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Unit of Study #5
Unit Components
School District:Lennox
Unit of Study Title:Whales
Grade Level:K-2
Time Frame:3 lessons
Key Words:Whale
 
Unit Designer:Pat Hoffman
Unit Designer E-mail:Pat.Hoffman@k12.sd.us
Date Added:6/11/2002 2:02:11 PM
Date Last Revised:6/11/2002 2:02:11 PM
 
Topic Area:Communications/Language Arts
 
Peer Reviewer:Randi Fodness
Peer Reviewer E-mail:Pat.Hoffman@k12.sd.us

Brief Summary of Unit: The activities in this unit are designed to stimulate interest in reading and increase the students’ knowledge of whales. This unit is to be used as a supplement to the basal story Henry’s Wrong Turn.
Students will Understand: The students will understand that whales and fish differ. Whales have live birth and breath air through blowholes. Fish hatch from eggs and breathe through gills.

SD Content Standards
Link to Standards #1
Goal:

Communications/Language Arts
Students will use critical listening and viewing skills in various situations and for a variety of purposes.
Indicator:
Benchmark(s):
Other Content Standards:LIFE SCIENCE:
.describe similarities and differences of animals
.classify and analyze living things by structure and function
.identify behaviorial and physical characteristics of plants and animals that hlp them survive in their habitat

Other Components
Essential Questions to Guide this Unit and Focus Teaching and Learning: · What are the two groups of whales?
· What are the differences between whales and fish?
Key Knowledge and Skills Students will Acquire: Students will be able to tell the difference between fish and mammals.
Students will know the characteristics of toothed and baleen whales.

Assessment Plan: Daily Whale Facts booklet
On-line quiz
K-W-L Chart –they fill in the L column
Learning Activities: Day One: Listen to whale sounds found at http://dkd.net/whales/wsound.html
Chart paper with K-W-L heading
Email questions to www.whale.wheelock.edu/
Basal series Spotlight on Literacy from Macmillion McGraw-Hill.
The story students will read is Henry’s Wrong Turn. We will also use the
Story tape and practice book of skills that go along with the series.

Day 2: Whale/Fish song from Primary Mailbox. June/July 1997
Whales and fish PowerPoint presentation
Whale Facts Booklet from Primary Mailbox June/July ‘97
Toothed or Baleen worksheet from Whales by Evan-Moor ‘89
Label parts of a whale on a drawing.

Day 3: Shared reading of Spotlight books from our basal series Skipper the Humpback
Whale by Barbara Seuling and A Whale of a Show by Robert Campbell.
On-line quiz found on www.AllAboutWhales.com
Notes:In order to do this lesson, you must have the basal series "Spotlight on Literacy" from Macmillion McGraw-Hill
Internet Resource Link: http://ph006.k12.sd.us

Adapted from the the work of Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins. Understanding by
Design. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Alexandria, VA. 1998.

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