1st Grade ELA | Amazing Animals

Unit Summary

In this science-based unit, students begin their exploration of animals and animal adaptations. Over the course of the unit, students explore three main topics: how different animals use their body parts and senses in different ways to survive, the ways the behavior of different animal parents and offspring help the offspring survive, and the similarities and differences among individual animals of the same kind. This unit is part of a larger progression in understanding animals and the animal kingdom. In Kindergarten, students learn about how animals meet their basic survival needs and how that varies depending on the season. In 2nd Grade, students learn about different habitats and how animals in the habitat rely on the environment for survival. Then in 3rd Grade, students study animal adaptations and the different ways animals adapt in order to survive, especially when threatened by environmental changes. It is our hope that this unit, in combination with others in the sequence, will help students develop a deeper understanding of the animal kingdom and life science.

In this unit, students begin to think about how details in an informational text are connected. While the standard does not explicitly name cause and effect, students are noticing how one event makes something else happen. Additionally, students build a deeper understanding of the connection between the illustrations and the text, and how illustrations help the reader learn more about a particular idea or topic. Students continue to follow agreed-upon rules for discussions, using specific vocabulary, asking and answering questions, and producing complete sentences.

Students continue to work on building their writing fluency by writing daily in response to the Target Task question. Throughout the unit, students learn a variety of strategies for writing complete sentences and varying the types of sentences they are writing depending on the type of information they are sharing. Students also have opportunities to work on both their narrative and informational writing over the course of the unit. Students use their content knowledge about how animals use their color to survive to write a narrative with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Students also engage in two different research reports, learning how to research and share important facts about their chosen topics.

Please Note: In June 2025, this unit and its lesson plans received a round of enhancements. The text Red-Eyed Tree Frog by Joy Cowley is out of print and has been removed from the unit. Gecko: Read and Wonder by Raymond Huber (ISBN: 978-1536233278, Teacher Copy) has been added to the unit. This unit will now be 30 instructional days (previously 32 days).

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Texts and Materials

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Core Materials

Book: What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins (Clarion Books; Reprint edition, 2008) — 510L
Book: What Color Is Camouflage? by Carolyn B. Otto (HarperCollins, 1996) — 610L
Book: Living Color by Steve Jenkins (Clarion Books, 2012) — NC950L
Book: Gecko by Raymond Huber (Candlewick, 2019) — AD820L
Book: What Do You Do When Something Wants to Eat You? by Steve Jenkins (Clarion Books; Reprint edition, 2001) — AD760L
Book: Sisters and Brothers: Sibling Relationships in the Animal World by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page (Clarion Books; Reprint edition, 2012) — 980L
Book: Lizards by Laura Marsh (National Geographic Children's Books, 2012) — 460L
Book: Frogs by Elizabeth Carney (National Geographic Children's Books, 2009) — 470L
Article: “A World of Animals” by TIME for Kids
Article: “Hope for Tigers” by Brian S. McGrath (TIME for Kids)
Article: “Eagles Soar” by Lillian Stone (TIME for Kids)
Assessment Text: “My First Day” by Robin Page; Steve Jenkins (Clarion Books, 2013) — 590L

Supporting Materials

Rubric: Narrative Writing Rubric (G1)
Rubric: Single Point Narrative Writing Rubric (G1, U3, L8)
Rubric: Informational Writing Rubric (G1)
Rubric: Single Point Informational Writing Rubric (G1, U3, L17)
Rubric: Single Point Informational Writing Rubric (G1, U3, L24)
Rubric: Editing Checklist 1 (G1, U3)
Rubric: Editing Checklist 2 (G1, U3)
Resource: Simple Sentence and Conjunction Cards (G1, U3, L3)
Resource: Animal Fact Card Template (G1, U3)
Resource: Sentence Combining Worksheet (G1, U3, L7)
Resource: Mentor Text (G1, U3, L8)
Resource: Narrative Writing Brainstorm Graphic Organizer (GK–2)
Resource: Book Template
Resource: Word Work Worksheet (G1, U3, L15)
Resource: Discussion Recording Sheet (G1, U3, L16)
Resource: Main Idea and Details Graphic Organizer
Resource: Mentor Text (G1, U3, L17)
Resource: Creature Feature Report Template (G1, U3)
Resource: Community Editing Worksheet (G1, U3, L18)
Resource: Discussion Recording Sheet (G1, U3, L22)
Resource: Mentor Text (G1, U3, L24)
Resource: Nonexemplar Text (G1, U3, L24)
Resource: Book List for Further Reading

Text Selection Rationale

All Course Materials

Assessment

The following assessments accompany Unit 3.

