Animals
In this unit, students will read informational texts about animal adaptions. Students will make connections, identify main topics, retell details and write responses to the text.
Unit Summary
As part of the upgrade to Fishtank Plus, this unit was revised in October 2020. Some texts, materials, and questions may have changed as part of the revision. If you are looking for the 2018-2019 version of this unit, visit our archives.
In this science-based unit, students begin their exploration of animals and animal adaptations. Using next-generation science standards as a guide, students explore three main topics: how different animals use their body parts and senses in different ways in order to survive, the ways in which 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 on understanding animals and the animal kingdom. In kindergarten, students learn about how animals meet their basic needs for survival 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.
Texts and Materials
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Core Materials
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Book: What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins (HMH Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition, 2008) — 510L
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Book: Living Color by Steve Jenkins (HMH Books for Young Readers, 2012) — NC950L
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Book: What Color Is Camouflage? by Carolyn B. Otto (HarperCollins, 1996) — 610L
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Book: What Do You Do When Something Wants to Eat You? by Steve Jenkins (HMH Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition, 2001) — AD760L
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Book: Who Eats What?: Food Chains and Food Webs by Patricia Lauber (HarperCollins; Revised edition, 2016) — 620L
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Book: Red-Eyed Tree Frog by Joy Cowley (Scholastic Paperbacks; 1 edition, 2006) — AD490L
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Book: Sisters and Brothers: Sibling Relationships in the Animal World by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page (HMH Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition, 2012) — 980L
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Book: Lizards by Laura Marsh (National Geographic Children's Books, 2012) — 460L
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Book: Frogs by Elizabeth Carney (National Geographic Children's Books, 2009) — 470L
Supporting Materials
Template: Creature Feature
See Text Selection Rationale
Assessment
This assessment accompanies this unit and should be given on the suggested assessment day or after completing the unit.
- Download Unit 2 Content Assessment
- Download Unit 2 Content Assessment Answer Key
Unit Prep
Essential Questions
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- How do different animals use their body parts in different ways to protect themselves?
- 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?
Writing Focus Areas
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Sentence-Level Focus Areas
- Write complete sentences.
- Write different types of sentences (statements, questions, exclamations, and commands)
- Use different question words when writing questions (who, what, where, when, why, and how).
In this unit, students continue to work on crafting strong sentences. Building on work done in Unit 1, students should continue to notice the difference between complete sentences and fragments. Students learn how to use the four different sentence types to describe key ideas in a text. Students also learn how to write specific questions by using a variety of interrogatives.
Vocabulary
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Text-based
cooperate detect disguise excess imitate maneuver poisonous prey predator
Related Teacher Tools:
Content Knowledge and Connections
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- 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
1
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What Do... pp. 1 – 14 — stop before eyes
RI.1.3
RI.1.6
RI.1.7
SL.1.1
Explain how animals use different body parts to survive.
2
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What Do... — p. 15 - end
RI.1.3
RI.1.6
RI.1.7
SL.1.1
Explain how animals use different body parts to survive.
3
L.1.1.j
L.1.2.b
Identify and use simple sentences with correct ending punctuation.
4
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What Color Is Camouflage?
RI.1.6
RI.1.7
SL.1.1
L.1.1.j
Explain what it means to camouflage and give two examples of how animals use camouflage to survive.
5
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Living Color pp. 1 – 10 — (red and blue)
RI.1.3
RI.1.6
RI.1.7
L.1.1.j
L.1.2.b
Explain how animals use colors to survive.
6
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Living Color — (yellow and green)
RI.1.3
RI.1.6
RI.1.7
L.1.1.j
L.1.2.b
Describe how animals use color to survive.
7
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Living Color — (Orange, Purple, Pink)
RI.1.3
RI.1.6
RI.1.7
L.1.1.j
L.1.2.b
Describe how animals use color to survive.
8
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Red-Eyed Tree Frog
L.1.1.j
L.1.2.b
Write questions using the words who, what, where, when, why, and how.
9
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Red-Eyed Tree Frog
RI.1.3
RI.1.6
RI.1.7
L.1.1.j
L.1.2.b
Write four sentences that describe how a red-eyed tree frog gets its food.
