Whales+Gentle+Giants

Day 1
LT: I can make connections between what I already know and new information, to help me remember.


 * 1) Start by reading pages 5-11. (Preview that there is a story about a man named Brendan).
 * 2) Is this book going to be fiction or non-fiction? Why do you think so?
 * 3) Why was that story about Brendan in there? What did they want you to know about whales?
 * 4) Look at picture on page 11 -- what do you notice about the baby blue whale and the elephant?
 * 5) Talk about what we already know about whales, and what we wonder. Make a web.
 * 6) If there's time, read p 12-13 and each person shares what they learned about one kind of whale. Show how to stop, close eyes, and visualize to remember.

Day 2

 * Work on Visualizing - drawing picture of what it looks like when a whale dives, holds it's breath and water comes out of blowhole
 * talk about what is happening when a baby is born
 * they are mammals need to breathe just like us
 * parents prop calf on their nose and go up to the surface of the water so calf can breath
 * What new things have we learned? How did we use what we already knew?

Day 3
LT: I can organize new information I learn so I can remember it. I can visualize as I read so I can remember.


 * 1) visualizing: how does it help you remember?
 * 2) go over what you learned: breathing, babies -- what did you see in your mind?
 * 3) what is a calf?
 * 4) 2000
 * 5) read to p. 25: don't forget to visualize
 * 6) Come back to fill in more about babies
 * 7) next time you'll have your own web to fill in while you read

Day 4
LT: I can synthesize the main ideas in a text.
 * 1) A lot of nonfiction books have chapters. Each chapter starts with a heading that tells what that chapter is going to be about. This book doesn't have any headings. But one thing good readers do is they are always organizing new information in their heads, and trying to figure out what this part of the book is really all about. So we're going to practice doing that, and synthesize the main ideas in each part of the book so we can make chapter titles ourselves.
 * 2) Try it out with pages 12-13 (kinds of whales); p. 16-25 (baby whales)
 * 3) Now we'll read some parts, and as you finish each part, I want you to try to figure out for yourself what that part of the book is about, and write a chapter title, or heading, on a sticky note.
 * 4) p. 26-28 (whales journeys)
 * 5) p. 30-31 (preview baleen; review this part afterwards) (eating)
 * 6) p. 32-35 (sounds)
 * 7) p. 36-38 (orcas)