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TEACHER’S GUIDE
ngyoungexplorer.org April 2012
Dear Educator:
Last month, we annouced our new interactive editions. We hope you’ve had a chance to check out the March issue samples! If not, please visit NGSP.com for instructions to download the app.
Starting with the September 2012 issue, you’ll also be able to subscribe to all seven issues for the 2012-2013 school year.
Each robust, engaging edition offers students the opportunity to immerse themselves in each article.
With videos, audio, photographs, and interactive graphics, the interactive editions add a new level of engagement to the issue.
After you’ve had a chance to explore the edition, we invite you to share your thoughts with us. We want to hear what you liked and how you think we can improve it. We’d especially like to hear how you would use the edition with your class.
Please feel free to send your feedback to me at [email protected].
We know you’ll be as excited as we are!
Shelby AlinskyDigital and Curriculum Editor, National Geographic Explorer
April 2012
National Geographic Young Explorer April 2012
Standards inthis IssuePuffin Place(Teacher’s Guide pages T1-T7)
• All living things have parts and behaviors that help them survive and reproduce.
• All living things grow and change as they go through their life cycle.
• Objects and living things are classified by characteristics.
From Seed to Seed(Teacher’s Guide pages T8-T13)
• All living things have parts and behaviors that help them survive and reproduce.
• All living things grow and change as they go through their life cycle.
• Living things depend on each other for survival.
Colorful Corals(Teacher’s Guide pages T14-T20)
• Different types of animals inhabit Earth.
• Living things get what they need from their surroundings.
Look for these icons throughout the lesson:
Interactive Whiteboard Lesson (see prometheanplanet.com/
nationalgeographicexplorer) Look for parts of this activity in the free
IWB lesson. Projectable Edition (see ngyoungexplorer.org) Use the projectable edition of this issue
to enhance this activity.
Website (see ngyoungexplorer.org) This activity refers to a resource on the
website.
e-edition
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Summary
• Puffins are birds that live mostly at sea but gather on land once a year to lay eggs and raise young.
• The parents make a grass-lined hole for a nest. Then the mother lays one egg in it.
• Both puffin parents care for the egg. When it hatches, both parents bring fish to the puffin chick.
• When the chick has grown enough, it learns to fly. It then leaves land to make its life swimming in the sea and resting on the waves.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
• examine a bird life cycle;
• examine bird characteristics;
• explore the relationship between text and images in nonfiction text.
Materials Needed
• photos of baby animals such as puppies, kittens, and chicks
• an audio recorder
• a small cardboard box
• scrap paper and a pencil for each student
• photos of adult animals for a classification activity: (3-5 bird photos; 3-5 photos of adult animals other than birds)
Resources
• Learn more about puffins: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/atlantic-puffin/
• Learn more about the re-introduction of puffins to the Maine coast: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/A-Puffin-Comeback.html
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T1 April 2012
Puffin Place
pages 2-3
pages 4-5
pages 6-7
pages 8-9
Background
• There are three types of puffins: the Atlantic puffin, the horned puffin, and the tufted puffin. The Rhinoceros auklet is closely related and some scientists believe it is a fourth type of puffin.
• The Atlantic puffin is the only puffin species that does not live in and around the Pacific Ocean. Atlantic puffins are native to the northern Atlantic, spending most of their time resting on the ocean surface far from shore.
• The birds are at home on the sea. They swim through the water using their wings to propel them forward and their webbed feet to steer.
• A puffin’s diet consists of small fish such as herring. The birds can dive to depths of 60 meters (200 feet) when they are on the hunt for food, but they stay underwater for very short periods of time.
• Atlantic puffins return to land once a year—usually between April and mid-August—to mate and have offspring. They raise their young in grass-lined nests in burrows and crevices along rocky coastlines.
• Each female puffin lays just one egg, which is tended by both parents. After a couple of months, the chicks are ready to leave the nest and fly away on their own.
• Male and female puffin pairs often return to the same spot each year to mate and raise their young. Scientists are unsure how they navigate, but they might use anything from visual reference points to Earth’s magnetic field.
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T2 April 2012
Fast Facts
• Puffins can fly about 89 kilometers (55 miles) per hour. When flying very fast, they flap their wings about 400 times per minute.
