Drip, Drop, Birds! Lesson Plan

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Academic Standards

 

Reading Objective:

Students will discover how birds’ bodies help them survive through various kinds of spring weather.

 

Science Focus:

spring weather, animal adaptations

 

ELA Skills:

key details, vocabulary, writing, observations, decode words

 

Page 4 Skill:

read a grid map

 

Vocabulary:

waterproof, shelter, lee side, layer

 

CCSS:

RI.2.1 key details; RI.2.2 identify main topic; RI.2.7 explain how images contribute to a text; RI.2.10 read information texts; RF.2.3 decode words; W.2.8 gather information; SL.2.1 collaborative conversations

 

Lexile level: 

540L

Download TEKS Standards
Download Common Core Standards

Provide students with some background on spring weather.

Build background knowledge (10 min.)

Watch our video “What's the Weather?" After children have finished watching the video, discuss the following question:

  • What kind of weather is your favorite?

Set a purpose for reading (5 min.)

  • Pass out the issue, and discuss the cover. Can students guess how birds survive spring weather?
  • Next read the As You Read prompt on page 2: “Think about the different kinds of spring weather and how birds survive each one.” Encourage children to think about this prompt as they read.

 

Read together (20 min.)

Pass out the Read and Think printable. Use it to check comprehension as you read the issue together, pausing to ask the questions. 

 

Review vocabulary (3 min.)

Next, play the online vocabulary slideshow. This issue’s featured terms are waterproof, shelter, lee side, and layer.

Assessment: Reading Quiz

Pass out the Reading Quiz to review key concepts from the issue and assess students’ proficiency on key nonfiction reading skills.

Spit Nests, Puke Power, and Other Brilliant Bird Adaptations by Laura Perdew (20 min.)

Keep growing your bird background knowledge! Readers will enjoy learning about a variety of birds and the different adaptations that help them survive wherever they live.

Use the online game show to gauge comprehension and reinforce the issue’s content. Students can play individually or in teams. For each question they answer correctly, they win a point!

You can use our printable worksheets to focus on important ELA skills. Here's how.

ELA Focus: Vocabulary (15 min.)

  • Use the Word Work skill sheet to deepen students’ understanding of the terms waterproof, shelter, lee side, and layer

Editor’s Pick: Writing, Observations 15 min.)

  • Take your students on a nature walk! Have them record what they see by filling in the My Bird Observations skill sheet with drawings, adjectives, and verbs.

ELA Focus: Decode Words (15 min.)

  • Students can practice decoding words while revealing a fun image with the Color by Words skill sheet.

Here is a past issue you can use to extend your lesson on spring weather:

  • “The Day it Rained Fish!,” March 2019. Students will examine the scientific reasons behind a wild type of weather.
  • “Is That a Spaceship?,” April 2022. Students will read an interview to get answers from a meteorologist about clouds and weather.

You can find a higher-Lexile-level and a lower-Lexile-level version of the article online here:

  • Higher Lexile level: 560L
  • Lower Lexile level: 470L