1. Guided Reading/Comprehension Activities
1. Students will be asked to fill out KWL sheets throughout the course of the unit for
each chapter. Before the chapter begins, students will be asked to fill out what they
already know about the subject at hand in the K section. Next, also before reading
the unit and chapters, they will write down what they want to know under the W.
Students will then be asked to turn the sheets in. After each chapter, the sheets will
be returned and students will write what they learned under the L section. These
sheets will be collected at the end of the unit as a way to assess understanding of the
material as well as student interest in the subject matter.
2. During Chapter 5, lesson 1 of the unit, three students will be asked to read aloud
the “Interview with Lamarck and Darwin” on page 90. After hearing each, students
will write their reaction to the piece. They should then write down who’s
explanation they agree with and why, and then the class will share and discuss the
material before moving on.
3. After reading lesson 2 of Chapter 5, students will be asked to write a short (two
or three paragraph) essay on mimicry and how it helps animals survive, using the
book as a reference.
4. Chapter 6 deals with classification, and so before the beginning of the chapter
students will be asked to brainstorm what the differences between plants and
animals are. Answers will be written up on the board and discussed after the
session is complete.
5. After reading lesson two of chapter six, students must identify at least three
organisms around their household (pets, plants, pests, etc.) and classify them,
writing each organism’s kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species, and
common name. Students will be asked to show references.