• Puffins usually live about 20 years, although the oldest puffin on record lived to age 29.
• During mating season, as much as 60 percent of the Atlantic penguin population nests on Iceland.
• Atlantic puffins are often called sea parrots because of the shape of their beaks.
• Puffins carry food to their nests in their large beaks. One puffin was found carrying 62 fish in its beak.
• The puffin’s colorful beak color fades in winter and brightens again in spring during the mating season.
Puffin Place
Explore ScienceIntroduce Animal Life Cycles
1. Ask students to think about baby animals they have seen. Have students tell if the baby animals look exactly the same as fully grown adult animals. Students should realize that all animals change in some way between the time they are born and when they grow up to become adults.
2. Hold up pictures of the following familiar baby animals one at a time: kitten, puppy, chick.
3. Discuss with students how the animals change as they get older. (Possible observations: They get larger; fur or hair can change color; body features change; they have babies of their own.) Tell students these changes are called the animal’s life cycle.
4. Using the projectable edition, show the first two pages of the article. Tell students they are going to find out about the life cycle of an unusual-looking bird called the puffin.
6. Have students complete the Activity Master after they read the article.
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T3 April 2012
Explore ScienceAnalyze Photos of Birds
1. Ask students to recall what they know about birds. As students volunteer bird facts, list them on the board. (Possible answers: They fly; they have feathers; they make nests; they sing; they have wings; they have a beak; they lay eggs.) Leave the list on the board.
2. Have students do a Think-Pair-Share to determine the answer to this question: What is a bird?
3. Instruct students to page through the article and look at the photos of the puffins. Remind them that puffins are birds. Have students take a few minutes to think about the characteristics of birds.
4. After students have had time to think about the features they have seen in the photos that characterize birds, have pairs discuss what they think.
5. Call on several students to share what they have determined with the class. Discuss several of the ideas.
6. Then help students summarize their ideas to form a response to the question.
Puffin Placepages 2-3
Activity Master, T6
pages 4-5
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Explore ReadingMake Predictions
1. Challenge students to use the pictures and text in the article to predict what the article will be about.
▶ Kindergarten Have students preview the photos in the article. Ask them to recall the name of the animal and what kind of animal it is.
• Prompt students to notice what the birds are doing. Based on what they see, have each student predict what the article will explain.
• To make their predictions, have students speak into an audio recorder. Each student can do this alone, stepping briefly into a corridor with you.
• After the class has read the article, play back the predictions to determine who came closest.
▶ First Grade Have students use the text and the photo on pages 2–3 to make their predictions. Have students complete this T-chart:
Preview Prediction The picture shows ____ . The puffins are _____ .
I predict the article is about _____ .
• Have students exchange their T-charts with a partner to discuss and possibly revise their answers.
• Have partners write their predictions on pieces of paper. Place folded predictions in a box and read them aloud after students have finished the article to find out how many students predicted accurately.
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T4 April 2012
Explore WritingConnect Text and Images
1. Direct students to write captions for each of the photos in the article. Explain that a caption is one or two short sentences that tell what the picture is about.
2. Emphasize to students that when writing a caption, they should first figure out the important information in the picture that the reader needs to know.
▶ Kindergarten Arrange students into small groups. Assign each group one of the photos in the article. Have each group write a caption for their photo. Use the projectable edition to go through the photos in order of appearance as each group shares the caption for its photo.
▶ First Grade Tell students that they are going to be magazine editors. Their job is to write a caption for each photo in this article, which will appear in their magazine. When students finish, have them break into groups to share what they have written. Have each group collaborate and decide on a final set of captions, which they then share with the class.
Puffin Place
pages 2-3
pages 4-5
pages 6-7
pages 8-9
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Extend ScienceCompare and Contrast Life Cycles
1. Point out that every living thing has its own life cycle. Remind students that this article is about the life cycle of the puffin.
2. Tell them that the next article in the magazine describes the life cycle of a plant called a milkweed.
3. When students have read both articles, help them compare and contrast the life cycle of a puffin and a milkweed plant. (puffin: egg, chick, adult puffin, egg; milkweed: pod, seed, sprout, large plant, flower, pod)
4. Encourage students to talk about how each living thing changes as it gets older.
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T5 April 2012
Extend ScienceClassify Animals
1. Provide students with a variety of animal photos. The animals should represent several groups with distinct features that allow students to classify them by observation.