10
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What Do...
RI.1.3
RI.1.6
RI.1.7
L.1.1.j
Explain what different animals do if something wants to eat them.
11
Discussion & Writing
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What Color Is Camouflage?
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Living Color
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Red-Eyed Tree Frog
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What Do...
RI.1.3
RI.1.6
RI.1.7
SL.1.1
SL.1.2
SL.1.3
SL.1.5
SL.1.6
Debate if camouflage is the most effective way for animals to protect themselves.
12
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Sisters and Brothers pp. 1 – 10
RI.1.3
RI.1.6
RI.1.7
SL.1.1
L.1.1.j
Explain how different animals rely on their brothers and sisters for survival.
13
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Sisters and Brothers pp. 10 – 18
RI.1.3
RI.1.6
RI.1.7
SL.1.1
L.1.1.j
Describe how different brothers and sisters rely on each other for survival.
14
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Sisters and Brothers p. 19 — to end
RI.1.3
RI.1.6
RI.1.7
SL.1.1
L.1.1.j
Describe how different animals rely on their brothers and sisters for survival.
15
Discussion & Writing
RI.1.3
RI.1.6
RI.1.7
SL.1.1
SL.1.2
SL.1.3
SL.1.4
SL.1.5
SL.1.6
Discuss the behaviors parents, siblings, and babies engage in to help each other survive.
16
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Lizards pp. 1 – 15
RI.1.3
RI.1.6
RI.1.7
Explain how lizards are the same and how they are different.
17
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Lizards p. 16 — to end
RI.1.3
RI.1.6
RI.1.7
Explain how lizards are the same and how they are different.
18
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Frogs pp. 1 – 15
RI.1.3
RI.1.6
RI.1.7
Explain how frogs are the same and how they are different.
19
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Frogs p. 16 — to end
RI.1.3
RI.1.6
RI.1.7
Explain how frogs are the same and how they are different.
20
Discussion & Writing
RI.1.3
RI.1.6
RI.1.7
SL.1.1
SL.1.2
SL.1.3
SL.1.4
SL.1.5
SL.1.6
L.1.1.b
L.1.1.j
Discuss the ways individual animals of the same kind are similar and different.
21
Assessment
22
4 days
Writing
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Creature Feature
W.1.2
W.1.5
W.1.8
L.1.1.f
L.1.1.j
L.1.2.b
Write an informational report about a specific animal.
Common Core Standards
From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
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1-LS1-1 — Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs. Clarification Statement: Examples of human problems that can be solved by mimicking plant or animal solutions could include designing clothing or equipment to protect bicyclists by mimicking turtle shells, acorn shells, and animal scales; stabilizing structures by mimicking animal tails and roots on plants; keeping out intruders by mimicking thorns on branches and animal quills; and, detecting intruders by mimicking eyes and ears.
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1-LS1-2 — Read texts and use media to determine patterns in behavior of parents and offspring that help offspring survive. Clarification Statement: Examples of patterns of behaviors could include the signals that offspring make (such as crying, cheeping, and other vocalizations) and the responses of the parents (such as feeding, comforting, and protecting the offspring).
Language Standards
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L.1.1 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
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L.1.1.b — Use common, proper, and possessive nouns.
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L.1.1.f — Use frequently occurring adjectives.
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L.1.1.j — Produce and expand complete simple and compound declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory sentences in response to prompts.
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L.1.2 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
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L.1.2.b — Use end punctuation for sentences.
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L.1.4 — Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 1 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies.
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L.1.6 — Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using frequently occurring conjunctions to signal simple relationships (e.g., because).
Reading Standards for Informational Text
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RI.1.2 — Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
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RI.1.3 — Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.
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RI.1.6 — Distinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and information provided by the words in a text.
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RI.1.7 — Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.
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RI.1.9 — Identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).
Speaking and Listening Standards
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SL.1.1 — Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups
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SL.1.2 — Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
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SL.1.3 — Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood.
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SL.1.4 — Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.
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SL.1.5 — Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
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SL.1.6 — Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation.
Writing Standards
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W.1.2 — Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.
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W.1.5 — With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed.
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W.1.8 — With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
Spiral Standards
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L.K.1.dRI.1.1RI.1.5