Content Assessment

The Content Assessment pushes students to synthesize unit content knowledge or unit essential questions in writing. The Content Assessment should be used as the primary assessment because it shows mastery of unit content knowledge and standards.

Cold Read Assessment

The Cold Read Assessment tests students' ability to comprehend a "cold" or unfamiliar passage and answer standards-based questions. The Cold Read Assessment can be given in addition to the Content Assessment as a pulse point for what students can read and analyze independently, a skill often required for standardized testing.

Unit Prep

Intellectual Prep

Suggestions for how to prepare to teach this unit

Unit Launch

Before you teach this unit, unpack the texts, themes, and core standards through our guided intellectual preparation process. Each Unit Launch includes a series of short videos, targeted readings, and opportunities for action planning to ensure you're prepared to support every student.

Essential Questions

The central thematic questions addressed in the unit or across units

How do animals use their body parts to survive?
What behaviors do parents, siblings, and babies engage in to help each other survive?
In what ways are individual animals of the same kind similar? In what ways can they differ?

Reading Focus Areas

To understand details in an informational text, readers think about how details are connected.
Illustrations help the reader learn more about a particular idea or topic.

Writing Focus Areas

Narrative Writing

Stories have a beginning, middle, and end.
Writers introduce the characters and the setting in the beginning of the story.
Organize ideas with a clear begining, middle, and end.
Writers engage readers by starting with a sound effect.
Provide a sense of closure.

Informational Writing

Writers plan their writing by identifying 2–3 details and a main idea about a topic.
Writers plan their writing by carefully selecting facts that tell the reader more about a problem and a related solution.
Writers determine the main idea of a topic by thinking, "What do these facts tell about the topic?"
Writers introduce the main idea in the first sentence.
Writers pose a question within their introduction to capture the readers' interest.
Writers add text features including captions and headings to tell the reader more information.

Speaking and Listening Focus Areas

Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions.
Use specific vocabulary. Use vocabulary that is specific to the subject and task to clarify and share their thoughts.
Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation.

Vocabulary

Literary terms, text-based vocabulary, idioms and word parts to be taught with the text

Text-based

cooperatedetectdisguiseendangeredexcessextinctimitateintrudermaneuverpoisonouspredatorprey

To see all the vocabulary for Unit 3, view our 1st Grade Vocabulary Glossary.

Supporting All Students

In order to ensure that all students are able to access the texts and tasks in this unit, it is incredibly important to intellectually prepare to teach the unit prior to launching the unit. Use the intellectual preparation protocol and the Unit Launch to determine which support students will need. To learn more, visit the Supporting all Students teacher tool.

Content Knowledge and Connections

Fishtank ELA units related to the content in this unit.

Different animals use their body parts in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, and move from place to place, and to seek, find, and take in food, water, and air.
Adult animals can have young, and the parents engage in behaviors that help the offspring survive.
Animals have body parts that capture and convey different kinds of information needed for growth and survival.
Different animals respond to different behaviors to help them survive.
Individuals of the same kind of animal are recognizable as similar but also vary in many ways.

Previous Fishtank ELA Connections

Future Fishtank ELA Connections

Lesson Map

Lesson

Explain how animals use different body parts to survive.

Amazing Animals

Unit Summary

Texts and Materials

Core Materials

Supporting Materials

Assessment

Content Assessment

Cold Read Assessment

Unit Prep

Intellectual Prep

Essential Questions

Reading Focus Areas

Writing Focus Areas

Narrative Writing

Informational Writing

Speaking and Listening Focus Areas

Vocabulary

Text-based

Supporting All Students

Content Knowledge and Connections

Previous Fishtank ELA Connections

Future Fishtank ELA Connections

Lesson Map

Common Core Standards

Core Standards

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

Language Standards

Language Standards

Language Standards

Language Standards

Language Standards

Language Standards

Language Standards

Language Standards

Language Standards

Language Standards

Language Standards

Language Standards

Language Standards

Reading Standards for Informational Text

Reading Standards for Informational Text

Reading Standards for Informational Text

Reading Standards for Informational Text

Reading Standards for Informational Text

Reading Standards for Informational Text

Reading Standards for Literature

Speaking and Listening Standards

Speaking and Listening Standards

Speaking and Listening Standards

Speaking and Listening Standards

Speaking and Listening Standards

Speaking and Listening Standards

Writing Standards

Writing Standards

Writing Standards

Writing Standards

Writing Standards

Supporting Standards

Language Standards

Reading Standards for Informational Text

Reading Standards for Informational Text

Reading Standards for Informational Text

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