▶ Include three or four photos of birds such as robins, parrots, gulls, and pigeons.
▶ Also include some non-bird groups such as lions/tigers, wolves/dogs, and rabbits/hares. If these are not available, use other photos that include pairs of related animals with similar physical features.
2. Place all the photos together on a large table with the different types of animals mixed together.
3. Have students separate the birds from the other animals. Ask students to look for the features that all birds have in common (beak, feathers, wings).
4. Then have students divide the rest of the animals into like pairs. Discuss the features they used to classify them.
Puffin Place
pages 2-3
pages 4-5
pages 6-7
pages 8-9
Activity Master
Puffin Place name:
Write the stages of the life cycle of a puffin on the blank lines.
Use words from the box.
egg feed flies hatches grows
A puffin lays an
____________ .
The puffin
____________ out to
sea.
A puffin chick
____________ from
the egg.
The chick ___________
bigger.
Parents ____________
the chick with fish.
On the back of this page, draw one of the stages of the
life cycle of a puffin.
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T6 April 2012
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Assessment
Puffin Place name:
Read each question. Fill in the circle next to the correct answer.
1. Where do puffins live?
A mostly on ice
B mostly at sea
C mostly on land
2. What do puffin chicks hatch from?
A a nest
B a hole
C an egg
3. What do puffin parents feed their chicks?
A fish
B bugs
C grass
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T7 April 2012
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Activity Master
Puffin Place name:
Write the stages of the life cycle of a puffin on the blank lines.
Use words from the box.
egg feed flies hatches grows
A puffin lays an
____________ .
The puffin
____________ out to
sea.
A puffin chick
____________ from
the egg.
The chick ___________
bigger.
Parents ____________
the chick with fish.
On the back of this page, draw one of the stages of the
life cycle of a puffin.
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T6A April 2012
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egg
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flies
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T7A April 2012
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Assessment
Puffin Place name:
Read each question. Fill in the circle next to the correct answer.
1. Where do puffins live?
A mostly on ice
B mostly at sea
C mostly on land
2. What do puffin chicks hatch from?
A a nest
B a hole
C an egg
3. What do puffin parents feed their chicks?
A fish
B bugs
C grass
Summary
• Milkweed plants are the favorite food of the monarch butterfly.
• The seeds of milkweed plants grow in a pod that splits open, allowing the wind to carry them.
• The seeds land on soil, where they sprout.
• New plants grow from the seeds. These plants eventually produce flowers, which turn into seed pods and continue the life cycle.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
• examine a plant life cycle;
• understand that plants and animals can work together to survive;
• explore sequences in text.
Materials Needed
• a variety of seeds
• a hand lens
• several paper towels and water to wet them
• bean or pea seeds for sprouting
• plastic sandwich bags and clear plastic cups
• a live plant or photo of plant with leaves, stems, flowers, and seed pods (if available)
• index cards
• markers
• “Monarchs and Milkweeds” poster
Resources
• Learn more about the milkweed plant: http://www.monarchwatch.org/milkweed/index.htm
• Learn more about monarch butterflies: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/monarch-butterflies/
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T8 April 2012
From Seed to Seed
pages 10-11
pages 12-13
pages 14-15
poster
Background
• The milkweed plant and the monarch butterfly have a close relationship.
▶ Monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed leaves. When the larvae (caterpillar) hatches, it eats the eggshell and then the plant on which its egg was laid.
▶ In turn, adult monarchs pollinate milkweed plants as they move from flower to flower drinking nectar.
• Monarchs are one of the most easily recognized species of butterfly, with very distinctive orange, black, and white patterned wings. They are found in North America, South America, Australia, New Zealand, and on some of the islands off the coast of Southeast Asia.
• There are two distinct groups of North American monarchs. One group lives west of the continental divide, while the other group lives in the eastern half of the continent.
• Unlike some animals, such as the puffin, the monarch goes through a process called metamorphosis during its life cycle. The entire process of a monarch’s metamorphosis takes about one month.
