. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) distributes a free activity guide for teachers with material on a wide variety of related topics, including E1 Nino, climate change, ocean diversity, and pollution. Data sections are followed by hands-on activities, which can be downloaded individually or with the entire guide at celebrating200years.noaa .gov/edufun/book/welcome.html.

No matter which angle you focus on, this collection is sure to meet your needs as you explore the Earth's water with your students. Go ahead--try to read these books without getting thirsty!

Nicki Clausen-Grace is a fourth-grade teacher at Carillon Elementary School in Oviedo, FL, and an adjunct instructor of children's literature at the University of Central Florida. She is the coauthor of Comprehension Shouldn't Be Silent: From Stategy Instruction to Student Independence. (International Reading Association, 2007).

Source Citation
Clausen-Grace, Nicki. "Water, water, everywhere: don't take our most precious resource for granted." School Library Journal 53.10 (2007): S24+. Academic OneFile. Web. 16 Mar. 2010.
Document URL
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