▶ The monarch starts as an egg. ▶ It hatches and exists as a caterpillar that fattens
up by gorging itself on milkweed leaves. ▶ The caterpillar builds a hard shell around itself
called a chrysalis, which it attaches to a leaf or stem. It develops within the chrysalis
▶ The monarch emerges from the chrysalis as an adult butterfly.
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T9 April 2012
From Seed to Seed
• Monarchs are poisonous to their predators. They acquire their poison from milkweed plants, which contain poisonous chemicals. When the monarch caterpillar feeds on milkweed, the poisons enter its body without harming it.
Fast Facts
• The name “milkweed” comes from the thick, white liquid it oozes from any cut or break on its surface.
• There are over 100 species of milkweed in North America.
• Pioneers in America cured warts using the sap from the milkweed plant.
• Native Americans used the fluffy white strings on the milkweed seeds to insulate their moccasins.
Explore Science— Hands-On ActivityExamine Seeds
1. Have students gather around a table on which you have placed a container full of a variety of seeds.
2. Tell each student to take a few seeds. Invite students to examine the seeds closely and provide a hand lens for a close-up look. Then ask students to describe each seed. Ask students what comes from seeds. (Students should know that seeds grow into plants.)
Explore Science— Hands-On ActivitySprouting Seeds
1. Have students demonstrate that seeds grow into plants by germinating pea or bean seeds on a wet paper towel.
2. Soak several towels and wring them out. Divide the class into small groups, giving each group a towel and several seeds.
3. Students should open up the towel, place two or three seeds inside, and fold it over.
4. Guide students in placing their towel inside a plastic bag. Leave the bag open and put it in a clear plastic cup, open side up, in a light area.
5. The seeds should sprout in a couple of days. Allow students time to examine the sprouted seeds with a hand lens. Compare their sprouts with the one pictured in the article.
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T10 April 2012
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Explore SciencePlant Life Cycles
1. Using the projectable edition, read the article with students and discuss each plant part as it appears in the article. Have students use a living plant or photos you project to observe each plant part and talk about its role in the life cycle of the plant.
2. Give pairs of students a set of four index cards.
▶ Kindergarten The sets of cards should have pictures of each stage in the plant’s life cycle: pod, seed, sprout, flower.
▶ First Grade The sets of cards should have the words pod, seed, sprout, and flower written on them.
3. Read the series of brief descriptions of stages in the milkweed life cycle below: ▶ It holds seeds. ▶ They turn into pods. ▶ They fall into soil and grow. ▶ It grows into an adult plant.
4. After you read each one, pairs will determine which stage in the plant’s life cycle you are describing and hold up the appropriate card as quickly as possible.
5. Then have students complete the Activity Master.
From Seed to Seed
pages 10-11 pages 12-13 pages 14-15
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Activity Master, T12
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Explore ReadingSequence Words
1. Discuss what sequence words are and why they are important. (They tell the order in which things happen.)
2. Write these two sentences on the board: Jill started to laugh. Jacob walked into the room. Ask students if they would know which thing happened first if they read these two sentences. (They would not.)
3. Change the first sentence to read: Then Jill started to laugh. Ask students to now put the sentences in order. Students will know the order is: Jacob walked into the room. Then Jill started to laugh. Note that then is a sequence word that tells the reader that Jill’s actions came after Jacob’s.
4. Explore additional sequence words with students.
▶ Kindergarten Write these words on the board and read aloud: before, after, first, last, next, now, soon.
▶ First Grade Brainstorm additional sequence words on the board.
5. Project the following sentences from the article: ▶ Their leaves grow long. Soon milkweed flowers bloom. ▶ The flowers turn into pods that make more seeds.
Now more milkweeds can grow.
6. Have students identify the sequence word in each sentence that tells which action came first. (Soon, Now)
7. Invite volunteers to use the sequence words learned in this exercise to create simple pairs of sentences that show the order in which things happen. (Kindergarten, orally; First Grade, written)
Explore WritingCreate a Diagram
1. Project a photo of a plant that students can use as a reference for the activity.
2. Have students draw the plant and label major parts such as leaf, stem, flower, or pod.
3. Then have students write one to two short sentences describing their plant.
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T11 April 2012
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Extend SciencePlants and Animals Work Together
1. Draw students’ attention to the “Monarchs and Milkweeds” poster. Use it to explore how the monarch butterfly and the milkweed plant work together.
▶ (top center photo) Point out the monarch egg, attached to a milkweed leaf.
▶ (top right) Have students read the caption and discuss why the monarch lays its eggs on milkweed plants. (Monarch larvae or caterpillars eat only milkweed leaves, which they need to grow.)
▶ Note that the monarch does not look like a butterfly yet. Tell students some animals, like butterflies, change form between the time they are babies and when they become adults.
▶ (bottom right, bottom center) Ask volunteers to explain what is happening in these two photos in their own words.
▶ (bottom left) Have students observe the way the adult butterfly emerges from the chrysalis.
▶ (top left) Read this caption aloud for students. Remind them that they have seen how the milkweed plant helps the monarch. Discuss how the monarch helps the milkweed plant. (It goes from flower to flower drinking nectar. This helps pollinate the plants.)
From Seed to Seed
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Activity Master
From Seed to Seed name:
Number the stages of the life cycle of the milkweed plant in the correct order.
1
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T12 April 2012
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AssessmentFrom Seed to Seed name:
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T13 April 2012
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Read each question. Fill in the circle next to the correct answer.
1. Where do milkweed seeds grow?
A in pods
B in sprouts
C in flowers
2. What grows from milkweed sprouts?
A milkweed seeds
B milkweed flowers
C milkweed plants
3. Where do milkweed pods come from?
A They grow from milkweed seeds.
B They grow from milkweed flowers.
C They grow from milkweed sprouts.
Activity Master
From Seed to Seed name:
Number the stages of the life cycle of the milkweed plant in the correct order.
1
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T12A April 2012
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AssessmentFrom Seed to Seed name:
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T13A April 2012
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Read each question. Fill in the circle next to the correct answer.
1. Where do milkweed seeds grow?
A in pods
B in sprouts
C in flowers
2. What grows from milkweed sprouts?
A milkweed seeds
B milkweed flowers
C milkweed plants
3. Where do milkweed pods come from?
A They grow from milkweed seeds.
B They grow from milkweed flowers.
C They grow from milkweed sprouts.
Summary
• Coral reefs are found in oceans all over the world.
• Animals called coral polyps form reefs. The living polyp forms a hard wall around itself for protection.
• When the polyp dies, it leaves its hard outer skeleton behind. The reef gets larger as an increasing number of dead coral polyp remains are added to the reef.
• Corals have many different shapes and colors.
• A variety of animals live around coral reefs.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
• understand that plants and animals live in many places on Earth;
• understand that animals are alike and different.
Materials Needed
• a world map
• an audio recorder
• scissors
• poster board
• books about the Great Barrier Reef (optional)
Resources
• Learn more about coral reefs: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/coral/ http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/habitat/coral_index.cfm
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T14 April 2012
Colorful Corals
pages 16-17
pages 18-19
pages 20-21
pages 22-23
Background
• Corals are found in all of the world’s oceans.
• Coral polyps are small, soft animals. The polyps secrete calcium carbonate that forms a hard skeleton around them.
• Coral polyps cannot move from place to place. They spend their lives cemented to one spot on the reef. They get nutrients in two ways:
▶ Algae in the tissues of coral polyps produce some food for them through photosynthesis.
▶ Corals also use their tiny tentacles to direct bits of food floating in the water toward their open mouths.
• When coral polyps die, they leave their hard skeletons behind. Over long periods of time, millions of these skeletons pile up to make huge coral reefs.
• Because of the great diversity of living things that live on and around reefs, they are often referred to as the “rain forests of the sea.”
▶ Other creatures that rely on coral reefs include sponges, clams, crabs, shrimp, starfish, anemones, jellyfish, sea turtles, and many species of fish.
• Although the best-known corals live in warm seas, there are also cold-water corals that live in the less hospitable environment of cold, deep waters. (The corals in this article are in warm water.)
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T15 April 2012
Fast Facts
• The largest structure on Earth built by living organisms is Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. It is so huge that it covers an area greater than the whole country of Poland.
• Some coral reefs are more than 50 million years old.
• The colorful coral polyps that make up reefs are actually clear and colorless. They get their color from tiny, colorful animals called zooxanthellae algae that live embedded in them.
• About one-quarter of all marine life lives in coral reef habitats.
• Australia’s 2,000-kilometers-long (1,250-miles) Great Barrier Reef is actually 2,800 reefs together.
Colorful Corals
Explore ScienceOcean Animals
1. Introduce the article by telling students that there are animals that live on land and animals that live in the ocean.
2. Ask students to name any ocean animals they know. (Possible answers: sharks, whales, fish, dolphins)
3. Explain that some ocean animals live on or near coral reefs. Show students a National Geographic video on the Great Barrier Reef to introduce students to this unique ocean habitat: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/places/parks-and-nature-places/oceans/oceans-barrier-reef
Explore ScienceCompare Coral and Other Ocean Animals
1. Display pages 18 and 19 in the projectable edition. Guide students in comparing the coral polyps on page 18 with the fish on page 19.
2. First have students brainstorm descriptive words for the features of the polyp. Then have students brainstorm words to describe the features of the fish. Write the words in two columns on the board and discuss how these creatures are alike and different.
3. Direct students to look for the mouth and eyes of the fish. Ask students if they can see the mouth and eyes of the coral polyp. (They cannot.)
4. Tell students that the polyp has a mouth. Have students point to where they believe the mouth is located. Have them explain their choice. (The mouth is a cavity at the center of the tentacles.)
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T16 April 2012
5. Have students point where they believe the polyp’s eyes are. After several students have tried, inform them that the coral polyp does not have eyes.
6. Discuss why eyes are probably not necessary for the polyp. (stays in one place, filters food from the water around it or gets nutrients from algae living in it)
7. Ask students to look at the other pages and find an animal that looks a little like the coral polyp. (the jellyfish on page 21) Note how the two are related.
8. Compare the animals in the remaining photos in the article with students.
Explore ScienceCompare Ocean Animals and Land Animals
1. Divide students into pairs. Have each pair draw a picture that shows one ocean animal and one land animal.
2. Partners can choose any two animals. They must be able to describe one thing that is alike about them and one thing that is different.
▶ Kindergarten Have students share their comparisons orally with another pair.
▶ First Grade Have students write captions for their pictures.
3. Invite students to briefly present their picture to the class.
4. When everyone has finished, discuss the main differences between ocean animals and land animals.
Colorful Corals
pages 18-19 pages 20-21 pages 22-23
Explore ReadingUnderstanding Place Names
1. Point out to students that the article contains several place names.
2. Tell students there are a couple of ways to determine whether a word might be a place name:
▶ Place names are always capitalized. Write the name of your city or town on the board and point to the capital letter.
▶ Descriptive words that contain a place name often have the place name as the root word and a suffix, such as “an,” such as Californian. Note that when the place name ends in” a,” just add an “n.”
3. Have students practice making similar names out of the following place words on the board:
▶ Australia + an = ______ (Australian) ▶ New Jersey + an = _____ (New Jerseyan)
▶ India + an = _____ (Indian)
4. Ask students to practice turning around phrases on the board, for example:
▶ “Hawaiian coral” becomes “coral of Hawaii.”▶ “Indian spices” becomes “spices of India.”▶ “Russian wheat” becomes “wheat of Russia.”
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T17 April 2012
Explore Geography Locate Reefs on a Map
1. Display a large world map for students.
2. Ask if anyone can locate India, Hawaii, and the Red Sea (the locations in the article). Have students point on the map if they can. If not, locate the areas for students.
3. Point out the warm waters near these places on the map where coral reefs have formed.
4. Locate your community on the map. If there are reefs nearby, determine whether they are warm-water or cold-water reefs. Project photos of these reefs and discuss student observations. Contrast the nearby reefs to those in the article.
▶ If there are no reefs nearby, locate these reefs on a map and display photos of them: The Mesoamerican Reef (in the Atlantic Ocean near Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras) The Florida Reef (in the Gulf of Mexico near Florida) Saya Del Malha (in the Indian Ocean) Zhongsha Islands (in the South China Sea)
Colorful Corals
DSN ELEMENT NEEDED FOR WOLS; SPACING ISSUES
pages 18-19 pages 20-21 pages 22-23
Extend ScienceMake an Ad for the Great Barrier Reef
1. Ask students if they have ever heard a commercial on the radio. Have them tell you what a commercial does. (Tells you good things about something so you will want to buy it or, if it is a place, go there.)
2. Discuss with students some tricks that are used to get people to like a product or place. (Possibilities include pleasant voices, humor, catchy music.)
3. Divide students into small groups and write the following facts about the Great Barrier Reef on the board:
▶ It is in Australia.
▶ It is over 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) long.
▶ Visitors dive there to see beautiful corals and many types of sea creatures.
▶ It is unlike anything else on Earth.
▶ Tourists like to visit.
4. If possible, make some simple readers or picture books on the Great Barrier Reef available in class so motivated groups can look up additional information.
5. Give groups time to prepare a brief tourism radio ad that will make people want to visit the Great Barrier Reef.
6. When students know what they want to say in the ad, have them practice with another student. Students need not write down their presentations.
7. Record students’ ads on an audio recorder. Encourage students to allow each person in the group to contribute according to their interests and abilities.
8. After each group has recorded its ad, play them for the class. Discuss which ads make students want to visit the Great Barrier Reef most.
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T18 April 2012
Extend WritingMake a Travel Brochure
1. Invite students to make a travel brochure for the Great Barrier Reef. They can use information gathered for the ad activity.
2. Have students use the Activity Master to create their brochure. Students can use the sentences in the box as prompts or as ideas for their own sentences.
4. Remind students that the brochure must make people want to visit, so it must make the reef feel inviting. The brochure must also tell people information about the reef.
5. Display the brochures in a class gallery. Discuss whether brochures or ads are better at telling facts about the Great Barrier Reef.
6. As an alternative, allow students to choose between making the ad with a group or making the brochure on their own.
Activity Master,
page T19
Activity
Master
Colo
rful C
ora
lsn
ame:
Use w
hat y
ou lea
rned
about co
ral reefs in
the m
agazin
e to w
rite or d
raw
a tra
vel bro
chure. U
se any o
f the sen
tences in
the b
ox
to g
et started
.
Com
e to th
e Grea
t Barrier co
ral reef. Th
is cora
l reef is in A
ustra
lia. Yo
u ca
n see co
rals th
at lo
ok
like fa
ns.
National G
eographic Young Explorer
Page T19
April
2012
© 2012 National Geographic Learning. All rights reserved. Teachers may copy this page to distribute to their students.
AssessmentColorful Corals name:
Read each question. Fill in the circle next to the correct answer.
1. Which animals build coral reefs?
A coral fish
B coral eels
C coral polyps
2. Where are coral reefs?
A in rivers
B in lakes
C in oceans
3. Which animal would you noT find in a coral reef?
A a jellyfish
B a bird
C an eel
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T20 April 2012
© 2
01
2 N
atio
nal G
eogr
aphi
c Le
arni
ng. A
ll ri
ghts
res
erve
d. T
each
ers
may
cop
y th
is p
age
to d
istr
ibut
e to
the
ir s
tude
nts.
Activity
Master
Colo
rful C
ora
lsn
ame:
Use w
hat y
ou lea
rned
about co
ral reefs in
the m
agazin
e to w
rite or d
raw
a tra
vel bro
chure. U
se any o
f the sen
tences in
the b
ox
to g
et started
.
Com
e to th
e Grea
t Barrier co
ral reef. Th
is cora
l reef is in A
ustra
lia. Yo
u ca
n see co
rals th
at lo
ok
like fa
ns.
National G
eographic Young Explorer
Page T19A
A
pril 2012
© 2012 National Geographic Learning. All rights reserved. Teachers may copy this page to distribute to their students.
Resp
onses w
ill vary.
AssessmentColorful Corals name:
Read each question. Fill in the circle next to the correct answer.
1. Which animals build coral reefs?
A coral fish
B coral eels
C coral polyps
2. Where are coral reefs?
A in rivers
B in lakes
C in oceans
3. Which animal would you noT find in a coral reef?
A a jellyfish
B a bird
C an eel
National Geographic Young Explorer Page T20A April 2012
© 2
01
2 N
atio
nal G
eogr
aphi
c Le
arni
ng. A
ll ri
ghts
res
erve
d. T
each
ers
may
cop
y th
is p
age
to d
istr
ibut
e to
the
ir s
tude
nts.
